When I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to be a ballet dancer.
Several of my friend were going straight into ballet companies and going into trainee programs,
which was something I considered for a while.
Here you get not only the whole college experience but you also get so much of the intellectual
and academic basis for what you’re doing as a dancer.
We have two different approaches to the Bachelor of Arts.
One is a concentration in choreography, performance and theory.
The other is a concentration in dance education.
The reason the BA designation is important for our students is that we have broad thinkers
with diverse interests.
Many of our students are double majors.
I just fell in love with the department.
The faculty is fantastic.
The faculty mentorship is incredibly amazing.
We have such diverse faculty in all areas from performance to Graham to other kinds
of techniques.
We partner with Charlotte Ballet to give students an opportunity to take more classes and enhance
their study of ballet technique by taking a wider variety of classes with a wider variety
of teachers.
The big names that you always hear about, like Patricia McBride, Mark Diamond, we are
getting to take classes with them.
We have the Afro-Brazilian dance class, which is a class that shares the African Diaspora.
We’re offering these different diverse classes so that the students have a diverse perspective,
as well, in how to approach dance and approach life.
The dance department here fosters an environment of warmth, of welcoming, of connection, of
new expression and innovative art.
I chose to major in dance education because I grew up in a small town in a rural part
of North Carolina.
There actually aren’t any dance classes in our public schools and I have always wanted
to be a teacher.
I was always assisting my dance teachers growing up.
When I found out you major in dance education and that you could teach dance in the public
schools I was really excited about that.
Students really get a wonderful opportunity and a professional opportunity in performing.
We can also work with professional costume designers, scene designers, lighting designers,
and that enriches their experience, as well.
Student research in dance is a big area of focus for our department.
Our students are doing a wonderful wide range of research projects.
They’re supported by Charlotte Research Scholars program, also there’s a professional
internship program on campus that helps support and mentor students, and our faculty create
connections.
So I run a faculty-led study abroad program in Turin and Monclavo, Italy.
Our students get to work with other Italian artists and train intensely for three weeks.
The dance department offers field studies, usually once a year in New York City.
I specifically remember taking class at the Martha Graham studio and the Paul Taylor studio.
Being in a major city like Charlotte means that our students also have the opportunity
to see performance from everywhere in the world.
Work by Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, Matthew Bourne, Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem
has been here recently.
There’s opportunity everywhere.
I mean, there’s faculty here that will help you excel in anything you want to do.
It’s a very vibrant, thriving department that wants to see you succeed, that wants
to see you grow, and I is a place where they want you to build inclusiveness and out of
that inclusiveness, you find family.
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC]