Music Degrees Online

The art, the training, and the degree – they come together in SDSU’s dance program in the School of Music and Dance. Students combine professional-level training with studies that earn them a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance.

The degree in dance is built on a program with a 25-year history of distinguished choreography and technical training.

Philosophically, the program promotes dance as a communicative and expressive medium uniquely effective in the conveyance of meaning, emotion, and cultural values. It is a program that recognizes dance as an art and encourages students to take chances and find their own voices as individual artists.

Dance is a rigorous and specialized area of the performing arts, demanding a high level of physical preparation, as well as a thorough understanding of aesthetics and academics.

Upon graduation, students find that the technical and choreographic dance training opens the door to a large variety of professional careers in dance and dance-related fields.

Modern dance, ballet and innovative choreography are at the core of the SDSU dance curriculum, long recognized for its teaching excellence and contemporary aesthetic. In addition, dance activity courses provided in the School offer experiences for the general student population in modern, jazz, ballet, ethnic, and social forms.

Students have ample opportunity to develop and polish their dance skills in classroom and public performances within the SDSU dance program. As members of the University Dance Company, students perform in choreography and repertory works set by distinguished guest artists and faculty. Each student stages original work in a senior recital.

At Salem College, the dance minor brings together a community of diverse students and faculty working to create exceptional art. Students are encouraged to explore dance and discover the full range of dynamic possibilities. The dance minor gives women the opportunity to develop artistically through skilled technique classes, creative exploration and varied performance opportunities.

We attract a diverse student body and strive to help every student find her voice. Dance is proud to be valued at Salem College as a vital core to our liberal arts curriculum. The program’s mission is to create self-motivated women with high academic standards and artistic originality.

The College’s performance ensemble, the Salem College Dance Company, was founded in 1957 and has a long tradition of choreographic excellence. With two major concerts each academic year and additional showcases, the Salem College Dance Company provides students with the opportunity to create and grow through dance.

Your Program
Minoring in dance will bring you together with diverse students interested in dance as a vital part of the liberal-arts curriculum.

The dance minor is a series of eight to nine courses: technique classes (ballet, modern and jazz), dance history, choreography, an independent study and the Salem College Dance Company, which was founded in 1957 and has a long tradition of choreographic excellence. You may complete the minor on our campus, or through a cooperative arrangement with nearby Wake Forest University.

When you minor in dance, you will benefit from small classes with individual feedback, superior faculty members, guest artists who perform and hold master classes, inclusion in conferences such as The American College Dance Festival and opportunities to choreograph and perform each semester.

Your Experience
As a student in the dance minor program you will be motivated - through study, performance, exposure and interactions - to find your own creative voice. You may travel to New York, Atlanta, Virginia, even France, to experience your art. You will be encouraged to take part in internships like the ones that recent students have experienced (examples are Walt Disney World, the Broadway Theatre Project and the Williams College Dance Program). Your dance minor will complement your major program by providing additional opportunities to enhance your technique, knowledge of history and ability to study independently.

Your Faculty
The Dance Minor is under the advisement of Heidi Echols Godfrey, MFA. Godfrey has trained, performed and choreographed with many renowned dance artists as well as presented her work across the country. She has been a guest artist at several schools, including Old Dominion University, and has served on the faculty for NC Governor’s School.

You will have the unique opportunity to study with additional faculty members from professional dance ensembles who either live or perform, or both, in the area. Past guests in the dance classroom have included Karola Luttringhaus of alban elved dance company, Karla Coghill of Sidelong Dance Company, Shawn Bowman-Hicks, Amanda Kinzer from Old Dominion University and the Otesha Creative Arts Ensemble. You will also enjoy learning from and performing with dancers from Winston-Salem State University and Wake Forest University.

Your Results
When you graduate from Salem, you will be empowered to find your passion within the arts community, no matter where you live in the future. Recent dance minors from Salem have discovered careers in performance, not-for-profit management, creative writing, even establishing their own dance company.

Our popular Dance Studies degrees are designed to help students develop skills for employability, expanding their essential understanding and practical experience while helping them meet their professional aspirations. Regular classes in contemporary techniques (Limón, Humphrey, Cunningham-based, contact improvisation, skinner Releasing Technique) and other dance styles (Ballet, Jazz) are taught alongside experiential anatomy and safe dance practice. Performance skills and projects devised by staff, visiting guest artists and peers, contribute to the rich in-house performances and small scale touring opportunities that take place throughout the duration of the course. Choreographic workshops, shape the students’ creative ability to facilitate the creation of work for stage, on camera and for a variety of site specific platforms (stables, galleries, roads and swimming pools).

Dance graduates have gone on to perform professionally, form their own company, to work as freelance dance workers or to further their studies in performance or to gain their PGCE or MA in Dance.

The Lewis University Music Department is committed to providing students with state of the art technology to assist them in creative endeavors and to help them develop their musical skills. State of the art electronic music lab is continually being updated as technology progresses. Every semester the department, in cooperation with the Arts and Ideas program, sponsors a series of concerts presented by guest artists, faculty, alumni, and students, as well as performances by the resident music ensembles. Music majors in both tracks are invited to participate in or attend these concerts, which are provided without additional charge to students.

Piano Study and Performance

Piano Lessons
Lessons are available for any Lewis and Clark student regardless of previous musical experience. For those who have not studied piano before there are two levels of piano class; beginning and advanced. For those students with previous piano experience, private lessons with our piano faculty are available. Currently there are thirteen 45-minute lessons offered per semester, though many of our faculty teach ten one hour lessons instead of the 45-minute format. Individuals wanting to take private lessons must contact Orla McDonagh, Director of the Piano Program, to schedule an audition and/or interview. They will then be placed with one of the piano faculty and will schedule lessons individually with that faculty member.

Piano Faculty
Orla McDonagh, Director (503-768-7459)
Carol H Biel
George Skipworth
Stephanie Thompson
Elizabeth Harcombe
Randy Porter, Jazz

Piano Major and Piano Minor
Individuals wanting to concentrate in piano for part of their degree area may do so as either a music major or minor. Requirements for these concentrations are available in the Lewis and Clark Catalog. Individual faculty may have performance requirements particular to their studio such as studio classes, sophomore/junior recitals, community performances etc. Students wishing to major/minor with a concentration in piano should speak with their individual teacher first, and then with their advisor.

Performance Opportunities
Students may perform several times throughout the course of the year at Lewis and Clark. At the end of each semester, every student taking piano lessons plays in the Piano Program Recital , individual faculty may hold studio classes and for the students preparing for recitals, there is the opportunity of community performances is local nursing homes and retirement centers prior to their recital at the College. Master classes from visiting guest artists are also available depending on the students level and experience. Lunchtime recitals also provide students with the opportunity of trying out a single piece, before attempting a complete recital.