Why studying Dance is a good move
Move your body, your thinking and your career in the right direction.
One of our faculty’s best-kept secrets is what our students, on top of exceptional, professional dance tuition, actually get out of a degree in Dance Studies. It may come as a surprise then to hear that students who come to the University to study Dance get to combine their love of performing and choreography with the development of arts administration, marketing, business and management skills.
Third-year Bachelor of Dance Studies student Maisie Dunning explains that:
“The Dance Studies programme ensures that by the end of the degree, you will have the knowledge and resources to start up your own business and launch your career - whether that be in dance education (studio or school), movement therapy programmes, or other creative/artistic directing/producing roles, plus freelance dancing and choreography, and many other possible business avenues outside of dance.
“A Bachelor of Dance Studies equips you with the knowledge and experience to be able to run your own business within the dance industry, as well as in various other dance networks."
You learn how to promote yourself and your personal brand and how to create business plans, contracts and applications for funding and grants.
Graduates of the Bachelor of Dance Studies go on to build successful careers as artistic directors, arts administrators, community dance practitioners, research assistants, choreographers and of course, professional dancers. They also confidently create their own businesses such as dance studios, dance companies and event management companies. Many also gain employment as dance teachers (at early childhood, primary and secondary level) or as production assistants in creative fields.
Students of the Bachelor of Dance Studies also develop transferable skills valued by all kinds of employers. These include:
- presentation and communication skills
- teamwork and collaboration
- original thinking
- time-management and organisational skills
- self-discipline
- creativity
- flexibility
- analytical, critical and research skills
- confidence and resilience
“Studying dance, I’ve learned to overcome a lack of confidence. It is such a huge expressive release and lets me discover my identity and security in my own body. This is an ongoing journey and is something that I am developing through my studies.
The Dance Studies lecturers and supervisors are full of experience, passion and understanding in their field of dance ... and genuinely interested in creating relationships with their students to entrench an enriched foundation of learning.
“The Dance Studies lecturers and supervisors are full of experience, passion and understanding in their field of dance. They are warm and welcoming and genuinely interested in creating relationships with their students to entrench an enriched foundation of learning. Their expertise is so diverse, and they are some of the kindest and most encouraging people I know, and a huge reason why I love the Dance Studies Programme.”
So if you're an energetic, entrepreneur and in a spin about what steps to take next, it might be worth applying for a place on this surprisingly dynamic programme.