Majoring in Dance: Discover Your Artistic Voice

Dancers at Western engage in a rigorous physical and intellectual understanding of movement art. Today’s dancers are making and changing history as they reflect on the role of dance in our society through a multi-faceted lens.

Dance majors are contributing to contemporary thinking about dance and art making through in-depth study of dance technique and performance, somatic practices, anatomy and kinesiology, choreography and creative process, dance history, career preparation and entrepreneurial skills, and interdisciplinary study.

Dance Degree(s)

Dance, BA

The BA degree in Dance offers comprehensive training in dance technique, choreography, dance science, somatics, dance history, arts activism, and pedagogy. The B.A. allows students to tailor their course work to further their individual interests and is designed to prepare students for a variety of dance-related careers after college. This degree is constructed for students wishing to double-major in dance and another discipline.

Contact

Pam Kuntz, Dance Program Advisor
Pam.Kuntz@wwu.edu | 360-650-3789

Dance, BFA

The BFA degree in Dance is a selective program that supports exceptional students interested in pursuing a professional career as a performer or choreographer. BFA students engage in numerous creative opportunities related to dance making and performing including working with guest artists and interdisciplinary collaborations. Coursework includes advanced study of contemporary technique, dance science, somatics, dance history, arts activism and pedagogy.

Contact

Pam Kuntz, Dance Program Advisor
Pam.Kuntz@wwu.edu | 360-650-3789

Dance at Western

Western’s varied curriculum provides learning opportunities in technique, choreography, partnering, contact improvisation, pedagogy courses, dance history, cultural dance forms, dance technology, functional alignment, and anatomy for dancers. Class sizes are designed for high quality instruction and interaction with faculty. Dance faculty come from diverse professional backgrounds to teach a variety of technique styles and are devoted to giving students the best possible dance education.

The Dance faculty give so much of themselves to the dancers. They have such an innate ability to help their students that is quite inspiring – I hope to be that way with my students one day.

Brynn Hofer

Dance Major

In the course of their Dance studies, students will learn to understand and evaluate contemporary thinking about dance and related arts, while nurturing a physical and intellectual understanding of the language of movement as an art form. Western Dance majors develop multiple skills that are essential in all fields, including self-discipline, collaboration, patience and problem-solving. 

A dancer in a gray dress hovers above the ground in mid jump.

Dance majors at WWU are celebrated for their individuality and varied interests within the field of dance and beyond, and are challenged to discover their own artistic voice as performer, choreographer, and scholar.

Related Courses

DNC 100 - Hip-hop Level 1

DNC 211 - Ballet II - Level 1

DNC 232 - Movement and Culture

DNC 340 - Anatomy for Dancers

DNC 421 - Contemporary Dance IV - Level 1

DNC 442 - Advanced Choreography

Dancing Though 2020–2021

There were many challenges for all types of performance artists during the pandemic. Western Dance adapted in a number of ways, holding classes virtually, collaborating over Zoom, and finding new ways to use recorded and live performance.

Scholarships

Dance majors are eligible to apply for departmental scholarships including two freshmen awards of $1000, CFPA scholarships awarded each Spring Quarter, and for juniors and seniors, the Tabetha Fox Clark and the Monica Gutchow Scholarship.

Performance Opportunities

Dance majors participate in two Mainstage performances each year and a variety of informal shows including New Music New Dance and creative process showings, and contact improv jams.

Each year, WWU Dance brings in a nationally recegonized choreographer to create a work for the spring Dance in Concert performance. Recent guest artists include Liz Gerring, Quinlan Arnold, Cameron McKinney, Noelle Price, and restagings of work from the Doug Varone Dance Company, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Susan Marshall and Company.

Students pursuing their BA in Dance at Western benefit from many performing opportunities, in both large and intimate theaters. Our faculty members —who are rotated through the various technique levels—are unique in that they not only have academic resumes, they have also been extensively involved in professional dance as dancers, choreographers, and teachers. Our students are encouraged and supported throughout their growth in our program and graduate with a variety of career opportunities from performance to teaching.

Cher Carnell

Faculty

Dancers in the Western Gallery hover in the air in white dresses against a three black paintings.

all photographs on this page taken by Clinton James Photography

What can you do with Dance?

The Dance BFA program prepares students for leading graduate, conservatory, or MFA programs, or to directly enter one of the areas of the dancing profession.

Dance careers

  • Professional Dancer 
  • Choreographer 
  • Dance Therapist 
  • Arts Management 
  • Dance Educator 
  • Dance Notation 
  • Professor
  • Dance Teacher 
  • Community Dance Worker 

At Western, we are encouraged to become the best dancers we can be, and through a focus on efficiency and injury prevention, the program ensures that we'll be able to do anything thrown at us and continue dancing for the rest of our lives.

Kyle Williams

Student

Related Majors

Start Your Career at Western