University of Texas at El Paso Academic Catalog

Academic Catalog

BFA in Dance

The BFA in Dance offers two concentrations one in Dance Studies and Choreography, and another in Performance. The Concentration in Dance Studies and Choreography focuses student to study in areas of dance scholarship, dance making, and dance production as opposed to an emphasis on stage-based performance study. The Concentration in Dance Studies and Choreography provides students with a strong basis for work in dance research, commercial choreography, dance production, and dance as it impacts our practice of social justice and community building.

BFA graduates can find career opportunities as craft or fine artists, multimedia artists, actors, art directors, art teachers, managers, marketing associates, sound and light engineers, carpenters, editors,  or writers.  The average yearly salary for BFA graduates is $56,063.

Marketable Skills

Students will develop:

  • Confidence: Be self-assured through appreciating your own talents, abilities, skills, and qualities
  • Global awareness: Understand and appreciate people, cultures, and ideas from around the world that impact our community
  • Leadership: Step up, think, and act critically and creatively to bring others together to accomplish a common task
  • Social responsibility: Act ethically and responsibly for the benefit of society and the public good
  • Teamwork: Participate as an effective, efficient member of a group in order to meet a common goal
  • Time management: Prioritize goals and organize time to be more productive and efficient.

Additionally, students will learn:

  • Conflict resolution
  • Creative problem solving
  • Empathy
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Pedagogy: specifically radical, embodied and empathic pedagogy 

There are two bachelor of Fine Arts concentrations students may choose from: BFA in Dance with concentration in Performance, and the BFA in Dance with concentration in Dance Studies and Choreography. All Dance majors must take a minimum of 120 credits to graduate, 48 of which must be at the 3300-4300 level. Outside of the required Dance credits in the concentrations, all dance students must take 42 credits to satisfy the University Core requirements.

Degree Plan

Required Credits: 120

Complete the University Core Curriculum requirements. 42
Dance Major
Foundations (33 Credit hours):
DANC 1151Dance Performance (Complete 3 credits)3
DANC 2301Improvisation3
DANC 2341Ballet Foundations I3
DANC 2342Ballet Foundations II3
DANC 2345Contemporary Foundation 13
DANC 2346Contemporary Foundation 23
DANC 3303History of Dance as a Perf Art3
DANC 3305Dance Production3
DANC 3349American Dance Forms Hip Hop3
DANC 3363Somatics3
DANC 4394Dance Pedagogy3
Choose one concentration

Concentration

Dance Studies and Choreography 

Embodied Studio Practices (Choose 12 credit hours)12
Dance Theatre Lab (Zero credit course- 4 semester required)
Intermediate Ballet I
Intermediate Ballet II
Intermediate Contempor Dance 1
Intermediate Contempor Dance 2
American Dance Forms - Jazz
American Dance Forms Hip Hop
Selected Topics in Dance
Advanced Ballet I
Advanced Ballet II
Advanced Contemporary Dance 1
Advanced Contemporary Dance 2
Embodied Theory Practices (27 credit hours)
Dance Theory and Composition
World Dance
Dances of Mexico and Spain
Performance Activism
Choreography
Choreography II: Group Forms
Seminar
Performance Studies
Performing Arts Management
Upper-Elective (Choose 6 credit hours)6
Total Hours120

Performance

Embodied Studio Practices (Choose 24 credit hours)24
Intermediate Ballet I
Intermediate Ballet II
Intermediate Contempor Dance 1
Intermediate Contempor Dance 2
American Dance Forms - Jazz
American Dance Forms Hip Hop
Selected Topics in Dance
Advanced Ballet I
Advanced Ballet II
Advanced Contemporary Dance 1
Advanced Contemporary Dance 2
Embodied Theory Practices (Choose 18 credit hours)18
Acting Fundamentals
Dance Theory and Composition
World Dance
Choreography
Choreography II: Group Forms
Seminar
Performance Studies
Electives (Choose 3 credit hours)3
Total Hours120
1 Although the UTEP choice is larger, these choices satisfy the requirements of both the core and the major.
 

