MA Dance at Bath Spa University

BA Dance is a physically and intellectually challenging training programme that will build your skills in contemporary dance practices. The strong practical focus forms an immersive and challenging artistic environment that will support your development as a creative artist. Creativity and performance lie at the heart of the course; modules are designed to give you regular opportunities to present new work you have generated in a range of performance projects.

 Physical training is an important component of your study, particularly for the Single Honours route. Cunningham and Limon based classes, somatic practices and contact improvisation are key elements of this and underpin your development as a strong and confident ‘thinking body’. The programme offers specialist modules in Somatics and Digital Performance Practice and these areas will help to support your development as a creative dance practitioner. You will also have a chance to explore how dance intersects with other art forms to make performance and how you can use this knowledge to help to build the critical and analytical mind set essential to creative enquiry. 

Year 1 builds understanding in the key areas of performance, creativity and critical thinking and broadens your skills by introducing new ways to think and move. You will work regularly with industry practitioners to engender a broad understanding of the dance industry that will inform your career aspirations. Year 2 extends the creative and performance skills in exciting new directions and considers how to make performance work for different contexts. Year 3 focusses on developing a specialist area of study. You can work on a professional performance project, complete a work-placement with a professional dance organisation and undertake a substantial independent study. Some of this work can be done in collaboration with students from partner programmes such as BA Theatre and Digital Production.

If you're considering a career in the performing arts, this combination of dance and drama is both artistic and practical.

You'll be encouraged to develop your own identity in dance and as a theatre-maker, reflecting your own interests and career pathway. To prepare you for working in the performance industry, you'll develop analytical, choreographic, directorial, ensemble and performance skills.

There are practical opportunities to master physical performance in both dance and drama. Workshops and active technique classes cover a wide range of performance styles. This includes popular and non- Western forms and reflects the professional practice you'll experience in your career.

If you want to study dance and performance practically, but also want to gain an understanding of its history and the current dance industry, this is the course for you. No matter what your dance experience and background is, this course enables you to experiment and explore your creative potential, preparing you for a career in the dance or creative arts industries.

You will develop your own dance identity by studying a variety of topics, such as choreography, dance technique and performance, and the dance industry with a particular focus on teaching dance or event management.

The course is forward-thinking and emphasises the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion that makes the dance industry a vibrant and exciting place to work. There are opportunities to undertake a work placement or professional project or collaborate across disciplines (such as with a composer or filmmaker).

You'll work in a range of workshops and technique classes, across a range of dance and performance styles, for example:

• hip hop dance styles
• African
• classical Indian dance
• contemporary dance and contact improvisation

Throughout the three years you will gain a valuable insight into the dance industry through the Dance Industry modules preparing you for employment after graduating from the course.