Benefits of a BFA in dance
Immersion in dance in an academic setting provides a journey of endless possibilities.
Life Skills
Both mind and body are challenged through the process of creative exploration and physical training. Skills learned in dance will serve you throughout life, whether you are a practicing professional artist or a citizen of the world.
- Discipline, determination, awareness and concentration are required in order to achieve the skills necessary to dance.
- Mindful attention to the body invites transformative awareness in issues of health and well-being.
- Social and communication skills are practiced daily through physical risk taking and group interactions.
- Creative problem solving and rigorous inquiry are daily activities in choreography, rehearsals and performance.
Professional Skills
A university dance program provides the breadth of experience necessary to negotiate the professional demands of the field.
- Today’s choreographers expect dancers to become a vital part of the development process - creating, improvising and discussing. Social and communication skills are practiced daily through physical risk taking and group interactions.
- A professional dancer must understand how to efficiently use the body in order to survive the physical demands of the field and remain injury free.
- Today’s artistic directors favor dancers with diverse skills of marketing, production and teaching.
Related Fields
The pursuit of a degree in dance will introduce you to a broad range of fields related to dance and provide future job opportunities. Our graduates have gone on to work in the following fields:
- Therapy - Dance Therapy, Physical Therapy, Massage Therapy
- Somatics – teaching Alexander Technique, Pilates, Feldenkrais, Yoga
- Education – teaching within University, High School, studios and Public Schools
- Writing – dance history, theory and criticism
- Arts Administration – artistic directors, leaders of educational programs, directors of arts organizations
- Technical Theater – lighting designers, production and stage managers.
- Technology: videography, film, interactive technology
Management Skills
An emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership and student centered learning will prepare you for the unique issues related to securing jobs in dance and the arts.
- The Senior Thesis Project, a creation of dances for a self-produced concert, provides experiences in event planning, fundraising, publicity, and marketing.
- Career seminars prepare auditioning, communication and networking skills.
Illinois dance alumni have been and continue to be a powerful force in the development of the art form of dance. A recent survey of UIUC dance alums indicates that 78 percent of our graduates are employed as dance professionals such as artistic directors, choreographers, performers, and teachers. Recent graduates have danced in companies such as Trisha Brown Dance Company (New York), Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (San Francisco), Hubbard Street Dance Company (Chicago), ODC (San Francisco), Jan Erkert Company (Chicago), Joseph Holmes Company (Chicago), Murray Louis Dance Company (New York), Toronto Dance Theatre, and Repertory Dance Theatre (Salt Lake City). Nine percent are employed in a related field such as the sciences, therapy, history and writing and 13 percent are working outside the field of dance.
Whether they are directly practicing in the field of dance or not, their lives were in some way shaped by their undergraduate immersion in dance.
A degree in dance will help you pursue whatever you choose to follow as a career. Dance is an exciting place to begin the journey.