University Core Curriculum

The department may make specific suggestions for courses which are most applicable towards your major.

All courses require a C or better

I. Communication (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on developing ideas and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message, fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to communicate persuasively. Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written, and visual literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.
Select six hours of the following: 6
For students whose secondary education was in English:
Written and Oral Communication
Writing About Literature
Rhetoric & Composition I
Rhetoric & Composition 2
Rhetoric, Composition & Comm
For students whose secondary education was not in English:
Expos Engl Compos-Spkr Esl
Res & Crit Writng Spkr Esl
Total Hours6

II. American History (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events and ideas relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of this component area. Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role.
HIST 1301History of U.S. to 18653
HIST 1302History of U.S. Since 18653
Total Hours6

III. Language, Philosophy & Culture  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience. Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures.
Select one of the following:3
Intro-African Amer Studies
Latina/o Presence in the U.S.
English Literature
English Literature
Intro to American Fiction
Intro to American Drama
Intro to American Poetry
Making of the "Other" Americas
World History to 1500
World History Since 1500
Introduction to Philosophy
Ethics
Introduct to Religious Studies
Seeing & Naming: Conversations
Introduction to Womens Studies
Global Feminisms
Total Hours3

IV. Mathematics  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on quantitative literacy in logic, patterns, and relationships. Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical concepts and the application of appropriate quantitative tools to everyday experience.
Select one of the following:3
College Algebra
Trigonometry and Conics
Math in the Modern World
Math for Social Sciences I
Calculus I
Precalculus 1,2
Math for Social Sciences II
Statistical Literacy
Elementary Statistical Methods
1 A higher-level course in the calculus sequence can be substituted.
2 TCCN MATH 1314 will also satisfy this requirement.
Total Hours3

V. Life & Physical Sciences  (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining, and predicting natural phenomena using the scientific method. Courses involve the understanding of interactions among natural phenomena and the implications of scientific principles on the physical world and on experiences.
Select one of the following:1-4
Astronomy Lab I
Elem Astronomy-Solar System
Elem Astr Stars & Galaxies
Introductory Biology Lab
Human Biology Laboratory
Topics in Study of Life I
Organismal Biology Laboratory
Introductory Biology
Human Biology
General Biology
Organismal Biology
Human Anat/Physio Lab I
Human Anat/Physio Lab II
Human Anat/Physiology I
Human Anat/Physiology II
Laboratory for CHEM 1305
Laboratory for CHEM 1306
Intro General Chemistry Lab
Intro Organic & Biochem Lab
General Chemistry
General Chemistry
Intro to General Chemistry
Intro Organic & Biochemistry
Environmental Sci. Lab
Non-major Lab for ESCI 1301
Intro to Environment Science 2
Intro to Environmental Sci
Laboratory for GEOG 1306
Physical Geography
Lab for GEOL 1313
Lab for GEOL 1314
Principles of Earth Sci - Lab
Laboratory for Geology 1212
Principles of Earth Sciences
Principles of Earth Science
The Blue Planet
Natural Hazards
Intro to Physical Geology
Intro to Historical Geol
Fundamentals of Nutrition
Wellness Dynamics
Microorganisms and Disease
General Physics I
General Physics II
Laboratory for PHYS 2320
Laboratory for PHYS 2321
Introductory Mechanics
Introductory Electromagnetism
Total Hours 6

VI. Political Science  (six hours)

Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations.
Required Courses:
POLS 2310Introduction to Politics3
POLS 2311American Gover & Politics3
Total Hours6

VII. Social and Behavioral Sciences  (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on the application of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding of what makes us human. Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.
Select one of the following:3
Intro-Phys Anth/Archeolog
Intro-Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Geography
Intro to Linguistics
Econ for Engrs & Scientists
Intro to Chicano Studies
Asian American Studies
Interpersonal Communication
Mass Media and Society
Principles of Macroeconomics
Principles of Microeconomics
Introduction to Ed Psychology
Action Research in Classrooms
Introduction to Linguistics
Cultural Geography
Community Service
An Intro. to Linguistics
Lang. Inside & Out: Sel Topics
Introduction to Psychology
Introduction to Sociology
Cultural Geography
Total Hours3

