Dance Opportunities at UVA

This past spring's dance show.

UVA's Dance Program
The dance department here at UVa started in 2006, and it currently offers a minor (although we are avidly working towards creating a major). The minor's made up of 21 credits' worth of performance, lecture, production, and technique requirements, and you can look at the requirements here at http://www.virginia.edu/drama/danceminor.htm . There is no audition required to be a dance minor although a background in dance is preferred. You can also get a feel of what kind of dance classes are offered here by looking at that list.

That said, you do not have to be a dance minor to take any of these classes. All of the dance classes are open to anybody and everybody who's interested. That means that you can still take the Modern, Ballet, or Jazz technique classes that we offer regardless of your major/minor, and we put on a production every semester that is open to anyone that wants to audition for it.

Below, in the "Fine Arts" blog post, you can see some pictures from a previous guest artist, Gesel Mason, and the aerial piece from our fall dance show.

Dance Clubs and Organizations On Grounds

We also have lots of club and ensemble groups covering all kinds of dance, whether ethnic, liturgical, ballroom, hip hop, ballet, or modern. Some are focused on specific types; for instance, Rhapsody Ballet Ensemble does only, you guessed it, ballet and Mahogany Dance Troupe does hip hop. Then we have other organizations that cover all kinds of dance like the University Dance Club (UDC) which has every type of dance from tap to jazz to ballet. To see the list of all of the dance club/organizations on grounds, type "dance" into the search box and click on one of the groups that shows up on the drop down list at http://atuva.student.virginia.edu/. That search will only yield dance organizations with "dance" in their name, so try specific types of dance like "salsa" if you're having trouble finding one that covers your dance interest.

Dance Opportunities in the Local Charlottesville Community

The Downtown Mall is home to many of the dance events that happen here in Charlottesville. I've gone to the Live Arts Theater and the McGuffey Arts Center to see various dance productions, and the local Piedmont Virginia Community College also does many dance productions every semester. There are also some dance studios in and around Charlottesville like Zabor Dance Academy which specializes in social and ballroom dancing and which is located near the Downtown Mall.