Dance

Overview

The Dance program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) offers students a dance education that stresses performance and choreography, and, at the same time, intellectual depth and scope. In addition to the core, 12 units of elective Dance courses are required.

The remaining elective units required for graduation may be chosen from Dance or other disciplines in relation to a student’s individual interest. 

While the program of study in Dance stresses technical proficiency and academic understanding in dance, the B.A. degree program also enables students to pursue elective subjects in their special areas of interest in other academic disciplines.

Career

Careers in dance require excellent training and extraordinary discipline, tenacity, and dedication. Graduates of the Department have an excellent record of placement in the many fields of dance. Some have become professional dancers in ballet companies (including the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet); in modern dance companies (including Hubbard Street Dance Company, MOMIX, and Martha Graham Dance Ensemble); in touring companies (including Wicked, Newsies, Dirty Dancing, The Lion King, Fame: The Musical, Carousel, and Cirque du Soleil); and in films, television, and theatre.

In addition to training for professional dance performance and choreography, the major in dance serves as a basis for graduate study or job opportunities in fields such as dance history, dance science, dance pedagogy, dance reconstruction, dance criticism, dance video, and technology. Related fields, such as arts administration, law in relation to the arts, arts therapies, design and production, and music also offer positions for graduates. Students who are interested in a career in athletic training, physical therapy, or dance science will find a major in Dance, with related course work in chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics, to be excellent preparation for further study.