About
Program Director Message
Welcome to Dance at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). We are a dynamic, diverse, and growing community of artists and scholars. CSUN is committed to artistic and academic excellence, and the dance program is dedicated to the practice of dance as an art form and a research modality.
The BA in Dance is designed to prepare students for careers in dance performance, pedagogy (teaching), production, and creative/scholarly research. This degree promotes the value of dance at the individual, community, and society level. It offers a broad-based liberal arts program. Curriculum in dance includes courses in technique (practical skills and discipline proficiency), pedagogy, composition, socio-cultural/historical perspectives, production (concert, commercial, film), and dance research.
CSUN dance students have the opportunity to perform and create new choreographic works in the annual fall and spring dance concerts held at Plaza del Sol Performance Hall. Other opportunities to perform in productions offered in the Theater and Music Department as well as at community events located on and off campus are available to CSUN dance students.
Graduates from the BA in Dance program will be prepared to enter a diverse workplace including a variety of careers in multiple performance fields, non-performance fields, and graduate schools or conservatories. The BA in Dance also meets subject matter requirements for a single subject K – 12 teaching credential in dance.
The Department of Kinesiology offers several undergraduate dance programs that includes a BA in Dance, BS in Kinesiology with a Dance Option, and a Dance Minor. All dance courses are open to all CSUN undergraduates, even if they are not registered as a dance major or minor. The Department of Kinesiology offers a graduate program (MS in Kinesiology) where students can focus on a graduate degree in dance science.
Complex challenges confront all of us. Engaging in dance has the power to unite communities, serve as a vehicle of artistic personal expression, and promote healing and wellness.
Please come and visit us, explore the website, take a dance class, and/or reach out with any questions and advising needs.
Dr. Paula Thomson
Professor
