Overview

The Contemporary Dance program of The New School offers an interdisciplinary experience focused on experimentation and recent developments in the field of dance. It emphasizes research and experimentation while fostering a sense of social responsibility, encouraging you to consider dance as a way to think about the world.

Contemporary Dance students work across genres with outstanding guest professionals to develop choreographic material for performance, analyze dance traditions and practices from a variety of perspectives, and explore creative ways of engaging with the public through dance. You consider diverse understandings of the body and virtuosity and explore issues of class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. At Lang, dancing is not merely supplemental to your academic work; rather, it is engaged as a mode of research, a vehicle for experience, and a source of embodied knowledge.

Our curriculum incorporates multiple academic disciplines and enables you to study dance in relation to other fields such as history, anthropology, psychology, politics, and environmental studies. You also have the opportunity to take courses in other parts of The New School, including Parsons School of Design and the College of Performing Arts.

Career Paths

Contemporary Dance graduates go on to launch successful careers as award-winning performers and choreographers, arts administrators, educators, and writers. They pursue advanced studies in choreography and performance, critical dance studies, performance studies, and fields such as critical race theory, gender and sexuality studies, and visual studies.