Dance | Bachelor of Fine Arts

major

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance is intended for professional careers, allied fields, or graduate study. This BFA also is offered at the New World School of the Arts in Miami. 

About this Program

  • College: Arts
  • Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
  • Credits for Degree: 124

To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college, and major requirements.

School Information

The School of Theatre + Dance provides an intimate setting where students, faculty, and staff interact in constant and close collaboration. Curricular programs are suited to a range of student interests and talents, from the liberal arts BA degree to the competitive BFA and MFA professional training degrees.
Website

CONTACT

Email | 352.273.0500 (tel) | 352.392.5114

NADINE MCGUIRE THEATRE AND DANCE PAVILION
GAINESVILLE FL 32611
Map

 Curriculum

Related Programs

Admission

Admission is selective and students must audition successfully. Auditions are held twice yearly. Prospective students should check Theatre and Dance for audition dates and information. The audition is in the form of a technique course including ballet, modern, and West African dance styles. Video auditions are accepted in cases where attending the live audition presents a particular hardship. Specific requirements for the video audition are also found on the website. Students may consult the school's undergraduate advisor for admissions information.

Satisfactory Progress

Students must receive minimum grades of C in all courses for the major and participate in academic and artistic jury reviews. Majors are expected to participate in the production/performance program through such courses as Production and Performance, World Dance, and Intercultural Performance and Ensembles.

Critical Tracking records each student’s progress in courses that are required for progress toward each major. Please note the critical-tracking requirements below on a per-semester basis.

Equivalent critical-tracking courses as determined by the State of Florida Common Course Prerequisites may be used for transfer students.

SEMESTER 1

SEMESTER 2

SEMESTER 3

SEMESTER 4

SEMESTER 5

  • Complete 2 of 8 critical tracking courses (upper division) with minimum grades of C
  • 2.0 UF GPA required

SEMESTER 6

  • Complete 2 additional critical tracking courses (upper division) with minimum grades of C
  • 2.0 UF GPA required

SEMESTER 7

  • Complete 2 additional critical tracking courses (upper division) with minimum grades of C
  • 2.0 UF GPA required

SEMESTER 8

  • Complete 2 additional upper-division tracking courses with minimum grades of C
  • 2.0 UF GPA required

To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold. These courses must be completed by the terms as listed above in the Critical Tracking criteria.

This semester plan represents an example progression through the major. Actual courses and course order may be different depending on the student's academic record and scheduling availability of courses. Prerequisites still apply.

A minimum of 48 credits must be completed at the 3000/4000 levels.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester OneCredits
DAA 2104 Contemporary Dance Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2204 Contemporary Ballet Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2341 Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2680 First Year Dance Ensemble (Critical Tracking) 1
DAA 2710 Somatics 1 (Yoga) 2
DAN 2930 First Year Seminar (Critical Tracking) 1
TPA 1012 Introduction to Live Entertainment Design and Production 3
State Core Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences 3
 Credits16
Semester Two
Quest 1 3
DAA 2104 Contemporary Dance Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2204 Contemporary Ballet Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2341 Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 1 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2621 Dance Improvisation (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2680 First Year Dance Ensemble (Critical Tracking) 1
DAA 2711 Somatics 2 (Pilates) 2
State Core Gen Ed Composition; Writing Requirement 3
 Credits17
Semester Three
DAA 2105 Contemporary Dance Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2205 Contemporary Ballet Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2342 Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAN 2422 Dance & Digital Media 3
DAN 2390 Global Dance Perspectives 3
DAN 2701 Dance Kinesiology 3
State Core Gen Ed Mathematics 3
 Credits18
Semester Four
Quest 2 (Gen Ed Biological, Physical Science, or Social and Behavioral Sciences) 3
DAA 2105 Contemporary Dance Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2205 Contemporary Ballet Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2342 Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 2 (Critical Tracking) 2
DAA 2610 Dance Composition 1 2
DAN 3614 Music for Dance 2
 Credits13
Semester Five
Select two: 4
Contemporary Dance Practices 3
Contemporary Ballet Practices 3
Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 3
DAA 2611 Dance Composition 2 2
DAN 4434 Laban Move Analysis (Critical Tracking) 3
THE 2000 Theatre Appreciation 3
 Credits12
Semester Six
Select two: 4
Contemporary Dance Practices 3 (Critical Tracking)
Contemporary Ballet Practices 3
Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 3
DAA 3614 Dance Composition 3 2
DAN 4124 Dance History 3
THE 4950 Production Workshop 1
State Core Gen Ed Composition 3
State Core Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 3
 Credits16
Summer After Semester Six
DAA 4920 Summer Dance Intensive 3
 Credits3
Semester Seven
Select two: 4
Contemporary Dance Practices 4 (Critical Tracking)
Contemporary Ballet Practices 4 (Critical Tracking)
Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 4
DAA 4685 Dance Ensemble 1
DAE 4300 Dance Teaching Methods 3
DAN 4959 Senior Project (Critical Tracking) 2
State Core Gen Ed Mathematics 3
Electives (Writing Requirement) 3
 Credits16
Semester Eight
Select two: 4
Contemporary Dance Practices 4 (Critical Tracking)
Contemporary Ballet Practices 4
Contemporary African & African Diasporic Dance Practices 4
DAA 4685 Dance Ensemble 1
DAN 4180 Professional Development for Dance (Critical Tracking) 1
DAN 4959 Senior Project (Critical Tracking) 2
Gen Ed Biological or Physical Sciences OR Gen Ed Social and Behavioral Sciences 1 3
Electives 2
 Credits13
 Total Credits124
1

