Dance courses have been offered at the UO for over a century, predating the first academic dance major programs in the country by more than a decade. The UO Department of Dance has evolved into a collaborative, dynamic laboratory in which student performers are given the tools–academic, artistic, technical, and social–to hone their craft to professional caliber.
Your curriculum will include course work in dance history, improvisation, composition, and pedagogy. The performance curriculum has a modern dance emphasis with a strong supporting area in ballet. You can also take studio courses–offered from beginning to advanced levels–in a variety of other idioms, including jazz, tap, hip hop, African, ballroom, tango, swing, improvisation, and contact improvisation.
Dance faculty members encourage a rigorous physical, theoretical, and creative investigation of dance. They regularly advise dance majors and partner with students for independent studies, internships, and senior projects to facilitate personal research and performance interests. As a UO dancer you'll be encouraged to collaborate with musicians, composers, and other visual and performing artists on campus to create new works.
Residencies and master classes allow you to dance alongside, and under the direction of, artists such as Holly Johnston, Darrin Wright, Gabe Masson, Heidi Duckler, Habib Iddrisu, Alito Alessi, and Ronald K. Brown.