FAQ
| Student Comments
| Additional Study
| Guidelines
for Artistic Material
Program
in Dance What it Offers
Do
you think you have to give up dance in order to pursue a rigorous
academic education? You don't! As one of the top five research
universities, Duke has become the college of choice for the dedicated
dance student. Duke is unique in providing the rare combination
of high-quality dance training with a first class science or liberal
arts education.
Dance
at Duke encourages the total union of our physical, intellectual,
and expressive capabilities. The student dancer develops skills
of perception, analysis and expression that benefit many fields
of endeavor beyond the dance world.
The
Program in Dance provides a wide choice of classes for everyone
from the highly trained dance technician to the absolute beginner.
Beyond the three main areas of emphasis in ballet, modern, and
African dance, other courses including jazz, swing dance, floor-barre,
tap, Flamenco and classical Indian dance are offered on a rotating
schedule. Extensive full credit courses include areas of study
in history, choreography, kinesiology, world dance cultures and
dance writing.
There
are many performing opportunities for students of all levels working
with faculty, guest artists and student choreographers. All students
on campus are enriched by an abundance of professional touring
productions and in house concerts.
Dance
at Duke dates back to the thirties. Once part of the Department
of Health and Physical Education under the leadership of Julia
Wray, it is now a freestanding program in the Humanities with
a minor in Dance and an individualized major available through
Program II.
Curriculum
Dance
Program courses are part of the university's regular curriculum
and fulfill graduation requirements. Dance courses are open to
all students, and auditions are only required for repertory courses.
Live music accompanies all studio classes.
Studio
Course Offerings:
modern
dance technique - four levels
ballet
technique - four levels
African Dance technique - 2 levels
jazz - 2 levels
modern dance repertory
ballet repertory
African dance repertory
swing dance, tap, kathak and flamenco offered on a rotating basis
A
Few of our Theory Course Offerings
Freshman seminars
The Focus Program courses (The Focus Program is an interdisciplinary learning & living experience for select first & second-year students. Learn more about who should apply to Focus at their website http://focus.aas.duke.edu)
Introduction to Dance Choreography three levels
Indian Dance and Hindu Cosmology
West African Rootholds in Dance
The Victory of the Iconoclasts: Postmodern dance 1950-2000
The Diaghilev Ballet: 1909-29
Functional Anatomy for Dancers
Additional
Study Opportunities
Through
the Duke in New York Arts Program, students may spend the fall
semester of their junior or senior year studying the arts in New
York City.
During
the summer, Duke is home to the American Dance Festival six
weeks of intensive study and performances by major national and
international dance companies.
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PERFORMANCE
AND CHOREOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES
"Duke provided me with a wealth of performance experiences . .
. an open and friendly environment where everyone is encouraged
to test and expand their own individual limits."
Bevin
(Franks) Newton, T '93
"The
many performance opportunities, availability of dancers and rehearsal
space, and ease of production made getting a piece from concept
to showcase easy and inviting. There was no fear of judgment in
the supportive, grass-roots climate of experimentation."
Sandy
Chase, ME OE91, former dancer with Pilobolus, Momix; Co-founder
and Associate Artistic Director Sal Anthony's Movement Salon,
NYC.
The
Dance Program offers three performing ensembles African, Ballet
and Modern. All of these groups perform in the mainstage and studio
theatre productions. December Dances and Ballet Choreolab annual
mainstage productions present new and reconstructed works by faculty,
guest, and advanced student choreographers. Studio theatre productions
include Ark Dances and Arts in the Ark. In addition, the Duke
African Repertory Ensemble Outreach Project provides lecture-demonstrations
and workshops in school and community settings. Additional performance
opportunities are available through faculty-directed professional
companies, student dance and cultural organizations (Dance Black,
On Tap, Chinese Folk Dance, Hoof-n-Horn, etc.) and site-specific
and interdisciplinary projects.
Frequently
asked Questions
Q.
