M.F.A. in Dance

Current M.F.A. in Dance Candidates
(left to right): Chell Parkins, Alvin Rangel, Ellen Bartel

Program Overview

The Master of Fine Arts in Dance is a three-year terminal degree program providing a unique opportunity for three to five skilled and highly motivated students with significant professional experience in the dance field to further their study in an interdisciplinary academic environment.

The M.F.A. in Dance, aligned with standards of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), allows students to take full advantage of the broad scope of resources of the Department of Theatre and Dance, the College of Fine Arts, and the university as a whole.

Courses in dance technique, pedagogy, dance in academia, dance legacy, choreography, arts management and fields related to artistic process and scholarship form the core curriculum. With advisement from the program director, students develop an individualized program of study that furthers their unique interests and prepares them for multiple professional destinations as dance artists, administrators, scholars and teachers.

Students complete the M.F.A. with a thesis project combining creative work with scholarly research. Recent thesis projects include:

Barefoot Negotiations: Choreo-Cinematic Form, Motion, And Style (Charlotte Griffin) *awarded the 2009 Outstanding Thesis from The University of Texas\

Changuita Perla: Narrative in Dance Choreography for a Young Audience (Rachel Murray)

Exploring the Space Between: the Effect of Somatic Education on Agency and Ownership within a Collaborative Dance-making Process (Ray Eliot Schwartz)

A Dance of Cultures: A Latino Dance Conversation (Roen Salinas)

Composing in the Moment: and Investigation of Pedagogy and Teaching Style (Julie Nathanielsz)

Herstory: an Ontological Inquiry into Female Solo Autobiographical Dance Performance (Mary Chase)

Students also may be interested in the Portfolio Program in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship as part of their M.F.A.

We will begin accepting applications in the Fall of 2011 with an application deadline of January 17, 2012. Interviews will be ongoing through the Fall and Spring semester.

Program Faculty:
Holly Williams, Professor, Dance Program Head, hwdnce@austin.utexas.edu

Yacov Sharir, Professor; Lyn Wiltshire, Professor; David Justin, Associate Professor; Charles O. Anderson, Associate Professor; Tina Curran, Assistant Professor; Rebecca Rossen, Assistant Professor; Andrea Beckham, Senior Lecturer