About the Dance Program

DANCE.  NOW.  At UMass Amherst   (See Dance brochure or Dance Handbook)

Emphasizing embodied scholarship through physical, creative, and theoretical practice, UMass Amherst is at the forefront of educating the 21st-century contemporary dancer.

Situated within a nationally ranked public research university, UMass Dance embraces rigor and risk. We believe that a robust and relevant curriculum should empower and open new pathways for our students to succeed in the current dance climate. At UMass, we offer classical and contemporary forms of Ballet, Modern, and Jazz as well as theory courses based in history, education, somatics, and technology. Students benefit from a resident faculty actively engaged in art making and scholarship both nationally and internationally, as well as guest artists through residencies and workshops.

In both BFA and BA offerings, UMass dance students are thinking critically, engaged in the community and fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit. These sentiments are supported and enhanced in the Five College Dance Department, where students quadruple their course choices, performance opportunities, and abilities to network during matriculation and beyond (with no additional costs).

Our programs cultivate the individual creative voice while instilling knowledge of the global field. Should students decide to travel and experience dance beyond the states, UMass Dance has formed relationships with programs and institutions in Europe that complement a dance major’s course of study.

Find out more about our BFA and BA programs.

Dance Program Vision and Mission

Our Vision:

To be at the forefront of educating the 21st century dancer by emphasizing embodied scholarship through physical, creative, and theoretical practice.

Our Mission:

The UMass Dance Program aims to be at the forefront of educating the contemporary dance major through physical, creative, and theoretical scholarship. The program supports this by creating an environment that embraces inquiry, rigor and risk; providing a robust and relevant curriculum; engaging the wider, diverse regional community, and supporting a faculty that brings to the classroom/studio the benefits of national and international creative and scholarly research.