When I visit Duke, may I observe Dance Program classes?
A. Yes.
The faculty welcomes and encourages prospective students to observe
and participate in all classes.
Q.
Do you have to audition to enter the Dance Program?
A. Admission
to Duke guarantees admission to all programs.
Q.
Can I dance every day? Can I maintain a high level of technique?
A. Yes. There are upper levels of technique offered every day.
Q.
Is there a separate track for dance minors?
A. All courses are open to all students. Dance minors have flexibility
in scheduling required courses.
Q.
Does the dance program have influence in the admission process?
A. We can make recommendations based on the dance expertise of
the prospective student. We highly recommend that applicants submit
supplementary artistic material in the form of a dance video with
their Duke admissions application.
Q.
Are there dance scholarships?
A. Although the Dance Program is not able to offer talent-based
scholarships, the Financial Aid office helps all students with
their financial needs.
Q.
Are dance classes open to graduate students of other disciplines?
A. Yes, based on space availability and with the permission of
their department.
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THE
FACULTY . . .
Barbara
Dickinson (Director, Modern Technique, Repertory, Composition,
Dance History), a recipient of the North Carolina Arts Councilıs
Choreographerıs Fellowship, is the Artistic Director of the Ways
and Means Dance Company and a founding member of Manbites Dog
Theater Company.
Keval
Kaur Khalsa (Modern and Jazz techniques, Repertory, Composition,
Movement-based Theater) is Co-Artistic Director of Two Near The
Edge and a recipient of the North Carolina Arts Councilıs Choreographerıs
Fellowship.
M'Liss
Dorrance (Ballet technique, Pointe, Repertory), a former member
of the National Ballet Company and Eliot Feldıs American Ballet
Company, is currently Co-Director of the Ballet School of Chapel
Hill and Co-Artistic Director of the Chapel Hill Dance Theater.
Purnima
Shah (Asian Dance and Theatre, Dance History and Theory, Kathak
dance technique) holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies and Ethnography
with a focus on Asian Performance. A classical dancer specializing
in Bharatanatyam and Kathak dances of India, she performed as
a government delegate for India in Portugal, Germany, Sweden,
Mongolia, USA and the former USSR.
Clay
Taliaferro (Modern Technique, Repertory, History) was former
Assistant Artistic Director, Principal Dancer, and guest artist
with the José Limón Dance Company and the Donald McKayle Dance
Company. A choreographer of over 60 works, he has received grants
from the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Dance
Legacy Institute, among others.
Ava
Lavonne Vinesett (African Technique, History, Repertory) was
a founding member, Principal Dancer, and Assistant to the Artistic
Director of the Chuck Davis African American Dance Ensemble. She
was a recipient of the Patricia Harris Fellowship for her graduate
study at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Tyler
Walters (Ballet Technique, Repertory, History) former Principal
Dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, and currently Teaching Associate
for Carolina Ballet, he has received choreographic commissions
from Oregon Ballet Theatre, Carolina Ballet, and the Juilliard
School, among others.
Student
Comments
Alyah
Baker, T'03, Undergraduate at Duke University.
This
summer, for the first time ever in my life, I had a very respected
ballet master tell me that he thought I could do both [go to college
and have a professional dance career]; that twenty-one was not
too old to start a career in dance, even in ballet. And now that
I know how strong and supportive the Dance Program is here, I
intend to take advantage of all that it has to offer. I am not
just a "dumb dancer" or a dancer who goes to college because they
couldnıt cut it.
Tiffany
Montgomery, T'97, Associate Producer, NFL Films, NYC.
As a film editor for NFL, the brutal choreography of football,
the smooth edit and cut, are things I learned on the dance floor
and in performance. Every technique I use in editing, in calling
shots, in how to pace clips and create visceral excitement and
visual climaxes with movement -- I learned in dance. Probably
more than any other single discipline, it was dance that gave
me the basics I need for my work.
