DanceA rapidly emerging area of interest at the University is dance. Responding to growing student demand to add dance to the arts curriculum, the Department of Drama introduced new dance courses in the fall of 2004. By the second semester, the classes were so popular that students had to be turned away. In response, the department created a new dance minor in 2006, which is growing rapidly; forty students enrolled in the program’s first year. The Dance Program is focused on creating an overall “intelligent dancer”—a dancer who is fluent in improvisational skills, composition, theory, performance experience, and production knowledge. Students interested in dance enroll in a balanced program of classes that encompasses each of these elements. Each year, dance minors are given the opportunity to attend the American College Dance Festival, in which they participate in master classes and performances. Students are also offered master classes, time to work with guest choreographers, and varied performance opportunities. With a goal of creating a dance major and offering more courses, Rose Beauchamp, director of the Dance Program, points to two critical needs: new faculty and additional studio space to address the increasing demand for dance courses on Grounds. |
Starting the Dance
Rose Beauchamp, Director of the Dance Program
Rose Beauchamp's task in 2006 was to blaze a trail as director of the newly formed Dance Program in the drama department.
"I came to U.Va. in 2006, and it has been amazing," Ms. Beauchamp said. "Dance is definitely something that has been overlooked, and there are tons of students who are thrilled that there is a program."
What's amazing is the growth of the program, which now offers a minor. "We grew from zero to forty minors in a little over a year," she said.
"We have various types of students in the program," Ms. Beauchamp said. "Some are doing it more as an outlet, and others are very serious. Their majors include many different areas ... the sciences, drama, English, education, psychology, engineering. Many want to dance when they get out; others want to teach or coach."
Ms. Beauchamp, a dancer herself, founded a dance company called inFluxdance. The troupe focuses on "movement as communication," integrating dance, theater, American Sign Language, and Laban Movement Analysis, a method for observing and describing human movement.
"As the dance minor grows, I am inviting guest artists to choreograph for the students and give master classes," Ms. Beauchamp said. "I am hoping that the minor turns quickly into a major once we get the appropriate space and faculty—a dream of mine."