About

Are you interested in fine-tuning your talent in dance? Do you want to work with world-class professionals and instructors equipped to prepare you for a career in dance performance and choreography?

The dance performance and choreography concentration prepares you for a professional performing career. Equal emphasis is placed on the core techniques of ballet, modern, and jazz. While the program provides an excellent background in these techniques to produce a versatile dancer, it also allows performance majors to specialize in one of these forms.

Extensive training in technique is augmented with required courses in dance history, improvisation, and choreography, as well as elective courses in tap, pointe, repertory, ballroom, anatomy and kinesiology. Related courses in theatre, art, and music are included in the curriculum.

ECU Advantage

Master classes have been taught by several widely acclaimed artists and visiting professional companies, including Lane Alexander, Monica Bill Barnes, Mark Dendy, Irene Dowd, Mark Haim, Elie Lazar, Gene Medler, Mia Michaels, Eddie Ocampo, Nick Pupillo, Robert Small, Colleen Thomas, Doug Varone, Edward Villela, and Bill Young.

The faculty are looking for dance majors who show technical ability in one or more dance forms, including appropriate alignment, use of rotation and overall movement skill, academic achievement (including writing ability), creativity, dedication to the art form, and leadership. Admitted students are those who demonstrate the potential to be successful in a rigorous academic and artistic environment, contribute positively to a creative community, and develop into dynamic and committed artists.

As an ECU student, you can research your future career in Steppingblocks. Explore real-world stats about your major, your interests, and your dream job title with data-powered career exploration tools designed for doers like you.

What You Will Study

Program Coordinator: Tommi Galaska (252-328-4916; galaskat@ecu.edu)

The Dance, BFA prepares students for a professional performing career with equal emphasis placed on ballet, jazz, modern and tap allowing for versatility and specialization.  Students develop professional skills to blend precise technical choreography to meet the demands of a competitive arts industry.

In order to declare a major in dance, a student must be admitted through an entrance audition, and must pass an examination by a dance faculty jury in the spring of the first and second year to maintain enrollment in the program. Dance faculty will determine placement in technique levels.

Dance majors must attain a minimum grade of C (2.0) in all required DNCE courses, and all students must earn a C (2.0) or better in technique classes to advance to the next level. All dance courses are restricted to declared dance majors. Enrollment by other majors requires permission of instructor.

The degree requires a minimum of 120 s.h. as follows:

1. General education requirements including those listed below - 40 s.h.

(For information about courses that carry general education credit view the General Education Program section.)

  • THEA 2001 - Theatre Technology
  • THEA 2002 - Theatre Design
2. Core - 75 s.h.
    Theatre lab courses - 0 s.h.
    • THEA 2011 - Theatre Technology Lab
    • THEA 2012 - Theatre Design Lab
    Dance technique courses - 48 s.h.
    • DNCE 1114 - Beginning Ballet I
    • DNCE 1115 - Beginning Modern I
    • DNCE 1116 - Beginning Jazz I
    • DNCE 1124 - Beginning Ballet II
    • DNCE 1125 - Beginning Modern II
    • DNCE 1126 - Beginning Jazz II
    • DNCE 2134 - Intermediate Ballet I
    • DNCE 2135 - Intermediate Modern I
    • DNCE 2136 - Intermediate Jazz I
    • DNCE 2144 - Intermediate Ballet II
    • DNCE 2145 - Intermediate Modern II
    • DNCE 2146 - Intermediate Jazz II
    • 12 s.h.
    • 12 s. h. in ballet, modern and/or jazz at the 3000-level (take two techniques each semester, including at least one semester of each technique)
    • 12 s.h. in ballet, modern and/or jazz at the 4000-level (taking two techniques each semester, including at least one semester of each technique)
    Creative and contextual dance courses - 27 s.h.
    • DNCE 2201 - Dance Improvisation I
    • DNCE 2202 - Dance Improvisation II
    • DNCE 3000 - Dance Performance
    • DNCE 3001 - Dance Performance
    • DNCE 3400 - Dance Pedagogy
    • DNCE 3610 - Dance Kinesiology
    • DNCE 4000 - Special Dance Projects
    • DNCE 4001 - Special Dance Projects
    • DNCE 4044 - History of Dance I
    • DNCE 4045 - History of Dance II
    • DNCE 4046 - Composition I
    • DNCE 4047 - Composition II
    • DNCE 4048 - Choreography Project
3. DNCE electives - 5 s.h.

Choose 5 s.h. from the following: 

  • DNCE 1014 - Tap I
  • DNCE 2011 - Pointe I
  • DNCE 2021 - Pointe II
  • DNCE 2024 - Tap II
  • DNCE 2053 - Jazz Dance Studio
  • DNCE 3011 - Pointe III
  • DNCE 3021 - Pointe IV
  • DNCE 3501 - Independent Study in Dance
  • DNCE 3502 - Independent Study in Dance
  • DNCE 3503 - Independent Study in Dance
  • DNCE 3601 - Selected Topics in Dance
  • DNCE 3602 - Selected Topics in Dance
  • DNCE 3603 - Selected Topics in Dance
  • DNCE 4011 - Pointe V
  • DNCE 4021 - Pointe VI
  • DNCE 4040 - Tap Dance IV
  • DNCE 4131 - Pointe VII
  • DNCE 4141 - Pointe VIII
  • DNCE 4234 - Tap Ensemble
For more information about this degree visit the university's academic catalogs.
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