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Department of Dance

Graduate Programs in Dance

The College at Brockport is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance.

The Department of Dance comprises artists, scholars, and educators who train dancers on the graduate level for a wide variety of careers in the arts as choreographers, performers, teachers, and leaders in the dance field. The students in the highly selective programs excel not only in the studio and on stage, but also as critical thinkers and writers.

The graduate program offers students the opportunity to earn an MFA in Dance, an MA in Dance or an MA in Dance with New York State PreK-12 dance teacher certification. The department has some of the best dance facilities in the country, including its own fully equipped 300-seat proscenium dance theater, a 270-seat large-space studio theater, five studios, a body-conditioning lab, health pool, and computerized music and design studios.

Faculty and professional staff are nationally and internationally recognized in their areas of expertise and are leaders in professional organizations such as CORD, NASD and NDEO.

The modern dance-centered program includes a variety of approaches to modern dance, as well as studio courses in ballet, contact improvisation and partnering, tap, African dance and drumming, and Irish dance. Students explore the areas of choreography, dance history and theory, teaching methodologies, somatics, and movement analysis.

While at The College at Brockport, graduate students may perform in faculty and guest artist work, choreograph their own work or assist in directing departmental touring performances. They may travel to regional/national conferences and festivals; to countries with departmental foreign study programs such as Ghana, England, Australia and Jamaica; or to New York and other locations for approved and credited apprenticeships or dance study.

Upon completion of their degrees, Brockport graduate students go on to become college and university faculty; preK-12 teachers; performers and choreographers; and dance administrators and private studio directors.

MFA in Performance and Choreography

MA in Dance Education

MA in Dance

Spring 2012 Auditions

Graduate Catalog 2009-2011

Additional Information for Graduate Students
Admission Requirements  
Credit by Transfers/Examination



Performance Opportunities  
Internship/apprenticeships  
Graduate Admissions  
Achievements of SUNY Brockport Graduates  
Retention and Dematriculation  

 

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements for the MA, MFA and MA with Teacher Certification:
  • An undergraduate degree with a B or better average.
  • Up to 12 credits may be transferred from other colleges and universities with the approval of the department. Six credits may be earned, upon approval, at units outside the SUNY system. Twelve credits may be transferred, with approval, from within SUNY system, or from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies.
  • Three letters of recommendation, at least two from persons acquainted with the candidate's dance background.
  • Completion of the application form, including submission of official transcripts of undergraduate study, graduate study and application for audition.
  • Participation in the audition-interview process, scheduled in the spring. This audition consists of:
    1. being observed in modern technique class (intermediate-level skill is required)
    2. solving an improvisation problem
    3. presenting a three-minute solo of one's own original choreography
    4. participation in a formal interview, including candidate's articulation of areas of interest in dance; and
    5. completion of a writing assessment assignment. Original research, essays or articles may also be presented, but are not required.


Credit by Transfers/Examination

A maximum total of 12 transfer credits are evaluated by the Department of Dance as follows:

  1. Six credits may be transferred from other colleges and universities.
  2. 12 credits may be transferred from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies or from within the SUNY system.
  3. Credit by examination and/or portfolio/interview for established dance expertise may be awarded: nine credits in the MA and 0-12 credits in MFA.
  4. Students already holding an MA in dance equivalent to The College at Brockport degree may receive up to 36 credits toward their MFA.

Note: Decisions concerning any of these options are made through transcript evaluation, the audition/interview process, portfolio and/or examination.

Performance Opportunities

  • DANSCORE: departmental contemporary dance ensemble
  • SANKOFA: departmental African Dance and Drum Ensemble, 15-20 performances yearly
  • IMAGE/MOVEMENT/SOUND FESTIVAL: performances with Eastman School of Music composers and musicians, and RIT film/video/animation artists, two to three performances yearly
  • GUEST ARTIST CONCERTS: often including student participation, two to four performances yearly
  • DANCE/HARTWELL and DANCE/STRASSER concert series: choreographed and produced concerts, nine-12 performances yearly
  • YOUNG DANCERS SHOWCASE: presentations by first-year students, two performances yearly
  • DIME-A-DANCE: informal showings of work in progress
  • OTHER AREA DANCE OPPORTUNITIES: participation in company performances and/or classes is by invitation of their directors (i.e., Garth Fagan Dance, Rochester City Ballet, Drumcliffe School of Irish Dance, Hendricks Dance Project, Present Tense Dance and other area dance companies)

Internship/apprenticeships and performance affiliations

  • The Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), NYC
  • Garth Fagan Dance (company and school), Rochester, NY
  • Young Audiences, Inc. and the Aesthetic Education Institute (AEI)
  • The Arts and Cultural Council of Greater Rochester
  • Kinections, Inc. (Dance/Movement Therapy Studio)
  • East-West Somatics Institute for Movement Education and Therapy

Achievements of Brockport graduates

  • Performing with companies of choreographers such as Martha Graham, Ralph Lemon, Paul Taylor, Garth Fagan, Randy James, Elliott Feld, Margaret Jenkins, Bill T. Jones, Dance Theatre of Harlem, May O'Donnell, and Ellis Wood
  • Founding/directing/choreographing for companies such as Elizabeth Streb Ringside, Verlezza Dances, Dancing Wheels, American Dance Asylum, and Concert Dance Company of Boston
  • Teaching/directing at college and university dance programs such as Stephens College, Wells College, Smith College, Mills College, California State University Long Beach, Ohio State University, Edna Manley College (Jamaica), Coker College, Plymouth State College, SUNY Geneseo, and University of Rochester
  • Teaching/directing high school dance programs such as New England Dance Conservatory, Rochester's School of the Arts, Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Draper School of Dance, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania's Governors School of the Arts, 171 Cedar Arts Center, and many public schools
  • Dancing/choreographing for the Broadway stage in shows such as Dancing, A Chorus Line, The Who's Tommy, Teddy and Alice, How to Succeed, Candide, The Act, Perfectly Frank, Rosse, and Dream
  • Becoming dance managers, registered dance/movement therapists, physical therapists with dance specialization, costume/lighting designers, nationally recognized specialists in arts/dance education, dance administrators, and teachers in public/private higher education, K-12 education, and schools of dance
  • Receiving fellowships, such as Guggenheims, Fulbrights, the MacArthur Fellow, and grants, such as NEA, NEH and NYSCA funding
  • Receiving awards such as the Tony, the Bessie, the Drama Desk, the Fred Astaire, etc.



Retention and Dematriculation

Any student whose GPA falls below 3.0 is subject to review for retention in the program. All work must be completed within five years of the date of matriculation for the degree to be awarded.

 

Information on the graduate dance program can be obtained from:

Mariah Maloney, Graduate Dance Program Director
Department of Dance
The College at Brockport
350 New Campus Drive
Brockport, NY 14420

Telephone: (585) 395-2493

E-mail: mmaloney@brockport.edu or dance@brockport.edu

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Last Updated 4/13/12

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Events

Wed, Jun 6

CCNY Conference
8 am - 6 pm

Counseling Centers of New York (CCNY) Conference
10 am - 4 pm

Thu, Jun 7

CCNY Conference
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Counseling Centers of New York (CCNY) Conference
10 am - 4:15 pm

Fri, Jun 8

Counseling Centers of New York (CCNY) Conference
8 am - 1 pm