Dance BA (Hons)

60 credits

This module offers students the opportunity to develop technical and performance skills in a range of diverse dance techniques which reflect the current global dance industry, and to acquire contextual knowledge of dance as a socially and culturally-produced practice.

Students will learn through intensive studio classes led by professionals in the field and interactive seminars. This mixed-mode delivery will enable students to enhance their fitness levels, expand their movement vocabulary, acquire the fundamentals of safe dance practice and engage with relevant case studies and themes within the cultural study of dance.

By integrating embodied knowledge of dance forms with active awareness of their socio-historical contexts, the module allows students to extend their technical and anatomical understanding of specific movement styles/techniques, while exploring how culture is practised through dance.

Students will develop a strong body of practice and techniques from a range of traditions. These will form a foundation for further development and study throughout the course. Students will be able to reflect on the language used in the dance sector and become equipped with the tools relevant for the discussion of the role of history and culture in the practice of different dance forms.

30 credits

This module is designed to develop students' knowledge and understanding of a diverse and inclusive range of fundamental choreograph tools, devices, structures and practices to enable them to create, and perform short choreographic works and start to envision their artistic voice. This module will draw from a diverse range of dance styles and directly encourage students to be adaptable and draw from a range of dance techniques within their practice. Students will be encouraged to use improvisation as a practice for risk taking and developing ideas and exploring a range of source material for performances, such as, visual art, current affairs and music. Reference will be made to the historical development of choreographic practice as well as current choreographic trends and draws on the work of practitioners to enable students to contextualise their work. Students will be encouraged to develop self-practice and independence through the exploration of frameworks analysing movement, reflective practice in the choreographic studio and models for self and peer feedback.

30 credits

This module will introduce students to Future Skills through engagement with Navigate. It will enable students to begin to develop your professional identity and global citizenship, by promoting their understanding of ethical issues and values, design thinking, and commercial awareness. These concepts and associated activities will support students to plan their own personal and professional development, as a means of developing their creative practice. This will be supported through active engagement with the Navigate programme, and through personal development planning (supported by Personal Tutors), which will enable students to reflect upon their Future Skills graduate attributes. It will also enable students to reflect on and begin to evidence their understanding of the skills students are developing holistically, through all the work students are creating as part of their course.

This module is designed to help students develop key knowledge and understanding of professional pathways within the dance sector.  It will offer opportunities to engage with industry professionals and current practice through case studies to facilitate an in-depth understanding of the dance industry. Emphasis will be placed on recognising the roles of who might be stakeholders in the 21st century dance industry.

30 credits

This module provides students with the opportunity to further develop their technical and performance skills through engagement with learning, developing, refining and performance of dance techniques from contrasting styles (e.g. Hip Hop and contemporary dance styles). Students will learn through intensive practical classes led by professionals in the field, accompanied by seminars to support their ability to critically reflect on their development. There will be regular opportunities to present their work, experimenting with a variety of communication technologies and reaching multiple audiences.

30 credits

This module offers students key frameworks and embodied application to develop a comprehensive understanding of dance in an interconnected world, reflecting on the relationship between the local and global dimensions of current movement practices. This includes exploring and critically evaluating the possibilities and formats of dance in a rapidly changing world and engaging with topical issues that relate to historical, social, pollical and cultural contexts, such as the climate crisis, interculturalism, difference, migration and gentrification. The module supports the development of critical, analytical and embodied knowledge of a range of movement-based creative practices through classroom-based and practical workshops. For example, the application of dance to social contexts, site-specific and popular dance performance and the experimentation with urban and hybrid movement vocabularies. It also covers the role of dance in the context of activist and socio-political practices, and of the changing relationships between dance and its audiences through practice-based exploration and application.

30 credits

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop your creative practice as a dance artist developing technical, creative and performance skills through one of two electives: choreography or hip hop performance practices.

Through a combination of practical and theoretical learning this module develops necessary skills and knowledge to become critically aware, articulate and accomplished practitioners in a specialist area of dance practice. The module will enable you to develop an applied understanding of the significance of the aesthetic, kinaesthetic and creative foundations of choreographic practice or hip hop performance practices.

