Dance
Five College Dance comprises the dance departments of our member campuses, with each offering its own distinctive program while collaborating as a uniquely rich inter-campus consortium with abundant possibilities for dance students.
We are hiring a Technical Director! See Announcements & Upcoming Events for details.
Boats Leaving, choreographed by Doug Varone, 2019 UMass Amherst Fall Faculty Concert. Photo by Derek Fowles.
Established in 1978, Five College Dance (FCD) is a creative and intellectual collaboration organized between the dance departments and programs at Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, Mount Holyoke Colleges and University of Massachusetts Amherst. We are a community of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and visiting scholars and artists. We create and amplify access to rich, varied artistic and academic opportunities in dance.
On This Page
Mission:
Five College Dance advances embodied practice as a critical mode of inquiry, expression, and civic engagement across cultural and historical contexts. We cultivate new generations of artists, scholars, and practitioners to shape the field of dance and dance studies.
What We Do:
Our member dance departments and programs collaborate by:
- Coordinating a shared undergraduate dance curriculum with diversely trained faculty and varied course offerings in dance technique, performance, composition and theory
- Producing at least one major repertory project most years, open to all five college students
- Providing performance opportunities on each campus for all five college students
- Opening the great majority of campuses’ events, workshops, professionalization opportunities, masterclasses, residencies, symposia, and field trips to all five college students
Our House, choreographed by Shakia Barron, 2018 Mount Holyoke Fall Faculty Concert. Photo by Charles Flachs.
Reflect/Respond: A Limón Dance Legacy Concert at UMass Amherst, 2019. Photo by Derek Fowles.
Five College Dance Provides
- Production management and technical supervision for all FCD concerts, events, and auditions, as well as for any FCD contributions to the annual American College Dance Association conference.
- Annual production workshop for students producing their own shows, plus additional production-related learning opportunities
- Annual lecture by a major scholar and/or artist in the field
- Annual concert with a faculty- and guest-choreographed work submitted from each school, featuring students from all campuses
- News from the departments, FCD, and alumni
- Masterclasses from professional dance artists on the UMass Center for Fine Arts season
- Centralized communication hub (social media, listserv, website) to share with students and faculty dance-related events, professional opportunities, news, and programs from the campuses, FCD, the local community, and beyond
- Coordination and facilitation of musician accompanists for most campuses’ technique classes
- Photographing and archiving professional photos of FCD performances and events
- Collaborations with non-dance departments/units and external arts organizations
- Support for the work of individual departments, students, and faculty that benefit the consortium
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Graduate Courses
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN | 521 | 01 | Choreography/Creative Process | Angie Hauser | Smith College | TU TH 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM |
| DAN | 540 | 01 | History & Literature of Dance | Smith College | M 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM |
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Related Topics and Seminars
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN | 200 | 01 | Dance Production | Smith College | ||
| DAN | 201 | 01 | Dance Production | Smith College |
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Movement and Rhythmic Analysis
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Scientific Aspects of Dance and Anatomy
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN | 241 | 01 | Scientific Foundation of Dance | Chris Aiken | Smith College | TU TH 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Creative Studies: Choreography, Composition, and Improvisation
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN | 207 | 01 | Intermediate Repertory | Smith College | W 4:10 PM - 6:10 PM; M 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM | |
| DAN | 207 | 02 | Intermediate Repertory | Smith College | M W 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM | |
| DAN | 219 | 01 | Intermediate Contact Improv | Chris Aiken | Smith College | W F 10:50 AM - 12:15 PM |
| DAN | 252 | 01 | Intermediate Dance Composition | Smith College | W 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM; M 1:40 PM - 2:55 PM | |
| DAN | 252 | L01 | Intermediate Dance Composition | Smith College | W 2:45 PM - 3:35 PM; M 3:05 PM - 3:55 PM | |
| DAN | 305 | 01 | Advanced Repertory | Rodger Fleming Blum | Smith College | TU TH 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM |
| DAN | 309 | 01 | Advanced Repertory | Angie Hauser | Smith College | W F 1:20 PM - 3:20 PM |
Fall 2023 Dance Courses: Technique
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN | 101sf | 01 | T-Studio:Strength&Flexibility | Smith College | M W F 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM | |
| DAN | 114 | 01 | Beginning Contemporary Dance 2 | Smith College | W F 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM | |
| DAN | 119 | 01 | Beginning Contact Improv | Smith College | M W 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM | |
| DAN | 120 | 01 | Beginning Ballet 1 | Smith College | M W 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM | |
| DAN | 121 | 01 | Beginning Ballet 2 | Smith College | TU TH 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM | |
| DAN | 130 | 01 | Beginning Jazz Dance | Smith College | M W 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM | |
| DAN | 133 | 01 | Dance for Every Body | Maddy Sher | Smith College | TU TH 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM |
| DAN | 142wa | 01 | T-West African Dance | Smith College | TU TH 4:10 PM - 5:25 PM | |
| DAN | 144 | 01 | Tango I | Smith College | M W 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM | |
| DAN | 146 | 01 | Hip Hop Dance | Smith College | M W 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM | |
| DAN | 215 | 01 | Intermed Contemporary Dance 1 | Angie Hauser | Smith College | TU TH 1:10 PM - 2:35 PM |
| DAN | 219 | 01 | Intermediate Contact Improv | Chris Aiken | Smith College | W F 10:50 AM - 12:15 PM |
| DAN | 222 | 01 | Intermediate Ballet 1 | Rodger Fleming Blum | Smith College | M W 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| DAN | 324 | 01 | Advanced Ballet 1 | Rodger Fleming Blum | Smith College | TU TH 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM |
| DAN | 327 | 01 | Advanced Pointe Technique | Smith College | F 10:50 AM - 12:15 PM |
Links to Campus Dance Programs
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