“The exchange of ideas and collaboration with students from different disciplines – film, visual art, theatre was pivotal to my development as a choreographer.”

Lola MacLaughlin (BA Dance, 1980)

“The program provided a perfect balance of a structured curriculum with a freedom to investigate and experiment. The learning environment was safe and yet intensely challenging, equipping me with the base tools for survival as well as a collection of life-long friends.”

Kathryn Ricketts, Artistic Director of MainDance (BA Dance, 1984)

“At the School for the Contemporary Arts I learned more than dancing, I learned what it meant to be an artist.

The emphasis on interdisciplinary work and creation was a great influence and I have since incorporated this in my career.”

Raymond Milne (BA Dance, 1985)

“The dance program at Simon Fraser University gave me access to a world of tools that have directly shaped my involvement in the arts over the past ten years. The cross disciplinary nature of the program and the many extracurricular activities enable students to develop their voices as creative artists and provide the skills necessary for building a career in the arts.”

Paul Caskey, Co-Artistic Director, Studio 303 (BA Dance, 1990)
DANCE

Dance at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University is internationally recognized for its tradition of excellence and innovation. The BFA Dance major offers a comprehensive and exciting program that emphasizes performance and creation. Students receive sound technical training in contemporary dance combined with study in dance composition and critical study of the art form.

Dance students benefit from the interdisciplinary nature of the School which offers related undergraduate programs in art and culture, dance, film, music, theatre and visual art. The focus of the School is contemporary, with a belief that the thinking and doing of art cannot be separated.

A student in Contemporary Arts is part of one of Canada’s outstanding universities. Simon Fraser University is highly rated nationally and internationally and is renowned for its spirit of innovation, its sense of exploration, and its bold educational initiatives.

The School offers three options in Dance:

Major in Dance (BFA)
Extended minor in Dance
Joint Degree/Diploma program with the National Ballet School

To graduate with a BFA, major in Dance, a student must complete 80 credit hours for the major itself, plus the 30 credit Faculty of Arts Breadth requirements within the total of 120 credits required for the degree.

Our upcoming dance area auditions will be scheduled on:

Spring - Monday, April 16, 2007 (SFU Theatre)
Summer - Monday, August 27, 2007 (EAA dance studio)

(Please refer to SFU Calendar for full details.)

An extended minor in Dance requires a minimum of 45 credit hours in dance and related areas in contemporary arts.

The School also offers a joint degree/diploma program with the National Ballet School Teacher Training Program. This five-year program allows students to initiate their studies at SFU or the National Ballet School (NBS).

To obtain a BFA degree and a NBS Teacher Training Diploma, students must spend their first three years at SFU, then transfer to the NBS for the remaining two years. Students who transfer to SFU after three years of study at NBS, then complete two years at SFU, receive a Bachelor of General Studies degree and the NBS Teacher Training Diploma.

The curriculum includes:

Technique classes in contemporary dance and ballet
Dance composition
Choreography courses, which include interdisciplinary explorations and collaborative experiences with students in the School
Repertory
Dance improvisation
Experimental anatomy and body conditioning for dancers
Dance/movement analysis
Dance history
Intensive studies in performance

The dance program is enriched with courses from art and culture studies, film, music, theatre, and visual art, and by the visiting dance companies and artists that perform at the SFU theatre and in the local community.

Performance is a major emphasis of the program.

Students have opportunities to perform in choreography created by faculty and guest choreographers, student-choreographed work, interdisciplinary performances, and graduate student productions. In addition, the School runs the Off-Centre Performance Company (OCPC), a pre-professional ensemble of advanced dance and music students that performs regionally and tours British Columbia schools in the spring of each year.

Apprenticeships with local dance companies are encouraged and provide students with additional pre-professional experience.

The dance program provides a solid foundation for students who choose to pursue careers as performers, choreographers, teachers, writers, dance critics, dance/movement therapists and arts administrators.

Dance graduates from the School for the Contemporary Arts have made outstanding contributions as dancers and choreographers, locally, nationally and internationally.

Dance faculty are all practicing artists with international reputations as teachers, choreographers, performers, and theoreticians who teach courses in contemporary dance, ballet, movement fundamentals, dance/movement analysis, dance and technology, dance history, improvisation, and choreography.

Henry Daniel
Marla Eist
Judith Garay
Robert Kitsos
Cheryl Prophet
Albert St. Albert Smith