Dance Theatre BA (Hons)

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of interactive workshops, lectures, seminars, and practical work. Interactive workshops take a variety of formats and are intended to enable the application of learning through discussion and small group activities. Seminars enable the discussion and development of understanding of topics covered in lectures. Practical work, in our fully equipped drama and dance studios, introduce you to the possibilities of lighting, sound, video, and space in performance. Circus and aerial work will be housed in a gym equipped with ropes, harnesses and other appropriate equipment.

Trips to see dance and theatre will inform your understanding and experience of performance, and incoming shows and workshops hosted in our Drama Studios will enable you to meet a range of theatre professionals. Level 6 modules will explore how to set yourself up as an independent practitioner, with appropriate business and entrepreneurial skills, as well as develop your skills as a potential performance or workshop leader/tutor in dance/theatre.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least four occasions in the first year as part of the mandatory modules, and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.

Contact time

In a typical week you will have around 12-16 contact hours of teaching. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year you will normally have slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study. Typically contact time will be structured around:

• 9-12 hours of interactive workshops
• 3-4 hours of lectures/seminars

Independent self study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 22-25 hours of personal self-study per week.

Typically, this will involve completing online activities, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, rehearsing with your group, undertaking research in the library and online, preparing coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for examinations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including The Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources. 

Duration

• 3 years full-time
• 4 years full-time including third year abroad

Timetables

Timetables are normally available one month before registration. Please note that whilst we try to be as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week; and some classes can be scheduled in the evenings.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The teaching team includes professional dance/theatre-makers, whose work has been produced in theatres across the country. The team also includes specialist in circus and aerial performance.

The department is supported by theatre expertise from our technical staff who specialise in lighting, sound and set design. All the permanent staff within the teaching team have doctorates in the performing arts area, and most are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. Specialist staff are also employed on the basis of their professional experience e.g. in circus and aerial performance.

Assessment

The course provides opportunities to test understanding and learning informally through the completion of practice or ‘formative’ assignments such as work-in-progress performances or draft written work.

Each module has one or more formal or ‘summative’ assessments which are graded and count towards the overall module grade.  Assessment methods include a range of coursework assessments such as collaborative practical projects, rehearsal logs, critiques and reviews, essays, portfolios, presentations and a final year independent performance project, or research project.

The precise assessment requirements for an individual student in an academic year will vary according to the mandatory and optional modules taken, but a typical formal summative assessment pattern for each year of the course is:

Year 1

• 3 practical assessments
• 1 rehearsal log
• 1 performance review or critique
• 2 essays
• 1 staging/technical portfolio
• 1 presentation

Year 2

• 1 large group production, plus portfolio of research materials
• 3 solo or small group practicals
• 2 essays
• 1 rehearsal log
• 1 presentation

Year 3

• 1 large group production
• 3 solo or small group practicals
• 1 project proposal
• 1 presentation
• 1 example funding application
• 1 practical workshop

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.