For Prospective Students

Bates offers many levels of participation in Dance from first encounters to serious dedication.

The Bates Dance program offers a wide variety of opportunities to all students on campus. In accord with Bates College’s culture of diversity, the Dance program supports the idea that all people can benefit from the experience and understanding of dance. In this environment of inclusiveness, auditions are not necessary for entrance to the degree programs or for most of the activities in the Bates Dance program. You are encouraged to risk learning and growing though the study of and participation in this exciting art form regardless of level and experience.

Bates College currently offers a major and minor in Dance that includes both the theory and practice of dance. You can also incorporate dance into an interdisciplinary studies program with other departments on campus or include a performance component in thesis projects housed in other academic disciplines. Being a small program we have a lot of flexibility to help you realize your goals in dance.  There are many opportunities to both choreograph and perform from the first day you step on campus. The Bates Dance Company is a flexible group for dancers who participate in up to five department dance concerts a year in the theaters on campus as well as performing in a variety of student initiated events. For the community minded, there are many opportunities in the local community and K-12 schools for teaching, mentoring and performance.

Dance at Bates has a balance of physical practice, creative development and theoretical understanding. The theory and understanding of the art form are investigated through academic courses in dance history, current issues in dance, dance writing, as well as through the experience of participating in the art form itself through technique classes and performances. Composition and performance skills are developed both in the setting of academic courses and through performing with the Bates Dance Company. While Modern dance is the central focus of our program, a variety of different dance techniques are regularly taught at Bates including Hip Hop, Ballet, Jazz. We also have active dance clubs in Step, Bollywood, Ballroom, Taiko Drums, Hip Hop and more as well as a very strong yoga community that spans all areas of the Bates community.

Guest choreographers and master classes are an integral part of the Dance program providing a variety of experiences both in dance styles and ways of working. Four to six guest choreographers with national and international reputations come to work with the Dance program each year. Artist such as Tere O’Conner, Alexandra Beller and Doug Elkins, Jodi Melnick, Larry Keigwin, and Robin Sanders come to Bates regularly to teach or create a repertory piece in a variety of classes. These guest artists greatly expanding your dance experience in a variety of styles in the environment of the academic courses as well as in weekend worshops. Choreography is one of the greatest opportunities in our dance program. With a series of three composition courses there are opportunities to make and show work from your first semester to your last.

During the summers, you can participate in the internationally renowned Bates Dance Festival up to three times as a regular part of your Bates education. It is a three week total immersion into the world of working artists in an atmosphere of community and adventure unique to the Bates Dance Festival.

If you are applying for admissions to Bates College please print and fill in the Common Application Arts Supplement to submit with your materials and a DVD of your work.

Carol Dilley