This new postgraduate programme is the only one in the UK to investigate the interconnections between philosophy, history and dance.
Recognising the renewed interest in historical and philosophical enquiry by current dance scholarship and practice, this programme helps emerging and experienced dance practitioners and scholars locate their work effectively within philosophical and historical approaches for the advanced study of dance.
Our programme offers an in-depth, critical exploration of concepts, assumptions and theories underlying dance practice. You will gain an in-depth understanding of dance in the context of philosophy and history and you will learn to debate with critical insight issues of concern within dance and movement analysis. You will also develop your critical thinking on dance practices and issues from philosophical and historical perspectives. The programme incorporates Anglo-American Analytic as well as Continental schools of Philosophy; and Realist-Empiricist as well as Poststructuralist approaches to History.
The Department is home to the internationally-recognised Centre for Dance Research, which foregrounds the research of dance as cultural and artistic expression beyond, and including, theatre performance. Through seminars, forums and conferences involving staff and international invited guests, the Centre supports a compelling research culture.
We also have excellent links with dance companies and creative organisations. In easy reach of London’s vibrant dance scene, the campus has superb studios and a state-of-the-art theatre for dance students.
In this programme, you will take a compulsory research methods module, the programme core module Philosophy and History of Dance and your Dissertation module. Flexibility is built into the programme, so you can also choose some of your modules to suit your interests and needs.
In the module Ways of Knowing, which is shared by all dance postgraduate taught programmes, you will be introduced to research methods including ethnography, analysis, and practice-as-research.
The module Philosophy and History of Dance explores different methodological approaches, with a particular emphasis on the nature and value of historical and philosophical enquiry in dance.
The module Dissertation is an individually tutored module that allows you to delve deeply into a research project that reflects your interests and experience in dance.
Modules
Here are examples of the modules:
Graduates’ career options include roles such as community dance practitioner, producer and curator of arts projects, teacher, or continue into further study as an MPhil or PhD student.
The MA Dance provides an insight into contemporary debates about and trends in dance/performance practice and will enhance your sophisticated understanding of dance/performance conventions.
You will have the opportunity to achieve a range of subject-specific outcomes, through acquiring an advanced knowledge of concepts, problems and traditions in dance and a capacity to apply that knowledge in a range of professional contexts. You will develop and apply advanced critical thinking skills and higher-level transferable skills essential for career enhancement.
You will study a range of subject specific modules including areas of somatic practice, cultural studies, professional practice, contextual studies and Advanced Research Methods through tutor-led, student-led, and self-directed study.
Reflective personal development practices are encouraged throughout the duration of the course, which will help you to monitor your progress.
Learning will take place through practical dance classes, workshops, practical classes, studio-based practice, screenings, lectures, discussions (both online and in class), seminars, and tutorials.
You will receive support for your learning from: your personal tutor, the Dance subject librarian, the Dance department technician, the Dance department administrator, departmental careers support (especially in relation to teaching, post-graduate study in a range of areas, and freelance dance work).
The course includes practical as well as academic study and builds on the international reputations and expertise of staff in dance practice, dance history, cultural studies and dance science.
There will be opportunities for interaction with postgraduate students in other performing arts subjects with practice-based work.
Our state-of-the-art performing arts and learning centre; The Performance Hub, opened in 2011 and is the home for all of our performance courses. The state-of–the-art facilities in the hub will give you experience of excellent dance studios and theatre/performance spaces, mac computer suites, professional level recording studios and lighting equipment. It boasts two bespoke dance studios, with sprung floors, mirrored wall and equipment for sound and lighting requirements.
This course will enhance graduates’ opportunities across a range of employment in the arts and related fields, rather than a specific career path, since dance is applicable in a wide variety of contexts in the arts at all levels of society. For example, school teachers will be qualified for posts in Further and Higher Education, in addition to gaining a qualification to enhance their prospects in their current institutional base; freelance artists will have additional skills and techniques to offer in the arena of arts projects in schools, theatre educational outreach work and community arts; practitioners will have a deeper understanding of their craft and a qualification recognized by FE and HE establishments.
At the end of this course you, the student, will be able to:
1. demonstrate a systematic understanding of the field of dance, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights at the forefront of their academic discipline
2. apply a comprehensive range of techniques relevant to your own research, scholarship and practice
3. apply knowledge in original ways, together with an understanding of how established techniques of research and practice are used to create and interpret knowledge in dance
4. evaluate critically current practice, research and advanced scholarship in dance
5. deal with complex issues both systematically and creatively, make sound judgements in the absence of complete data, and communicate your conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences
6. demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional or equivalent level
In this new programme, you will explore the relationships between dance and society.