Emphasis within this module will be placed on the need for risk taking during the creative process and you will develop your practices through project-based learning to develop a range of artistic experiments applying your contextual knowledge to develop work for a range of settings. There will be opportunities you to collaborate with students across electives through projects that explore different performance outputs, for example, site-specific performance and screen dance.

30 credits

This module will develop your graduate attributes, and the Future Skills Explore Learning Outcomes are delivered in this module. It will enable you to build on prior learning, and to engage with personal development activities which will strengthen your professional identity and global citizenship and provide opportunities to expand your knowledge of the industrial and professional contexts for your practice. This will enable you to further develop your professional skills, including interdisciplinary collaboration, in preparation for your future employment, which will require you to be able to work with students from other disciplines.  

You will critically evaluate your own personal development through reflection on your progress and goals, as a means of developing your creative practice to explore problems within and beyond your discipline. You will engage with personal development planning (supported by your Personal Tutor), enabling to evidence your understanding of the skills you are developing, through all the work you are creating as part of your course, in preparation for L6.  

This module is an opportunity to explore teaching and producing skills that are transferable to multiple career paths. You will acquire skills in leading dance in a range of contexts, including teaching in community settings and producing events. 

30 credits

This is a practical module designed to take students through the process of making a dance production, from initial conception to final performance whilst also further developing and applying advanced levels of dance techniques and dance training. The focus of the module is to provide students with the experience of being in a dance company and of working closely within professional contexts of training, creating, refining and consolidating final production pieces suitable for professional performance environments. Students will apply ideas and creative problem-solving skills acquired through prior learning, in more diverse performance settings. Students will work in company environments with their choreographer both in scheduled learning time and during independent study hours to create, rehearse and produce full-scale dance-based productions. Students will work in companies led by a module tutor with choreographic experience. The companies will be set by timetabled classes.

30 credits

This module provides you with the opportunity to extend your dance training through exploration of advanced techniques for the physical training of a variety of employment opportunities in the dance industry. For example, performers, dance artists, choreographers and teachers.

You will explore current approaches to dance training through the study of dance techniques, anatomy, physiology, performance preparation and principles of dance training used within the dance science and education training sector. In teaching block one you will participate in dance technique classes and dance training labs to support your own training and development.

30 credits

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop and produce a dance project of your choice. It will enable you to develop leadership, communication and organisational skills whilst experimenting, innovating and producing an output that aligns to your interests by following one of three electives: choreography (live and screen), hip hop, or research and practice as research.

The module also enables you to draw on all aspects and disciplines explored throughout the course to support your emerging professional identity as a future leader and becoming an articulate and socially aware entrepreneur in the dance industry. This prepares you to seek work in the private commercial and public arts sectors as a choreographer, dancer, dance artist, teacher, producer or researcher.

15 credits

In this module you will apply your knowledge and understanding of the dance industry to support your preparation for graduation and beyond. You will extend your knowledge and understanding of a portfolio career, professional practices, and professional development alongside being encouraged to develop appropriate professional networks.

You will independently plan, carry out and critically evaluate an industry-focussed placement or project that engages with current industry standards and practices relevant to the sector with support of the module teaching team. This will prepare you for working in an aspect of the dance industry and support you with developing a multi-faceted professional identity as a performing arts professional.

You will critically evaluate your own development through reflection on your progress of planning and participating in an industry-focussed placement or project. You will document your reflection and critical evaluation in a portfolio referring to relevant industry context and practices. You will also create a professional profile that reflects your developing professional identity to support your progression to your chosen career path.

15 credits

This module gives you a dedicated opportunity to develop your Future Skills Graduate Attributes. 

At the start of the module, you will be supported to self-assess your current skills profile. You will determine which attributes and skills you need to develop to support your career ambitions. In this process, you will be supported by a dedicated career coach, helping you explore a range of options that includes self-employment/freelancing, starting your own business, higher level study, and other professional graduate-level opportunities. Throughout the module, you will be given opportunities to engage with external mentors, to support reflection and to develop a professional network.

You will undertake a tailored series of activities and projects, aligned to your goals, from a menu of development options. This could include short courses, enrichment activities and experiential learning options such as micro-placements. You will also be able to reflect on activities outside the University that develop your graduate attributes, such as work or volunteering.