Dance, BFA

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance offers a rigorous immersion in the performing art with the goal of providing professional training to young dancers as movers, makers, technicians and thinkers as they evolve as whole artists. At the heart of the curriculum are daily courses in technique, which includes contemporary dance, ballet, hip hop, tap, jazz and West African; rigorous bi-weekly choreographic application of ideas of space, time and form; and near-daily rehearsal in the University Dance Theater (UDT). Through the support of the department’s professionally active and diverse faculty, UDT functions as a laboratory where dancers wrestle with new movement idioms or choreographic methods, and are given the chance to push their dancing to new heights. At the same time, the program’s academic coursework in history, dance cultures, pedagogy, and kinesiology provide students an intellectual foundation to understand the body as historical, cultural, and material.

Auditions are required for admission.

Program Learning Outcomes

Program Roadmaps

The 4-Year Roadmap is available online. Roadmaps should be used in consultation with the catalog and your advisor to identify additional requirements for completing the major (for example, course grade minimums). Associate Degrees (ADT) Pathways are also available online.

1. Complete the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

Students must satisfy the specific degree requirements for their undergraduate major and fulfill the following University degree requirements:

Academic (program total units with an average 2.0 GPA - “C” or better)
General Education (GE) (34 Lower Division + 9 Upper Division)
American Institutions (AI) (0-6 units) (may be satisfied in GE Areas 3A, 3B, 4, UD 3, or UD 4)
Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) 3 units (see Writing in the Disciplines)
Physical Education (PE) (0-2 units)
Units in Residence (30 units, including 24 upper division and 12 in major)
Upper Division Units (40 units, including 12 upper div in major for BA, 18 upper div in major for BS)
Undergraduate Policies & Procedures

Apply for Graduation
Information about the Commencement Ceremony and Conferral of the Degree

Summary of Degree Units

Core Lower Division General Education: 25 (3 units may be satisfied by major coursework)

American Institutions/ US123 Requirements: 6 (Note: may be satisfied by GE coursework)

Upper Division General Education: 6 (3 units may be satisfied by major coursework)

Physical Education: 0 ( 2 units may be satisfied with major coursework)

Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR): 0 (3 units may be satisfied by MUSC 100W)

Lower Division Humanities & the Arts College Requirement: 3

Upper Division Humanities & the Arts College Requirement: 2-4

Major Preparation: 11

Major Requirements: 64

University Electives: 1-3

Total: 120

2. Lower Division College of Humanities & the Arts Requirement (3 units):

3. Upper Division College of Humanities & the Arts Requirement (2-4 units):

Complete a course offered by the College of Humanities & the Arts in a discipline other than your major.

4. Major Preparation (11 units)

DANC 43 - Dance Improvisation 1 unit(s)
DANC 75 - Rhythm and Dynamics in Dance 1 unit(s)
MUSC 10A - Music Appreciation 3 unit(s) (GE Area 3A / Formerly Area C1)
MUSC 100W - Written Communication II 3 unit(s) (WID) (TA 100W also accepted)
DANC 102 - Dance in World Cultures 3 unit(s) (GE UD Area 3 / Formerly Area V)

5. Major Requirements (64 units)

Dance Technique, Performance and Choreography (53 units)

Freshmen must perform at level II in area of option. Minimum of one technique class daily required each semester at SJSU. Level I is prerequisite if unable to perform at level II or higher in Modern, Jazz, Ballet or Tap.

Dance Technique (24 units)

Complete at least 6 units of DANC 154B.

DANC 54 - Topics in Dance Technique II 3 unit(s) (PE)
DANC 154A - Topics in Dance Technique III 3 unit(s) (PE)
DANC 154B - Topics in Dance Technique IV 3 unit(s) (PE)

Performance Requirements (13 units)

Any combination of DANC 12 , DANC 112 or DANC 194 , 4 units must be DANC 112

DANC 12 - Ensemble Dance Rehearsal and Performance 2 unit(s)
DANC 112 - ENS: Dance Rehearsal and Performance 2 unit(s)
DANC 194 - Dance Repertory Activity 1 unit(s)

6. University Electives (1-3 units)

Complete 3 units from university electives or from:

DANC 49A - Topics in Tap Dance I 1 unit(s)
DANC 53 - World Dance 1 unit(s)
DANC 54 - Topics in Dance Technique II 3 unit(s) (PE)
DANC 112 - ENS: Dance Rehearsal and Performance 2 unit(s)
DANC 148 - Children’s Dance 3 unit(s)
DANC 154A - Topics in Dance Technique III 3 unit(s) (PE)
DANC 154B - Topics in Dance Technique IV 3 unit(s) (PE)
DANC 194 - Dance Repertory Activity 1 unit(s)
DANC 198 - Internship in Dance 1-3 unit(s)

About

Dance, BFA

1. Complete the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements

Summary of Degree Units

2. Lower Division College of Humanities & the Arts Requirement (3 units):

3. Upper Division College of Humanities & the Arts Requirement (2-4 units):

4. Major Preparation (11 units)

5. Major Requirements (64 units)

Dance Technique, Performance and Choreography (53 units)

Dance Technique (24 units)

Performance Requirements (13 units)

Choreography (9 units)

Senior Project (3 units)

Production (4 units)

Theory (11 units)

6. University Electives (1-3 units)

Total Units Required (120 units)