You will be encouraged to challenge your thinking about dance within a framework of conceptual, political and social ideas throughout dance history. Engaging in rich discussions with an international dance community, you will examine dance, dancers and dancing through sociological and political lenses. You will be introduced to a range of concerns about dance, dancing and performance: from the body in society, to issues of representation, and relations of power.
You will have the opportunity to collaborate with experts in the field of dance in our supportive teaching community and with students from all over the world. Our holistic teaching approach will help you gain a strong foundation in understanding of the political and sociological implications for how dance functions in society. You will also gain in-depth knowledge of dance and the dancer as a social and political construct. This programme also provides you with an opportunity to reflect upon your experiences and develop creative ideas to gain a critical perspective in practice and theory.
The Department is home to the internationally-recognised Centre for Dance Research, which foregrounds the research of dance as cultural and artistic expression beyond, and including, theatre performance. Through seminars, forums and conferences involving staff and international invited guests, the centre supports a compelling research culture.
We also have excellent links with dance companies and creative organisations. In easy reach of London’s vibrant dance scene, the campus has superb studios and a state-of-the-art theatre for dance students.
In this programme, you will take a compulsory research methods module, the programme core module of Politics Sociology and Dance and your Dissertation module. Flexibility is built into the programme, so you can also choose some of your modules to suit your interests and needs.
In the module Ways of Knowing, which is shared by all dance postgraduate taught programmes, you will be introduced to research methods including ethnography, analysis, and practice-as-research.
The module Politics and Sociology and Dance encompasses theoretical perspectives that engage with hegemonic and resistive issues relating to dance as a social and economic practice.
The module Dissertation is an individually tutored module that allows you to delve deeply into a research project that reflects your interests and experience in dance.
Modules
Here are examples of the modules:
After this course, graduates may become a community dance practitioner, produce and curate arts projects and events, lead in education and outreach programs for dance, teacher or continue studying within an MPhil or PhD level.
We are all shaped by the cultural experiences in our life and this programme offers you the opportunity to understand the different areas of culture and bring them together to broaden your understanding of Ethnology and Folklore.
If you want to keep the traditions of the past alive across your culture this programme may interest you whether you are from Scotland or live in Scotland. The programme can lead to teaching and further research or you can be involved in bringing the past alive and re-inventing traditions in new events for the future. Examples of traditions which contribute significantly to their economies are Uphelia on Shetland and The Fireballs ceremony in Stonehaven which is also replicated in towns in Northern England such as the Tar Barrels ceremony at Allendale. All of these ceremonies come from traditions within cultures that came to Britain in our past and they offer us unique understanding about the life and times of ancient civilisations.
This is a programme has a North East (Scotland) focus so if you want to know about what your ancestors experienced or the traditions you still keep alive this programme will help you towards more knowledge. You can take this knowledge into niche areas of interest to you, extend it into local festivals and raise awareness of lost areas of culture or those which are at risk of being lost. You can either research or teach or use this knowledge to enrich tourism and local community experiences.
The course will develop a broad-based understanding of how Ethnology and Folklore evolved, and of their approaches to the major genres of study: material culture, custom and belief, oral narrative, song, childlore and games, sports and pastimes. You learn how to research into the cultural past across all art forms and cultural traditions.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
Find out about fees and living costs
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
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Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
The MA performers route is led by mapdance company Artistic Directors, Yael Flexer and Detta Howe.
Working intensively with international guest choreographers, students develop their technical and performance skills and deepen understanding of the creative process through experiencing varied choreographic methodologies and artistic approaches.
mapdance operates as a professional company with daily technique classes and rehearsals. From mid-February to May, the company tours nationally and internationally whilst also offering educational workshops.
The 2017/18 Repertory includes new commissions and from Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, Laila Diallo, Helen Parlor and Laura Aris.
The Techniques for Performance module accompanying the repertory module (and compulsory for performers route) focuses on excellence in contemporary dance performance involving daily technical training in various dance techniques including release and contemporary techniques, contact improvisation, pilates and Ballet work. This module normally runs autumn and spring semesters.
The MA Performance Dance operates in the context of a professional performance programme and a series of presentations by visiting artists and researchers.
Guest lecturers on the MA have included practitioners and curators all working at the edges of dance research.
There are also opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research with interactive technologies or to market yourself professionally as an artist using DVD and website technologies.
Over the past few years, we’ve redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students.