Jen
Durkin, T'97, Associate Producer, TV News, Charlotte, NC
The
Duke dance program provided me with tools I could use in any career.
My dance education infected me with a unique, creative flavor.
Without it, Iıd be just like everyone else.
Marion
Rucker, Law'99
Dance
initially led me to Duke and guided and sustained me throughout
my undergraduate and law school years. My strongest loyalties,
beyond friends, will remain with the Duke Dance Program. I found
that dance relieves a mind weary from memorizing facts or studying.
But beyond relaxation, dance challenges the mind and body -- creating
an unparalleled sense of discipline and strength. Dance not only
enhances mental agility necessary to succeed in a university such
as Duke, it stands alone as a unique mode of expression.
Bevin
Franks Newton, T'93
Duke
provided me with a wealth of performance experiences . . . an
open and friendly environment where everyone is encouraged to
test and expand their own individual limits."
Sandy
Chase, ME'91, former dancer with Pilobolus, Momix; Co-founder
and Associate Artistic Director, Sal Anthony's Movement Salon,
NYC. The training I received at Duke provided a foundation for
technique that helped me get into Momix, a professional, full-time
internationally-touring modern dance company. The many performance
opportunities, availability of dancers and rehearsal space, and
ease of production made getting a piece from concept to showcase
easy and inviting. There was no fear of judgment in the supportive,
grass-roots climate of experimentation. Duke was a very inspiring
place to first encounter dance. The teachers are excellent and
excited about what they are doing, and there is great opportunity
to explore as far as your vision will take you.
Kimberly
Pittman, T'95, Entertainment Lawyer, NYC. The opportunities
to understand artists and production so thoroughly has given me
an edge in my entertainment law career today.
Heather
Larsen Shaw, T'97, Arts Administrator, NYC.
The
dance faculty became a family to me. They knew me better than
any one and that came from spending time in the room together,
using our bodies. Being physical and connected in that way taught
me how to connect with people in a way that many people like but
missed out on. In the corporate world they spend years trying
to teach employees to think outside of the box. Send those people
to a dance class! Not a day goes by where I do not use what I
learned in one of my dance classes. Even when I am not dancing
I am using something I learned in dance: I am unafraid to speak,
to put it down on paper, to express myself, to verbalize ideas,
even when I was an assistant and was speaking to the CEO. I went
on to pursue my MA in dance because I could not think of any thing
I wanted to develop more. It was the smartest and best thing I
ever could have done with my life.
Amanda
Exley, T'94, Dancer and Choreographer
The
Duke Dance faculty gave me the knowledge, experience and inspiration
to use my academic studies at Duke to become an international
professional dancer and choreographer. Each project I approach
-- whether it is performing, creating or critiquing -- begins
with the tools that the Duke faculty gave me.
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GUIDELINES
FOR SENDING IN SUPPLEMENTAL ARTISTIC MATERIAL
VIDEO
TAPES:
Video
Tapes should be VHS format and cued to the segment you wish to
be viewed. It is not necessary that the tape be professionally
produced, however, it should be of the highest possible visual
quality. The following guidelines answer the most frequently asked
questions about the submission of materials. If you have any other
questions please feel free to call the Dance Program at 919-660-3354,
or email us at dance@duke.edu
1.
Length: 10 minutes is ideal. You may excerpt sections of
works in performance and/or
rehearsal. It is very helpful if the work you want
viewed is edited together in succession on the tape in the same
10 minute section.
2.
Style: If you are proficient in more than one style of
dance, try to include a sample from each style. If you are a choreographer,
include samples of your choreography as well as your performance.
3.
Appropriate Material of Inclusion: We are interested in
your technical, performance and choreographic abilities. It is
important that we can see you. Solo or small group
work is ideal. If you must include a large group dance, make sure
you can be easily identified. We would like to see you in a performance
situation, however, excerpts from a technique class are acceptable.
4.
Written Description of the Video Tape: Please give us the
following information:
Box 90686 