Mission
The Department of Theatre & Dance develops creative citizens who pursue multiple ways to know and articulate truths about the world through the study and practice of performance. The curriculum melds intensive studio training and substantive critical analysis in the liberal arts tradition.
The departmental production season affords further opportunities for embodied application of artmaking in the public arena. We aim to produce flexible, rigorous artist-thinkers who can contribute to the greater good. Our course offerings and productions embrace diverse aesthetic forms drawn from various performance techniques, historical eras, and cultural traditions.
Collaboration is our core value and the foundation of the program. Faculty, staff, and students join together to create a spirited department characterized by trust, personal responsibility, healthy risk-taking, and mutual respect. Ultimately, the department equips students with the intellectual, artistic, and interpersonal skills to comprehend and adapt to a changing world and in turn remake it as independent thinkers, citizens, and creators.
Learning Goals
Muhlenberg Dance Program Learning Goals
1. Train versatile dancers with an expressive range, stylistic versatility, mastery of technique and artistry through:
- Providing rigorous physical training
- Engaging in multiple technique studies and somatic practices
- Understanding of anatomy and kinesiology
- Encouraging development of a personal physical understanding
2. Develop artists and thinkers who synthesize diverse knowledge areas through self-directed research in performance, choreography, and scholarly arenas through study of:
- multi-faceted curriculum which hones analytical skills and scholarly abilities.
- socio-historic perspectives on dance and cultural practices
- creative practices within dance composition and writing
- analytical theories regarding performance, choreography, dance education, and dance science.
3. Create informed and responsible producers and consumers of dance related technologies.
4. Cultivate resourceful, collaborative, resilient artists, scientists, educators, consumers, participants, and advocates who are able to discern their current and future contributions to dance and society.
