Dance

Our small program model allows for individual mentorship in the studio classroom, in performance, and in the capstone experience. We teach and inspire our dance students through scholarship, studio practice, and live performances directed by faculty and guest artists. The flexibility of this 39-credit hour major supports opportunities to double major or minor in another discipline within the liberal arts degree framework of Converse.

As a dancer at Converse, you’ll have the opportunity to perform in Faculty & Guest dance concerts, yearly capstone performances choreographed by senior dance majors, musicals, showcases, and other opportunities within the Theatre & Dance Department’s season. There are ample opportunities to perform and present choreography at Converse.

You will meet with and learn from guest artists, as well as professional opportunities to expand your professional experience.

Dance Converse Professional Collaborations

• ProMotion Rehab & Sports Medicine
• Ballet Spartanburg
• Libation West African Dance Company
• Glow Lyric Theatre
• Greenville Dance Fusion
• Gye Nyame Dance Company

Dancers at Converse take a variety of courses in dance technique, including ballet, contemporary, jazz, and tap, as well as courses in dance composition, history, and anatomy. Courses are offered at beginning through advanced levels, and ensure each student graduates with a deep understanding of dance, ready for the next step in their career. Dance courses may be taken as electives by any student interested in dance, though some courses are restricted to majors and/or minors and require a placement exam.

Sample Courses

• Dance Composition I, II, & III
• History of Dance
• Ballet
• Tap
• Jazz
• The Body in Motion
• Senior Capstone Project

Major in Dance

Dance majors will engage in studio and theory classes, create, produce, and perform in fully staged
dance works, and gain the skills necessary for a diverse range of career opportunities. Majoring in dance
will prepare students for careers in performance, choreography, education, arts administration, dance
medicine, and other fields that value collaboration, critical thinking, leadership, and creative problem solving skills.

Dance Program Goals:

1. Dance majors will demonstrate technical proficiency and artistry through their participation in studio and/or mainstage performances.
2. Dance majors will create research-based choreographic works that demonstrate an advanced understanding of compositional devices.
3. Dance majors will generate writing that integrates a global perspective of dance, an analysis of dance in human societies, and a contextualization of dance performance and practice.
4. Dance majors will demonstrate an understanding of anatomical and kinesthetic concepts and apply this knowledge to their movement and creative practices through proper alignment, technique, and physical expression.
5. Dance majors will engage in essential collaborations with their community of artists through all aspects of technical production (lighting, scenic, costumes, properties, sound, management, marketing, etc.) required to mount successful dance performances.

View the Dance Major requirements.

Minor in Dance

Dance minors take at least 18 hours in dance, three of which are the required Dance Composition I course. The remaining 15 hours are electives, which the student can select. Introductory technique courses allow you to improve your technique in specific course genres and enhance your visual skills, spatial awareness, rhythm, and creativity. You will continue to build on these skills in intermediate courses and begin to focus on techniques specific to the particular genre of interest. Advanced level courses provide an extension of an understanding and exploration of a genre.

Dance minors are encouraged, but not required, to audition and perform in our faculty, guest, and student dance concerts.

View the Dance Minor requirements.

Course Offerings & Academic Catalogs

Studying dance at Converse will prepare students for careers in performance, choreography, education, arts administration, dance medicine, and other fields that value collaboration, critical thinking, leadership, and creative problem-solving skills.

What are common careers in Dance?

• Choreographer
• Performer (concert dance, theatre, cruise ships, theme parks, etc.)
• Dance Studio Owner
• Rehearsal Director
• Dance Captain
• Educator (preschool, K-12 school, university professor, etc.)
• Dance Medicine Specialist
• Dance Therapist
• Dance Photographer/Videographer
• Yoga/Pilates/Fitness Instructor