At the Bishop Otter campus there is an integrated approach to the provision of learning resources and support. We offer a substantial collection of books, journals and other materials to help you further your research. A range of study areas for group and quiet study including Wi-Fi areas for laptop use are available, or you can use our open access PC and Mac areas. We use an electronic learning environment with an expanding portfolio of online library resources from anywhere at any time.
The Learning Resource is the hub of the learning environment. It has two upper floors of library resources, one for silent study and one for quiet study, both of which have recently been refurbished. On the ground floor, you’ll find the Support and Information Zone, Media Centre, Otter Gallery, Costa Coffee and a variety of IT resources.
The Bishop Otter LRC also offers:
Dance students have the use of four dance studios, a fully equipped 250-seat theatre and a 110-seat studio theatre.
This course is suitable for you if you are a recent graduate or a dance artist who wishes to extend their technical and performance skills (and have completed a recognised BA degree).
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There are opportunities to engage with cutting edge research into interactive technologies and to market yourself professionally as an artist using DVD and website technologies.
The MA in performance includes three core modules: Repertory, Techniques for Performance and Dissertation plus one optional module.
The postgraduate diploma includes two core modules: Repertory and Techniques for Performance and an optional module.
Repertory Module:
The repertory module: mapdance encompasses intensive creation periods with international guest choreographer. Students develop their technical and performance skills and deepen understanding of the creative process through experiencing varied choreographic methodologies and artistic approaches. Operating as a professional company with daily technique classes and rehearsals, the creation periods begin in Sept through to February. From mid-February to May, the company tours nationally and internationally whilst also offering educational workshops.
Techniques for Performance Module:
The Techniques for Performance module accompanying the repertory module (and compulsory for performers route) focuses on excellence in contemporary dance performance involving daily technical training in various dance techniques including release and contemporary techniques, contact improvisation, Pilates and Ballet work. This module normally runs autumn and spring semesters.
Assessment on the MA performers route is based on three core modules, Repertory (60 credits), Techniques for Performance (30 credits) and Dissertation (60 credits) plus one optional module (30 credits).
Assessment on the postgraduate diploma performers route is based on two core modules, Repertory (60 credits), Techniques for Performance (30 credits) and one optional module.
Assessment Techniques for Performance is continuous, that is process based.
Similarly the Repertory module is continuously assessed however the assessment is comprised by marks given by guest choreographers during the creation process and marks given by both Artistic Directors in rehearsal and on tour assessing both process and performance.
Whether you are an established choreographer intent on refining and hot-housing your practice, a dance artist looking to retrain or a recent graduate from a performance-related subject, this course will give you the opportunity to find new and innovative ways to produce exciting choreography.
A range of modules will enable you to create a bespoke programme of study through which you will explore your artistic interests and make several new pieces of choreography. You will engage with the latest academic research and insights and learn how to apply this to real-world situations, developing the skills to respond to a brief, curate inventive work for festivals and events, and to collaborate on or initiate interdisciplinary and experimental projects.
You will explore traditional and alternative settings for dance and performance, from the studio and theatre to galleries and museums. You will have the opportunity to work with community groups, using participatory, immersive and specialised collaborative approaches to develop new choreographic methods.
You will share ideas and experiences with fellow students from a range of backgrounds, collaborating, critiquing and engaging with each other's choreographic identity.
Leeds Dance Partnership
We are members of the Leeds Dance Partnership. The partnership has a vision for Leeds to become an international centre for dance. The other members are Northern Ballet, Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Balbir Singh Dance Company, Gary Clarke Company, ProDanceLeeds, DAZL, RJC Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds City College and West Yorkshire Playhouse. The School of Film, Music & Performing Arts is leading on research for the partnership, coordinated by Senior Lecturer in Dance, Rachel Krische. Find out more about the partnership on the Northern Ballet website.
You will be taught by a small, dedicated dance team of industry professionals who perform, create and write alongside teaching. They are engaged with leading choreographers, dance companies and festivals nationally and internationally, and their insights will feed into your learning. Professional curators, producers, choreographers and dramaturgs will be invited to share their experiences and inspire your learning.
You will have access to our dance studios at Headingley Campus and black box spaces at City Campus, as well as studios at Northern Ballet and Yorkshire Dance. All of these spaces are of a professional standard and will allow you to explore working in a range of settings and atmospheres. We will also encourage you to explore alternative spaces such as galleries, museums and the outdoors as venues for your work.
Your career opportunities will be varied and personal to your ambitions as a choreographer. You could go on to further develop your specialism and find your identity as a professional choreographer, work as an independent artist leading your own work or responding to commissions, or you could become the artistic director of a company. Your course will also prepare you to lead on community projects or take up roles such as festival programmer or festival producer. You could also work as a dance critic or movement director.
