Prospective Students

The Department of Dance & Theatre is part of the College of Arts and Sciences at UNT. Soundly based in Liberal Arts, the diverse curriculum offers breadth and depth in academics and performance.

Dance

• The department offers a B.A. and a B.F.A. in Dance. There is no dance minor, nor are graduate students accepted at this time.
• There are approximately 80 dance majors with 5 full-time faculty and 5 adjunct professors.
• The faculty teaches from a kinesiological base, using a somatic approach to produce healthy and safe dancers. Focus is placed on the education of the total individual and prepares students soundly for any graduate dance program.
• Admission to the dance program requires an entrance and placement audition.  Dates for prospective student auditions are posted on the admissions page of our website.
• Student performance opportunities include faculty and guest-artist choreography, as well as student led projects. In addition to the department concerts, faculty members often use student performers in commissioned choreography projects. Dancers may also audition for the department musicals.
• Student dancers and choreographers participate in the ACDFA regional dance festival. The student organization, Dance UNiT, sponsors travel and choreographic projects.
• Recent Guest Artists include Kerry Kreiman, of Contemporary Dance/Forth Worth and the upcoming Billy Seigenfield of Chicago’s Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, playwright Migdalia Cruz and director Madlen Cholakova.
• The program offers four levels of Modern and Ballet technique, two levels of Jazz and Tap technique, and Pointe and Partnering technique.
• Students have unique opportunities to work on the technical and design aspects of performance in areas such as costumes, lighting and stage management.
• Scholarships are available based on merit and talent. The national dance honors society, Chi Tau Epsilon, has a chapter in the department.
• The dance faculty is highly trained in science of dance including expertise in Certified Movement Analysis, Holistic Approaches, and Massage Therapy. Their choreography has been presented nationally and internationally. Technical design faculty have won awards for their costume, lighting, and set designs for dance and theatre.
• Facilities include wood and marley sprung floors, large rehearsal/class studios and a 475 seat performance venue.

Theatre

• The department offers a B.A. in Theatre, as well as a Theatre minor. Graduate students are currently not accepted.
• There are approximately 275 theatre majors with 9 full-time faculty and 3 adjunct professors.
• Unique among theatre programs, qualified undergraduate students perform lead roles, direct public productions, stage-manage, and design scenery, costumes, lights, make-up and wigs.
• Student performance and design opportunities include plays and musicals directed by faculty and guest artists and numerous student-directed, student-written and class productions. Students are often offered performance and design opportunities as part of outside professional projects of the faculty and are able to audition for local theatre groups.
• Students participate in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). In recent years, students have won the regional competition in several categories. In 2003, Jason Coleman won the national competition in make-up design for his work on the University production of CAROUSEL.
• Hands-on experience is offered for students pursuing Theatre for Young audiences including in productions that tour to schools.
• The active and diverse theatre faculty consists of professional actors, directors, designers and theatre educators and scholars.
• Recent guest directors include Joel Ferrell, Michael Serrechia and Rudy Eastman.
• Scholarships are available based on merit and talent.
  

Dance and Theatre faculty come from professional performance and production experiences. They continue to work in the industry, locally, nationally and internationally. Department alumni work with professional dance and theatre companies as dancers, choreographers, actors and artistic directors. Others are educators or administrators in universities, public schools, and private and professional studios. Still others have pursued careers in areas such as dance therapy, movement analysis, the dance fitness industry, radio, television, and film.

The University of North Texas is the leading university of the Dallas-Fort Worth region. It offers financial aid, legal aid, counseling and job placement for students. For more information about the University of North Texas, please visit http://www.unt.edu/thinkingabout.htm.