Dance - Duke University

Dance from Duke University is a Campus Bachelor Dance degree that prepares you for a Art and Design career. The field of dance includes the practice, creation, observation and analysis of theatrical, social, and culturally specific dance forms both contemporary and historical. Choreographic and developmental processes and technical disciplines are the foundations that define every dance form. Cultural body behaviors are the movement vocabularies from which dance forms are made. The observation and analysis of dance in its cultural context is central to the study of cultures and a vital aspect of exploration in cross-cultural inquiry. A culture's values are embodied (literally and figuratively) in its dance forms, and for most civilizations of the world, dance is one of the most important expressions of their world-view. To analyze historical, current and cultural dance forms, scholars must study the physical knowledge that has been handed down from body to body, from master to novice through generations of dancers. This is true whether they are investigating classic theater forms such as ballet, or analyzing the rites and rituals developed by a culture over hundreds of years. The living kinetic artifacts of movement - dance forms and dance choreography - are critical research components that provide scholars the tools to discuss and analyze specific cultures and communities, periods of dance history and the work of seminal creative artists. The integration of the creative, intellectual, physical and emotive spheres through dance leads one to apprehend, understand, analyze and acquire knowledge in a way unique among disciplines. Therefore, the Dance Program emphasizes a balanced integration between the creative/performance and the historical/theoretical aspects of dance in order to develop in students creative, analytic and critical ability. The aim of the program is to develop scholar/artists who are flexible, creative thinkers able to perceive, examine and evaluate different points of view; who are sensitive and articulate physical and verbal communicators of the visual art of dance; and who are proficient in the analysis of dance in its cultural manifestations, leading them beyond knowledge of a culture to an understanding and tolerance of difference. Dance is inherently interdisciplinary and offers a nexus of information that is looked at by many different disciplines. The Dance Program seeks to maximize this attribute through courses that examine dance from many perspectives: historical, cultural, mythological, aesthetic, literary, technical, musical, scientific and creative. Dance courses crosslisted with AAAS, AALL, Art and Art History, Biological Anatomy and Anthropology, History, Cultural Anthropology, Music, Religion, Romance Studies, Sexuality Studies, Theater Studies and Women's Studies attest to the many fascinating interdisciplinary threads connecting dance to other disciplines. View more details on Duke University . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Dance courses.