WVU brings its rich legacy of dance into the 21st century by offering the first dance major in the state of West Virginia.
The dance major (BA in Dance) at West Virginia University School of Theatre & Dance offers instruction in a variety of dance styles and dance-related courses for students pursuing an undergraduate liberal arts degree. Our Bachelor of Arts degree is structured so that students may double major, combining other areas of interest in their pursuit of a college degree. Entrance to the dance program is by audition only.
Dance students are offered many performance opportunities on and off campus. These include informal dance showcases, an annual dance concert, musicals, as well as local, regional and national dance festivals and conferences. WVU has affiliations with the American College Dance Association (ACDA), CORPS de Ballet International and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).
Recent graduates of WVU’s dance program have gone on to pursue careers in dance by moving into the professional dance and theatre field or choose to continue their education in graduate programs. Others have pursued other disciplines and vocations such as journalism, law, health and physical education to name a few.
Current dance students attend summer intensives around the country, with companies such as the Paul Taylor Dance Company School in New York City, North Carolina Dance Theatre School in Charlotte, and have studied abroad with The ProDanza Italia/USA Workshop in Tuscany, Italy as well as experienced internships with Walt Disney World in Florida and Busch Gardens in Virginia.
Dance at West Virginia University began in 1928 by a group of women who founded the Orchesis Dance Ensemble. They experimented with what they called “free expression dance.” This new and innovative form of dance used the body as an instrument of interpretation—commonly known as Modern Dance. Over the past 82 years, Modern has been instrumental in building the Dance Program at WVU, especially under the direction of Mary Kathryne “Kacy” Wiedebusch.
Because of the continued growth of dance at WVU, a Dance Minor was designed for any WVU student who is pursuing other majors outside of our program, but are interested in dance.
We welcome your questions and inquiries and hope that you will consider visiting our campus to personally experience the wonderful possibilities that WVU, and our dance program has to offer toward your educational pursuits.
