Attention:

Northern Vermont University is now part of Vermont State University! Please visit VermontState.edu for accurate information.

Vermont State University logo

Northern Vermont University will join with Castleton University and Vermont Technical College to become Vermont State University on July 1, 2023.

Visit VermontState.edu to learn more about Performance Arts & Technology for fall 2023.

Learn More and Apply

About the Concentration in Dance

Northern Vermont University is one of the best places to study the art of dance. In our program, you will practice in our remodeled dance studio and perform on stage at the Dibden Center for the Arts on campus. As a dance student, you’ll also blend your dance with theater, music, and design so you’ll get more out of your education. Works are often created with all four of these disciplines in the same room with creators wearing multiple hats. As a choreographer, you may also be the director, writer, or video designer. This multi-disciplinary approach will prepare you for a job in the type of dance that is happening in today’s modern world of performance arts.

As you navigate move through your degree program, you will receive training in traditional and classical techniques and apply this training in the creation of new works, never before seen.

Follow Your Direction

Is teaching the direction you want to follow? You can pursue Vermont licensure endorsement to teach dance in grades 7-12 through our education department. Additional career options for dance students include choreographer, studio manager, artistic director, dance/movement therapist, and event planner at arts councils, theaters, dance studios, camps, fitness centers, and other workplaces.

A Hands-On Learning

To help prepare you for your dance career, faculty won’t run your shows — you will. At NVU, students write, direct, and design their own pieces. You will also learn to contact professional venues, pitch your work, and perform on main stage theaters across Vermont. By coordinating every aspect of a theater production, you will enter the world of professional dance with a big advantage.

Your two senior capstone courses will prepare you for your career beyond NVU. In the first capstone, you will build your portfolio by single-handedly designing and completing a project in anyone, or a combination of, our concentrations. In the second, you will master important aspects of the theater profession — including audition preparation, resume and portfolio creation, interview skills, and self-promotion and branding.

At a Glance

Location:
Johnson
Program Options:
Concentration
Students in this program graduate with a bachelor of arts degree in performance, art, and technology with a concentration in dance.

Required Courses

Core Courses (15 Credits)
Intro to Design (3 credits)
Performance Art Practicum: Collaboration Boot Camp (3 credits)
Devised Performance and Production Lab (6 credits)
Intro to Theater Arts (3 credits)
Stagecraft (3 credits)
Historical Studies (3 Credits)
History of Performance (3 credits)
Production and Performance Skills (4 credits)
Acting 1 and Lab (4 credits)
Concentration Courses (18 credits)
Fundamentals of Dance (3 credits)
Modern Dance (3 credits)
Improvisation/Composition (3 credits)
Intermediate Modern Dance (3 credits)
Choose Two:
Ballet (3 credits)
Jazz Dance (3 credits)
Beginning Tap Dance (3 credits)
Electives (Choose one course)
Podcast Storytelling (3 credits)
Hitchcock’s Smartphone: The Making of Psychologically Engaging Short Videos (3 credits)
Shakespeare: Stage to Page (3 credits)
Improvisation for Actors (3 credits)
Acting III (3 credits)
Musical Theater Workshop (3 credits)
Survey of American Musical Theater (3 credits)
Theater/Musical Theater Production (3 credits)
Pro Tools 101: Intro (3 credits)*
Pro Tools 110: Production (3 credits)*
Arranging/Orchestration
Capstone Courses (6 credits)
Senior Project in Performance, Art, and Technology (3 credits)
Seminar in Professional Preparation for the Performing Artist and Designer (3 credits)
*These courses are Summer Session courses offered at NVU-Lyndon.
A group of female actors wearing white perform on a stage.

“I was blown away by the theater program here…It seemed like there’s more effort in making plays great here rather than just reading lines to an audience.”

- Brittney Malik ’19

APPLY TODAY. Do North.

Request Information Schedule a Visit Apply