Dance
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's dance certificate aims to cultivate agile, fluid bodies — and minds — in the movement arts. It is an open admission program, meaning dance courses are open to all students and anyone can explore dance.
Participate in the Art of Dance
Curriculum throughout the program includes physical practice, theoretical inquiry, creative activity, and interdisciplinary studies in music, theatre, and kinesiology. Flexible certificate requirements allow you to study the topics and dance styles that most interest you, from ballet to modern dance to jazz to tap. And thanks to the university's partnership with the state-of-the-art Pablo Center at the Confluence in downtown Eau Claire, dancers have the unique opportunity to perform in a professional space.
The program focuses heavily on studio dance experiences that will prepare graduates for a variety of careers in dance and performing arts. Whether your hope is to be a professional choreographer, performer or teacher, perform on a cruise ship, start up your own studio, or just perfect your craft, our expert faculty are here to support you and help get you to where you want to go.
Program Details
The majority of classes that make up the dance certificate are chosen by you, allowing you to study the areas of dance you are most passionate about. Explore courses in ballet, jazz, tap dance, modern dance, acting, stage movement, global music traditions, and more. Dance certificate students are also invited to become involved in student-faculty collaborative research projects, which can greatly benefit your studies at UWEC.
Students interested in dance have numerous performance and creative opportunities and are strongly encouraged to participate in the main-stage performance and choreography opportunities as well as theatre and opera productions. These are vital components of studying dance and are the primary way to share dance with the greater community. Many of the creative opportunities are credit-generating and will fold into your track of studies.
The greater Eau Claire community is rooted in celebrating the arts, including music, theatre and dance. While pursuing your certificate, you'll find a variety of avenues to teach, perform, and choreograph — both on and off campus. This rich environment provides a safe and nurturing community for emerging artists.
Blugold Stories
The curriculum for UW-Eau Claire's dance certificate will encourage you to examine dance as a creative art form within its cultural, historical and theoretical context. Through active participation in your classes, you will increase your movement ability, musicality and accuracy; demonstrate basic dance technique in more than one genre of dance; create and perform original work as well as interpret the work of others; and develop a vocabulary for discussing dance history, performances, and choreography.
Here are a few courses in Dance at UW-Eau Claire.
DNCE 101
Dance Appreciation
An introduction to dance history, theory, and culture. Involving dance viewing, literature, discussion and experiential exercises, this course discovers dance as an academic discipline, an art form, and a site for cultural communication and knowledge.
DNCE 110
Ballet I
Beginning-level ballet technique course, emphasizing skeletal alignment and muscular engagement in the classical ballet form, terminology and theory of classical ballet technique, and studies in ballet history and aesthetics.
DNCE 112
Modern Dance I
A beginning-level Modern Dance technique course that explores Bartenieff Fundamentals, floor work, bodily mapping, core support and skeletal alignment, and fundamental movement concepts of weight, space, time, and energy.
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