Bachelor of Arts in Dance - Dance of the 20th and 21st Centuries

The Duke Dance Program curriculum is designed to encourage the exploration of dance from interdisciplinary perspectives: historical, cultural, aesthetic, literary, technological, musical, scientific and creative. Students are able to customize their undergraduate dance curriculum by choosing one of the three study concentrations. At Duke, you will come to understand dance as a much more than a dance style or technique. Our curriculum allows you to explore dance expression from a historical and cultural perspective, and gain modern professional skills--whether your interests lie on the stage, behind it, or elsewhere. You can customize your course makeup, engage in undergraduate research and independent study, and explore the arts scene through study away programs such as Duke Arts in New York. Dance of the 20th & 21st Centuries Dance can be examined as an educative force, a facilitator of cultural acquisition, and a reflection of cultural change. Our students explore the ways dance has affected and been affected by scientific discoveries and technological advances; by the art and practice of war; or by globalization and the impact of westernization. Our goal is to examine the ongoing (r)evolution in how we create, present and appreciate art. The living, kinetic artifacts of movement - dance forms and dance choreography - are critical research components that provide scholars the tools to discuss and analyze specific cultures and communities, periods of dance history and the work of seminal creative artists.