Fine Arts - Dance University of Melbourne

Overview

Overview

The Fine Arts - Dance program at University of Melbourne is a three-year full-time degree centred around studio practice, expanded dance thinking and performance. Throughout the course you will develop an integrated practice as a dance artist. Expertise in dance as a way of knowing opens doorways for careers as performers, makers, leaders, activists, collaborators and cultural partners in a global world.

The program focuses on the rigorous preparation of dancers as artists and cultural leaders working across all areas of the profession including performance, community, arts management, health and wellbeing sectors. It recognises that contemporary dance takes many forms and flourishes in diverse contexts, so it prepares you through an emphasis upon dance within an arts ecosystem. The course structure also equips you with the professional skills for ensemble and autonomous careers in dance.

The learning of dance as an arts practice is a core component in the preparation of a professional dancer, and knowledge of diverse movement techniques and the concepts that underpin them, is considered essential to flexibly adapt to different choreographic ideas and opportunities.

Coordination, movement memory and performance qualities (expressiveness and focus), are fostered through embodied learning, open enquiry and exchange within a cohort experience of dancing together. Intensive skills development and practice take place alongside workshop and rehearsal processes for a range of performance situations. You will gain experience and know-how in performing for stage, art gallery and museum, gardens and outdoor sites, screen and digital spaces.

Deepening your artistic knowledge through acquiring mastery and craft, you will energetically engage with the creation of dance in both a local and international context. 

Career

As a graduate, you will have developed your skills and expertise to work independently (or in an ensemble), in a wide range of careers in Australia and internationally. Graduates have diverse careers as:

• Dancers
• Artistic directors
• Dance teachers
• Choreographers
• Community dance artists
• Contemporary dance teachers
• Dance researchers