VIII. Creative Arts (three hours)

Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination. Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art.
Select one of the following:3
Art Appreciation
History of Art I
History of Art II
Chicana/o Fine Arts Appreciat
Dance Appreciation
Intro-Art of Motion Pict.
Music Appreciation
Jazz to Rock
Music, Culture, and Society
Introduction to Theatre
Total Hours3

IX. Component Area Option (six hours)

a. A minimum of 3 SCH must meet the definition and corresponding Core Objectives specified in one of the foundational component areas. b. As an option for up to 3 semester credit hours of the Component Area Option, an institution may select course(s) that: (i) Meet(s) the definition specified for one or more of the foundational component areas; and (ii) Include(s) a minimum of three Core Objectives, including Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, and one of the remaining Core Objectives of the institution's choice.
Intro to Global Business
Public Speaking
Business/Profession Comm
Intro-Computational Thinking
Computer Programming Sci/Engr
Eng Innovation and Leadership
Introduction to Leadership
Inquiry in Math & Science
Seminar/Critical Inquiry
Total Hours0

4-Year Sample Degree Plan

BFA in Dance with a Concentration in Dance Studies and Choreography

BFA IN DANCE WITH A CONCENTRATION IN DANCE STUDIES AND CHOREOGRAPHY
FRESHMAN
Fall
RWS 1301Rhetoric & Composition I3
Core-Component Area Option3
DANC 1304Dance Appreciation3
DANC 2301Improvisation3
DANC 2341Ballet Foundations I3
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
Spring
HIST 1301History of U.S. to 18653
RWS 1302Rhetoric & Composition 23
DANC 2342Ballet Foundations II3
DANC 2345Contemporary Foundation 13
DANC 3303History of Dance as a Perf Art3
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
SOPHOMORE
Fall
Core - Social and Behavioral Sciences 3
Core-Natural Sciences3
Core-Mathematics3
DANC 2346Contemporary Foundation 23
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
Spring
HIST 1302History of U.S. Since 18653
Core-Natural Sciences + Lab4
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
JUNIOR
Fall
POLS 2311American Gover & Politics3
Core-Component Area Option3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
DANC 3305Dance Production3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Spring
POLS 2310Introduction to Politics3
Core-Language, Philosophy, & Culture3
DANC 3349American Dance Forms Hip Hop3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
SENIOR
Fall
DANC 3363Somatics3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Upper-Division Elective3
Upper-Division Elective3
Spring
DANC 4394Dance Pedagogy3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Total Hours121

BFA in Dance with a Concentration in Performance

BFA IN DANCE WITH A CONCENTRATION IN PERFORMANCE
FRESHMAN
Fall
RWS 1301Rhetoric & Composition I3
Component Area Option3
DANC 1304Dance Appreciation3
DANC 2301Improvisation3
DANC 2341Ballet Foundations I3
DANC 2345Contemporary Foundation 13
Spring
HIST 1301History of U.S. to 18653
RWS 1302Rhetoric & Composition 23
DANC 2342Ballet Foundations II3
DANC 3305Dance Production3
DANC 2346Contemporary Foundation 23
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
SOPHOMORE
Fall
Social and Behavioral Sciences Area3
Life and Physical Science Area 3
Mathematics Area 3
DANC 3363Somatics3
DANC 3349American Dance Forms Hip Hop3
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
Spring
HIST 1302History of U.S. Since 18653
Life and Physical Science + Lab Area4
DANC 3303History of Dance as a Perf Art3
DANC 1151Dance Performance1
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
JUNIOR
Fall
POLS 2311American Gover & Politics3
Component Area Option3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Spring
POLS 2310Introduction to Politics3
Language, Philosophy, and Culture Area3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Studios Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
SENIOR
Fall
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Studio Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Upper Division Elective3
Spring
DANC 4394Dance Pedagogy3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Embodied Theory Practices Course3
Total Hours121