Dance Minor
The Dance Program at Wilson promotes the study, exploration, analysis, creation, and embodiment of dance and movement-based expression, in all its forms, as inherently anthropological, rooted in human ecology and representative of cultural, societal, political, and historical frameworks. We embrace Dance, in its essence, as the study of human movement in its fullest experience, simultaneously functional and expressive, science and language, input and output, felt and seen, personal and universal, making it a relevant and informative lens for all areas of study.
The program welcomes both students with and without dance background and knowledge, encouraging accessibility, interdisciplinary applications, and the integration of dance and movement studies within other programmatic areas. Offering courses in a range of practice-led and theoretical approaches, the curriculum provides students with a rich, complex, interwoven experience.
Our Dance Minor provides students a solid foundation in technical and creative practice, composition and artmaking, observational and analytical skills, and comprehensive, holistic theoretical and embodied approaches. Additionally, students have opportunities to accelerate their technical, expressive, and creative capacities through the dance-making, rehearsal, and performance process in works by Dance faculty, Wilson MFA Graduate Candidates, Dance/MFA Alumni, and guest artists. Upper-level students can tailor their research, practice, and/or study of dance in a manner that is aligned with their specific interests and will support deeper integration with their chosen major and/or career path. The progression of coursework offers students a clear path toward achievement, competency, and mastery, and guides students through a focused means of developing tools and skills relevant not only in the dance field, but in the ever-evolving landscape of our world today.
As an extension of the Dance Program, the student-led dance organization, Orchesis, is a significant cornerstone of Wilson College traditions and history. The organization provides flexible recreational dance opportunities for all students, and supplemental support and development for Dance Minors and others engaging in Dance Program coursework.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses
| DNC 242 | Somatics & Movement Integration | 3 |
| DNC 245 | Improvisation & Composition Strategies | 3 |
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| DNC 148 | Dance in America | 3 |
| OR | |
| DNC 247 | Decolonizing the Moving Body | 3 |
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| Three Dance Studio courses, only one of which can be at the 100 level from list below: | |
| DNC 151 | Foundations of Dance I | 3 |
| DNC 152 | Foundations of Dance II | 3 |
| DNC 231 | Contemporary Dance Practices I | 3 |
| DNC 232 | Contemporary Dance Practices II | 3 |
| DNC 361 | Contemporary Dance Practices III | 3 |
| DNC 362 | Contemporary Dance Practices IV | 3 |
| DNC 461 | Contemporary Dance Practices V | 3 |
| DNC 462 | Contemporary Dance Practices VI | 3 |