Dance, BA

This is the first version of the 2024–25 General Catalog. Please check back regularly for changes. The final edition and the historical PDF will be published during the fall semester.

Integrating studies in dance and the liberal arts, the Bachelor of Arts degree program establishes foundations for creative and intellectual development and cultivates multiple approaches to dance, career, and citizenship. Students train daily in movement practices and are afforded ample opportunities to perform in faculty and student creative research and to produce their own choreographic works in the department’s concert season. This training is complemented by courses in improvisation, choreography, dance history and theory, multicultural movement practices, global dance studies, digital performing arts, kinesiology, pedagogy, and community engagement.

Auditions for Placement

The department admits all students to the dance BA. An audition is required to determine placement in ballet and contemporary movement classes and for consideration for scholarships. Students may email a video, attend a Hawkeye Dance Day in the department, or arrange to visit a class to audition for placement. For incoming first-year students, a short, supplemental application is required to make audition arrangements and will become available to students after they have been admitted to the University of Iowa. See Undergraduate Applications on the Department of Dance website for more information about the first-year admissions process. Students who have already matriculated at the University of Iowa may contact the Department of Dance to add the BA and to arrange placement auditions. 

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

  • achieve proficiency in contemporary concert dance movement practices while developing stylistic versatility, expressive range, and efficient body mechanics;
  • learn to think critically about the historical, cultural, and social contexts of dance as an art form and cultural practice while developing strong writing skills and effective oral expression;
  • master formal compositional elements and improvisational techniques toward the creation of original choreographic work, and learn to articulate and render their creative intentions with clarity, with opportunities to present these works in public performances;
  • acquire performance skills, such as interpretation, expressivity, physical agility, and refinement, by participating in auditions, rehearsals, and studio and public performances;
  • acquire knowledge of anatomical and kinesiological principles and injury prevention for effective dance training and career longevity; and
  • attain an understanding of digital arts tools currently practiced in contemporary dance.