Complete requirement not satisfied in Semester Four.

Intermediate and advanced-level courses must be approved by the dance advisor and appropriate to the student's technical level. 


The degree program in Dance offers two specializations, one leading to a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and one leading to a Bachelor of Arts (BA).

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance provides extensive training and skills in contemporary dance and choreography with four interlocking areas of 21st century dance study: choreography and performance, intercultural dance studies, dance and medicine, and dance theatre. Dance is studied as a major performing art that affects artistic, cultural, intellectual and social spheres.

The Bachelor of Arts in Dance educates the student as a generalist in dance studies. Students follow a course of study essential to the field of dance, including performance, history, theory, literature, design, technology and related disciplines, all while enjoying sufficient flexibility to pursue other areas of study, including a minor or a major in a field other than dance. Successful degree candidates develop independent, interdisciplinary critical thought, and can articulate the power and agency of the arts over time and across cultures and perspectives.

Before Graduating Students Must

  • Develop and complete a senior project approved and evaluated by faculty. The BA project would be research oriented; the BFA would be choreographically related.
  • Complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree, as determined by faculty.

Students Will Learn to

Student Learning Outcomes | SLOs

Content

  1. Demonstrate competent physical practice in multiple dance forms/styles.
  2. Compose an original work of dance.
  3. Apply fundamental knowledge of the body and of kinesiology to work in dance.
  4. Explain the fundamental basis of African/ African diaspora dance in much of Euro-American concert and commercial dance and social/popular dance in the Americas.

Critical Thinking

  1. Examine dance inquiry in correlation with diverse creative, choreographic, historical, social, cultural and/or other disciplinary perspectives.

Communication

  1. Formulate a vision, idea, idea, and/or point of view through a clear choreographic voice.
  2. Articulate in writing and/or oral communication the historical and social contexts of the dance forms in which they engage.
  3. Through written and/or oral communication, build connections between dance and the worlds it touches (business, politics, economics, other artforms, health sciences, education, etc.).

Curriculum Map

I = Introduced; R = Reinforced; A = Assessed

Courses SLO 1 SLO 2 SLO 3 SLO 4 SLO 5 SLO 6 SLO 7 SLO 8
DAA 2104 I I I
DAA 2105 I I I
DAA 2204 I I I
DAA 2205 I I I
DAA 2341 I I I I
DAA 2342 I R I I
DAA 2610 I I
DAA 2611 R R
DAA 2621 I I
DAA 2701 A I
DAA 2710 I I I I
DAA 2711 I R I I
DAA 3108 R R R
DAA 3208 R R R
DAA 3343 R R R
DAA 3614 R R
DAA 4110 A R
DAA 4210 A R
DAA 4344 A R
DAN 2390 R
DAN 2422 I
DAN 2930 I
DAN 3614 R R
DAN 4124 A R A R
DAN 4180 R
DAN 4434 R R
DAN 4959 A A A A
DAE 4300 R

Assessment Types

  • Final performance
  • Thesis and/or project
  • National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) accreditation review
  • Capstone research review
  • Juries