Minor in Dance
The dance minor offers students at both the College and the Conservatory the opportunity to study a diverse range of movement forms—including jazz, salsa, African, hip-hop, tap, swing, and ballet—and to investigate dance as a social and historical art form, which both reflects and impacts the culture that creates it. The dance minor requires coursework in the academic study of dance, the creative process, somatic practice, and applied studio coursework in a variety of movement genres. There are no prerequisites to declare a minor in dance.
There are no entrance requirements for this minor.
- College students: Submit the Declaration of Major/Minor form to the Dance Division at Boston Conservatory. See detailed instructions in the Registration Guide.
- Conservatory students: submit the Declaration of Minor form to the Registrar's Office.
Upon completion of the dance minor, students will:
- demonstrate a clear understanding of dance as an art form, including knowledge about dance techniques, various dance genres, dance production, and the choreographic process;
- link the experiential knowledge gained through their work in applied classes with theoretical and historical knowledge;
- analyze and discuss dance from both a theoretical and historical framework, contextualize what they see, and have language to describe and analyze choreography and performance;
- demonstrate an understanding of the creative process within dance, informed by the study of dance improvisation, composition, and/or the collaborative process;
- demonstrate an understanding of the human body in motion, informed by the study of alignment, muscular use, effort, and breath in both somatic and technique courses; and
- demonstrate skill in any of the movement genres offered through the minor.
Core Course (required—choose one, 3 credits)
D-LT 1601 Introduction to Dance (3 credits) (fall semester only)
D-LT 1602 Introduction to Iconic Dance (3 credits) (online) (fall semester only)
Somatics Elective (required—choose a minimum of one)
D-ST 1502 Floor Barre™ (1 credit)
D-ST 1503 Gyrokinesis® (1 credit)
D-ST 2504 Stretch and Strengthening (1 credit)
D-ST 75511 Dynamic Warm Up with Therabands (1 credit)
D-ST 75516 Yoga for Dancers (1 credit)
M-CM 00932 Yoga for Musicians 1 (1 credit)
Creative Process Elective (required—choose a minimum of one)
D-ST 1204 Dance Improvisation 1 (1 credit) (fall semester only)
D-ST 1205 Dance Improvisation 2 (1 credit) (spring semester only) (prerequisite D-ST 1204)
D-ST 1401 Dance Composition 1 (1 credit) (fall semester only)
D-ST 1402 Dance Composition 2 (1 credit) (spring semester only) (prerequisite D-ST 1401)
D-ST 1701 Vocal-Physical Connection (1 credit) (fall semester only)
Dance Technique Electives (required—choose a minimum of five)
DANB-111 / D-ST 71110: Beginning Ballet (1 credit)
DANB-211 / D-ST 71210: Intermediate Ballet (1 credit)
DANJ-111 / D-ST 73111: Beginning JazzDance Technique (1 credit)
DANJ-211 / D-ST 73531: Intermediate JazzDance Technique (1 credit)
DANJ-311 / D-ST 73528: Advanced JazzDance Technique (1 credit)
DANT-111 / D-ST 73512: Beginning Tap (1 credit)
DANT-211 / D-ST 73513: Intermediate Tap (1 credit)
DANT-311 / D-ST 73526: Advanced Tap (1 credit)
DANH-111 / D-ST 73110: Beginning Hip-Hop (1 credit)
DANH-211 / D-ST 73530: Intermediate Hip-Hop (1 credit)
DANH-311 / D-ST 73527: Advanced Hip Hop (1 credit)
DANU-111 / D-ST 74510: Upside Down 1 (1 credit)
DANS-111 / D-ST 73519: Salsa (1 credit)
DANE-111 / D-ST 73520: Swing Dance (1 credit)
DANA-111 / D-ST 73511: African Dance (1 credit)