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Dance Programs & Performance Opportunities

About The Dance Program at SFSU San Francisco State University exists in the second largest dance community in the United States, second only to New York City.   In the Bay Area, the vibrant dance fabric stretches from cultural to classical to contemporary forms and is made up of large to small professional dance companies, a spectrum of independent dance artists and visionaries, professional dance studios, service organizations, production houses, and performance opportunities.  Summerfest Dance, the Ethnic Dance Festival and the San Francisco International Arts Festival are just some of the ongoing professional showcases for Dance, and performance houses such as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, ODC Theatre, Dance Mission, and Counterpulse produce Dance from its high end to the low-tech.  The areas of Music and Theater has an even larger professional arena, and it is common to see performing artists bridging the areas between all three areas--Dance, Music, and Theatre.

The BA in Dance program at San Francisco State, with 90 majors and 25 minors, is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of students to follow their career goals in Dance and Musical Theater and to bridge students into the professional community.  This degree is collaborative between departments in Creative Arts and utilizes professional artists from the community and touring programs for master classes and University Dance Theatre repertoire.   Recent guests artists for the SFSU University Dance Theatre include Ben Levy/LEVYDance, Annie Rosenthal Parr, Paco Gomes, Austin Forbord/Rapt Productions, and Robert Henry Johnson.

The Dance BA degree is designed to provide training in Dance and an opportunity to emphasize either in Dance Performance and Choreography or in Musical Theatre.  The program studies Dance as an art form from experiential and theoretical levels, preparing students for performance, choreographic, and music theatre opportunities.  Students may also develop skills for the teaching profession and for graduate studies.  Students with another major other than Dance should investigate both the minor in Dance and the Minor in World Music and Dance.

The BA is organized into three components: the Core, Dance Technique, and Emphasis Electives. Majors must complete a 17 unit Core covering Basic Studies, the Body as Instrument, and  Aesthetics and History. Choices are available in the Core to gear the student toward their chosen Emphasis area.

Technique electives offer the student a variety of styles, and courses can be repeated for credit to optimize conditioning and development of expression.   A minimum of 12 units of technique classes must be chosen, with 9 units selected from numbers above 200.  Students must audition for placement into technique level and progress to the next level with the consent of the instructor.  Students in Choreography and Performance commonly study two technique areas each semester or study Dance Conditioning or Pilates in conjunction with technique.   Musical Theatre students study a diverse blend of courses to augment their other Theatre Arts and Music areas.

Individualized Emphasis Electives should be chosen according to career goals in consultation with an adviser.  These courses have been chosen and optimally organized for  students who wish to pursue Dance Performance and Choreography or Musical Theatre, however, students may  choose courses from either Emphasis area and additionally from the "Other Electives in Hisitorical and Educational Contexts" section with advisor's approval.  Technique courses may be repeated in this section for credit for a maximum of 6 units.   Other DANC, THA and MUS prefix  courses may be used and 3 units may be elected from other areas of the university  with consent of major advisor.  While no culminating experience is required for either Emphasis, students will find significant choreographic and performance experiences through the Dance 399 University Dance Theatre or Dance 461 Advanced Choreography and Production. Musical Theater students will likewise find exciting performance opportunities with THA 333 Lyric Theatre Workshop and THA 433 Music Theatre Workshop.

Accomplishments of SFSU Dance BA students are contributing to the large Bay Area Dance Community.  Former students are dancing with local companies, studying  at professional studios, working in local public and private schools and studios, and are entering very good graduate schools in Dance (Mills, NYU, UCLA).  With these significant strides, the BA in Dance fulfills the mission of the College of Creative Arts and the goal of San Francisco State as the "City's University".

WORLD CULTURES DANCE AND MUSIC Nov 11, 2006 at 8 PM
NEW MOVES CHILDREN'S CONCERT Nov 12, 2006 at 3 PM
NEW MOVES CHOREOGRAPHY SHOWCASE Dec 1-2, 2006 at 8 PM
AMERICAN COLLEGE DANCE FESTIVAL AT SFSU January 17-20, 07  
UNIVERSITY DANCE THEATRE SPRING CONCERT March 16-17, 2007 at 8 PM

UNIVERSITY DANCE THEATRE (Dance 399)
The University Dance Theatre (UDT) flourishes in the School of Music and Dance at San Francisco State University. A repertory dance company, UDT looks for talented cross-trained dancers in their audition to bring exciting ideas to the movement stage. The UDT Directors, Cathleen McCarthy and Susan Whipp, connect dancers to a Guest Artist roster that includes Robert Henry Johnson, Austin Forbord, Paco Gomes, Ben Levy, and Annie Rosenthal-Par. Building on the exceptional talents of Music and Dance faculty, UDT embraces choreography set to music performed or created by Music faculty and advanced music students. All students accepted into Dance 399 must be concurrently enrolled in two technique classes.

Audition: Aug 29 and Aug 31  2-5  PM in Gym 146
A 1-Year Class Commitment is Required

2006-07 Repertory
Alex Ketley of The Foundry (Contemporary/Ballet) Guest Artist
Paco Gomes (Afro-Brazilian contemporary) Guest Artist
Byron Seddens (Jazz/Music Theatre) Guest Artist
Cathleen McCarthy Faculty Choreographer
Susan Whipp Faculty Choreographer

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NEW MOVES STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHY SHOWCASE (DANCE 461 AND DANCE 463)
The New Moves Showcase, Directed by Dr. Albirda Rose, is presented by advanced students in choreography and performance.  In this audition, choreographers are looking for students to dance in their creative works. Students of all dance forms are invited to this audition. Talents needed vary according to the choreographer and nature of the choreography. Students accepted into a work must be concurrently enrolled in technique courses.

Audition: Friday, September 1 at 2 PM  in FA203

World Dance and Music Celebration, Featuring some of Northern California's finest student dancers and musicians, this high-energy multicultural pageant presents a stimulating array of cultural dance styles.  Campus groups and dance students are invited to show their work in this show.  Past concerts have been an exciting array of Kathak, Capoiera, Hip Hop, Tap, Haitian, South African, Tahitian, Irish, Afro-Cuban and more, with most set to live music. The show is directed by Cr. Jerry Duke. All interested in performing in this concert must contact Dr. Jerry Duke, jcduke@sfsu.edu.