Established July 1, 2011 Campus Urban Number of students 900 School type Public university | Dean Dr. Peter Alexander Phone +1 336-334-5789 Founded 1 July 2011 Faculty 100 | |
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Website performingarts.uncg.edu Address 100 McIver St, Greensboro, NC 27412, USA Similar University of North Carolina, University of Michigan School of, University of North Carolina, Greensboro College, Guilford College | ||
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro College of Visual and Performing Arts (formerly known as the UNCG School of Music, Theatre and Dance or SMTD) is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing and visual arts that is a college within the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina. The College requires an audition on top of an application to the University for entry. The College is divided into three separate schools; Music, Dance, Theatre, and Visual Arts. The College offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Performances for the schools of Dance, Theatre, and Music are held at the black box dance theater, Taylor Theatre, Brown Theatre, the School of Music Concert Hall, and North Carolina College for Women Auditorium (formerly Aycock Auditorium). The School is the largest and most comprehensive performing arts program in North Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeastern United States and the entire country.
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About
The School of Music, Theatre and Dance is home to over nine hundred student majors and over one hundred faculty members. The School of Music, Theatre and Dance was created on July 1, 2010 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with the merger of the already existing School of Music, Department of Theatre, and Department of Dance. The first dean of the school was Dr. John Deal. In 2012, Dr. Sue Stinson became the Interim Dean of the School. The School is separated into five departments: Music Performance, Music Education, Music Studies, Theatre, and Dance. The University's Performing Arts Series is under the authority of the School. It was announced in July of 2016 that the University of North Carolina at Greensboro would be creating The College of Visual and Performing Arts, combining the School of Music, Theatre and Dance with the Visual Arts Department. This move will create four separate schools within the College; a School of Music, School of Theatre, School of Dance, and School of Visual Arts.
School of Dance
Dance was first taught as part of the Women's Physical Education Program at UNCG when the university was known as the State Normal and Industrial School. In 1963, the university created a department comprising four divisions: Health Education, Physical Education, Dance, and Recreation. The Arts Forum had been created in 1943 which brought students and faculty together in painting, music composition, choreography, and writing. Virginia Moomaw was hired in 1945 and became a voice for dance at the Women's College. In 1949 the President of the University of North Carolina, Dr. Frank Porter Graham, approved the Graduate Creative Arts Program which established MFA degree programs in painting, music, writing, and dance. The major in dance was introduced in 1957. In 1970 the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation was formed. In 1980 it was renamed the School of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. In 1984 the instructional divisions were changed into separate departments. In 1989 the Dance Department moved into the Rosenthall Gymnasium and in 1991 became the School of Health and Human Performance. In 2010, the Department of Dance was combined with the Department of Theatre and the School of Music to create the School of Music, Theatre and Dance.
UNCG's Dance Program was ranked the best dance school in North Carolina, the best dance school in the Southern United States, and in the top 5 best dance schools in the United States.
The Department of Dance's facilities are located within the Mary Channing Coleman Building, formerly the Human Health and Performance Building. This includes five dance studios, a black box theater, dressing rooms, offices, a computer lab, and classrooms. There is also a dance studio at the Student Recreation Center and another in the Curry Educational Building. Dance concerts are performed in the Dance Theater and at North Carolina College For Women Auditorium, the University's opera house. The current Head of the Dance Department is Janet Lilly.
Annual performances within the Department include:
Dance students also audition and perform in other productions within the School's other departments such as plays, musicals, and operas. The Department also offers a Cabaret Showing of student's original choreography.
Students train with a focus in Contemporary Dance technique. They also train in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, and African techniques. Somatic Practice courses are also offered such as Yoga, and Kinetic Awareness. Once a semester there is a technique review where students are observed by faculty in their technique classes to see whether or not they are eligible to advance in level.
The University has exchange programs for dance students at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, the University of Cape Town and the University of Malta. Students from the department have also gone abroad to study dance in Ireland, China, and Italy. UNCG annually attends the National Dance Education Organization Conference, the Mid-Atlantic Regional American College Dance Festival, and the Dance and the Child International Conference where students present their research projects, teaching methods, original curricula, and choreography.
Audition process
Each student must complete a live audition in front of the Dance faculty. Undergraduate auditions are held in November and March. Graduate auditions are held in February. Master of Arts in Dance Education and Undergraduate Dance Minors are not required to audition. The audition process includes ballet technique, contemporary dance, improvisation, interview, and writing portions.
Degrees
The programs offered combine a liberal arts curriculum with professional preparation for further study or for a variety of dance careers. The Department of Dance offers a Dance Education Program where students who are BAs, BFAs, MAs, and MFAs can receive their teaching license for kindergarten through twelfth grade in public school systems upon graduation.
Dance Education Students can obtain a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Theory and Practice or a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography with K-12 licensure. The Dance Education program prepares students to design and implement innovative dance education programs in public schools, private schools, and dance studios that promote dance literacy, the role of dance in diverse cultures, artistic and technical development, collaborative practice, and interdisciplinary learning. Dance Education is a four year degree program including coursework in dance pedagogy, choreography, improvisation, technique, history, stagecraft and technology. Upon completion, students are eligible for initial certification as a dance teacher in all grades. The Department hosts Dancers Connect Community School, a program that provides free dance training and performance opportunities to children from the local community. Dance Education students work alongside faculty in teaching and choreographing for Dancers Connect.
Scholarships and awards
Talent-based scholarships awarded in the Dance Department include:
Undergraduate Scholarships
Graduate Scholarships
School of Music
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, in 1912, was the first in the Southern United States to offer an undergraduate degree in Music Education. The North Carolina Music Educators Association was founded at the School in the 1920s. The School of Music has been fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music since 1938. The School offers the only comprehensive music program from undergraduate through doctoral study in performance and music education in North Carolina.
The current Head of the Music Performance Department is Dennis AsKew. The current Head of the Music Education Department is David Teachout. The current Head of the Ethnomusicology Department is Gavin Douglas.
The Music Departments have their own library, the Harold Schiffman Music Library.
The Ensembles of the Music Program are Choir, Symphonic Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Ensemble, Opera Theater, String Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and University Band.
The Music Program at UNCG was ranked as the best music school in North Carolina, 13th best music school in the Southern United States, and in the top 50 best music schools in the United States.
Degrees
Degree Programs offered include:
UNCG Opera Theatre
Notable Opera performances by the UNCG Opera Theatre include:
Scholarships and awards
Talent-based scholarships and awards in the School of Music include:
Undergraduate Scholarships
Graduate Scholarships
School of Theatre
The current Head of the Theatre Department is David Sullivan.
Notable performances include:
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts offers degrees in Art History, Art Education, and degrees in Fine Arts such as sculpting, paitning, and design.
Scholarships and awards
Talent-based scholarships and awards in the Theatre Department include:
Undergraduate Scholarships
Graduate Scholarships
Student organizations
Student Organizations include: