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Southern University Dance Program

The Southern University Dance Program is open to all undergraduates at the university and is designed to enhance students' creative competencies, academic excellence, and technical skills in dance. Nestled in the vibrant city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, our program is thoughtfully crafted to weave the study of dance into the fabric of a liberal arts environment, fostering intellectual and creative exploration. Dance at Southern University is designed for students who want to continue advancing their dance careers on the collegiate and professional levels while maintaining their primary degree area focus. Our certificate in teaching offers current dance K–12 and studio teachers added support in their classroom and studio practice.

Our program design centers on culturally relevant curriculum and instruction that honors Black Diasporic Dance forms in the United States and abroad. Dance students at Southern University are encouraged to explore dance as an experimental creative practice; this includes its relationship to social justice and community arts engagements, cultural discourse, and interdisciplinary collaborative arts practices.

Dance minors engage choreographically in Semester Two of their first year, exploring artistic voice and dance composition for commercial and concert engagements at the beginning of their collegiate dance studies. The dance minor program fosters respect for dance traditions, histories, and cultures by actively participating and responding as creatives, performers, and informed audiences. Students are encouraged to enter the program as freshmen to complete the program requirements within their four-year degree program.

PROGRAM GOAL(s) 

  1. To foster an appreciation of dance in all its forms.
  2. To strengthen students' technical proficiency in diverse dance disciplines, techniques, and movement forms.
  3. To offer a comprehensive study of dance, including history, pedagogy, production, and experimental creative processes.
  4. To engage students in thinking critically about dance, creatively, culturally, and as a vehicle for social change.

MISSION AND VALUES

The Dance Program at Southern University is committed to serving students from diverse cultural backgrounds. The program combines studio technique, performance engagements, and theoretical classroom instruction alongside masterclass instruction from nationally and internationally recognized master teachers, internships with performance companies, jury-level placement, and professional career planning.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Southern University Dance Minor is committed to fostering holistic student development, emphasizing creativity, academic excellence, and technical proficiency in dance. Situated in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and as a historically black college, the Southern University Dance Program recognizes the importance of cultural relevance and provides a program that elevates the artistic abilities of its students and honors the rich tradition of Black Diasporic Dance forms in the United States and abroad.