Graduate Degrees
Ballet MFA
Curricular Philosophy
The Master of Fine Arts in Ballet curriculum is designed so that students may tailor their studies according to individual interests. Theory courses are foundational, and students take additional coursework in the areas of Pedagogy, Choreography, and Scholarly Inquiry before selecting an area of focus. Graduate projects and elective coursework support the selected area of focus, and the self-designed thesis project serves as a culmination of each student’s research.
Ballet is a lifelong pursuit.
Our MFA in Ballet is a path to deepen your knowledge of pedagogy, choreography, and history. We offer a flexible structure that gives each student a strong foundation in Ballet Studies and options to pursue their specializations.
Students in the program can choose between a written or choreographic thesis and topics of study have spanned from creating a contemporary ballet and screendance to a paper that analyzes representations in La Bayadère to lesson plans in choreography for elementary school students.
Our faculty members take an expansive and inclusive approach to teaching and view ballet as an art form as well as a source of cultural, social, and historical meaning. We seek applicants who have established themselves as performers, teachers, administrators, researchers, and/or choreographers and who are now looking to delve more deeply into the histories and theories of ballet. We give preference to applicants who can identify the focus of their studies during our intensive, 2-year program.
Our graduates describe the MFA in Ballet as the perfect preparation for careers as choreographers, university professors, and studio directors.
Modern Dance MFA
The MFA in Modern Dance is a flexible curriculum, designed to be tailored toward individual interests as well as develop a community of graduate students. MFA candidates conduct a creative and theoretical thesis research project of their own design, while accruing credits in four modules of overlapping study: Physical Practice, Creative Practice, Theoretical Practice and Pedagogical Practice. The goal of the curriculum is professional, creative and intellectual adaptability to develop the candidate’s physical, artistic, theoretical and pedagogical points of view while enhancing their collegial network.
Acceptance into the Modern Dance Graduate Program is determined by audition. The audition offers an opportunity for prospective students to observe our program and for faculty to assess each student’s potential for success in our program. Applicants wishing to be considered for departmental scholarships and/or Graduate Assistantships in their first year are required to attend an audition.
The Graduate Program in Modern Dance currently accepts a limited number of candidates into the program per year. Successful applicants may be eligible to receive fully funded Teaching Assistantships for three years. As such, applicants must be prepared to teach in our undergraduate and non-major programs almost immediately. Successful applicants must already possess significant experience with modern dance, choreography and improvisation, some familiarity with ballet and an awareness of the current field of contemporary dance. The small number of graduate students means that each will have a large number of teaching opportunities/responsibilities. Therefore, priority will be given to those who have prior teaching experience. Please make your teaching experience evident in your statement of purpose and on your CV.
The University of Utah is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action institution committed to diversity, inclusion, and compliance with all non-discrimination and disability laws. For information about the University’s nondiscrimination and accommodation policies, including contact information for the Title IX Coordinator, please see: utah.edu/nondiscrimination/. To request this publication in an alternate format, please call 801-581-8365.
Dance is a way of knowing.
Of knowing one’s self in relation to one’s community and one’s place in the world.
The University of Utah MFA in Modern Dance produces dynamic contributors to an ever-changing field.
The Modern Dance Program is an empowering educational community that thrives through diversity, rigor and a spirit of investigation. Within this vibrant context students and faculty alike actively research performance, improvisation, choreography, theory, dance technology, as well as other creative and theoretical pursuits.
Screendance Certificate
Explore the relationship between moving body and moving image.
The Certificate requires a two-semester, on-site commitment and can also be completed while pursuing an MFA Degree in Modern, Ballet, or Film & Media Arts and/or as a non-matriculated student. The Dance for Camera Student Group and Screendance Filmmakers Association, two graduate-led student organizations, offer students the opportunity to produce projects across departments and within the community, including collaborations with Salt Lake City-based production company, TWIG Media Lab. The on-campus screening series, Experimental Series - Salt Lake City, brings international films and guest artists to engage with screendance students on campus.
To apply for admission into the Screendance Certificate program, current College of Fine Arts Graduate students can apply below. Along with their application, students will need to submit a current Curriculum Vitae, three links to creative works, and two letters of recommendation. In addition to MFA students in the School of Dance or Department Film & Media Arts, students enrolled in other graduate programs at the U are also eligible to apply. For students not currently enrolled at the University of Utah, you must be accepted into the university either as a matriculated or non-matriculated student. For matriculated students, the Screendance Certificate will appear on transcripts; for non-matriculated students, they will receive a Certificate of Completion.
Screendance Certificate required and elective courses: Academic Catalog
Screendance Certificate sample schedules available for Modern Dance MFA, Ballet MFA, and Non-Matriculated students
Applications are accepted throughout the year. For more information reach out to Graduate Certificate in Screendance Program Director, Kym McDaniel.
Kym McDaniel
Program Head, Screendance Certificate Program
kym.mcdaniel@utah.edu
The University of Utah’s School of Dance has played a leading role in contributing to the field of Screendance, also known as dance for camera, dance filmmaking, videodance, and embodied filmmaking. The School has offered courses in the theory, history, and practice of Screendance since 1998, in addition to founding the International Screendance Festival and Screendance Cultural Tour in collaboration with the Salt Lake Film Society.
The Graduate Certificate in Screendance at the University of Utah is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Dance and the Department of Film & Media Arts. The Certificate offers dancers, choreographers, filmmakers and artists an interdisciplinary portfolio and critical lens to their embodied studio and screen practices. Recent Certificate graduates have screened internationally at Wicklow Screendance Laboratory (Ireland), Moving Images Videodance Festival (Cyprus), Women in Dance International Film Festival (Japan), and US-based festivals including Dance Camera West, Capitol Dance Festival, Cascada Dance Festival, CineVox Dance Film Festival, among many others.