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Dance BA Honours

Taught by industry professionals with access to top facilities, this course will help you channel your passion for dance into a successful career in the creative industries
Code
W512
Start
September 2024
Duration
3 years full-time
Attendance
Full-time
Fees
S£9,250 (UK)*
£16,600 (INT)*
Course leader
Chris Tudor

Select from our exit awards in Performance, Dance Science and Choreography or develop a portfolio of skills in areas such as dance teaching, collaboration and journalism with the portfolio Dance pathway.

Why choose Dance BA Honours at Middlesex?

Our Dance BA allows you to develop your professional skills by reflecting on creative practices and creating your own unique performances. You'll also have access to professional training facilities including four fully-equipped dance studios and a specialist dance theatre.

What you will gain

As well as giving you the opportunity to develop and refine your dance skills, this degree can open up a wide range of creative career paths. You'll have the opportunity to gain internship experience with prestigious organisations such as Trinity Laban, Tanzplatform Rhein-Main Frankfurt and Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.

Many of our graduates have gone on to successful careers with the likes of Akram Khan, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Flawless and Ross McKim Ensemble Dance Company.

We have over 145 years of experience delivering professional, creative and technical education that prepares students – like you – for success in global careers, so find out more today.

3 great reasons to pick this course

  • Student satisfaction
    96% of students were positive about the quality of learning resources and facilities on their course (National Student Survey 2023)
  • State-of-the-art dance facilities
    Including five fully equipped dance studios and a specialist dance theatre that allows you to train in a professional-level environment
  • Career opportunities
    Our graduates have gone on to work with the likes of Akram Khan, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Flawless and Ross McKim Ensemble Dance Company

What you will learn

You'll be exposed to a range of practice through project-based learning and industry-focused learning, equipping you to make your pathway selections in Year 3.

We offer a choice between exit awards in Performance, Dance Science and Choreography or you can develop a portfolio of skills in areas such as dance teaching, collaboration and journalism with our portfolio Dance pathway.

You’ll have the opportunity to develop various transferable skills through immersive training in dance teaching, collaborative practice, creative performance and dance journalism, all of which will provide you with valuable skills to pursue diverse career avenues in the creative fields.

By joining us on this course, you'll have the opportunity to:

  • Experience one of the leading universities in the UK for dance
  • Learn from a diverse team of professional artists and industry experts
  • Receive rigorous dance technique training
  • Develop your individuality through creative dance and performance
  • Explore dance science, professional practice and dance academia
  • Focus on a specialist area or select from a range of dynamic modules
  • Become part of the MDX Dance community, joining a network of entrepreneurial artists
  • Learn through a vibrant curriculum that prepares you for a versatile, lifelong career.

Keep informed

Sign up to receive the latest information about studying at Middlesex University London.

Our communications are designed to support you in deciding your future and keep you up to date about student finance, employment opportunities and student activities available at Middlesex University.

Students from across our Dance courses have produced some wonderful work on group and individual projects in recent years. Have a look below at some examples.

You'll explore, investigate and interrogate a range of dance-related practical and theoretical problems through a variety of modes. You'll have the choice in your third year to build a broad portfolio of experience or, if you prefer, focus your pathway toward specific exit awards. You'll immerse yourself in a supported environment learning with and from each other.

Year 1

The year one module, The Emerging Dance Artist, is a year-long 120-credit module that provides you with a sound foundation from which to develop. By positioning you at the centre of the learning experience, it lays the fundamentals of effective working practices and encompasses a range of core areas such as dance techniques, choreographic processes and dance-making, contextualisation of current and past practices, cultural identities, collaboration and independent working. You will explore the interrelationship between these components through a portfolio of learning themes that provide lineage and currency to the landscape of dance today.

Year 2

Your year two modules will further develop your knowledge, understanding and skills in dance practice. Each of the four modules has a distinct and specific in-depth focus which is central to the developing artist. Together, the modules offer the opportunity for you to reflect on your learning within dance practices and shape your pathway into year three.

Year 3

Year three will enhance, further develop and allow you to apply knowledge and skills within a professional practice context.

Exit awards

All students follow year one and year two modules on the BA Dance and can remain on that award for year three with a further choice of two 30-credit modules from Directed Performance or Creative Performance, Collaborative Practices, Teaching Safe Dance Practice and Dancing Research.

Alternatively, through discussion with your Academic Advisor, toward the end of year two, you can transfer to one of three exit awards: BA Dance (Performance), BA Dance (Choreography) or BA Dance (Dance Science).

Modules

  • Year 1 - all exit awards (Compulsory)

  • Year 2 - all exit awards (Compulsory)

  • Year 3 (Compulsory)

    • Applied Professional Practices (30 credits)

      The module develops key theoretical and analytical frameworks to enhance your understanding of methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives for analysis and interrogation of dance practices and dance works.

      The module will also introduce you to areas of professional practice within the dance field and develop your understanding of ethical implications, strategies, and skills required for navigating a journey through the profession.

  • Year 3 - Choose one module (Compulsory)

    • Dance Techniques (Performance) (30 credits)

      This module aims to enhance dance technical skills. It challenges you to explore and acquire a deeper level of understanding of the eight elements of dance.

      Alongside the technical training, you will be encouraged to reflect on how the techniques studied inform your artistic, creative, or educational growth and understanding of dance.

    • Dance Techniques (30 credits)

      This module aims to enhance dance technical skills. It challenges you to explore and acquire a deeper level of understanding of the eight elements of dance.

      Alongside the technical training, you will be encouraged to reflect on how the techniques studied inform your artistic, creative, or educational growth and understanding of dance.

  • Year 3 - AND choose two from the following:

    • Teaching Safe Dance Practice (30 credits)
    • Dancing Research (30 credits)
    • Collaborative Practice (30 credits)

      This module enables you to develop research in collaboration with other disciplines such as; music, architecture, fine art, or art and design.

      The module aims to foster independence and ambition in dance making through encouraging dialogue with other artists.

      You will develop knowledge and understanding of the range and diversity of inter-disciplinary practices.

      You will independently engage in the research, invention, and planning of choreographic projects.

    • Directed Performance (30 credits)

      This module aims to develop your understanding of dance repertoire.

      You will be challenged to apply and expand your technical proficiency, and acquire stylistic and interpretive skills through your engagement with rehearsals in a directed context.

      Through guided and independent research and practice, you will explore the multiple layers inherent in the rehearsal process and performance of dance repertoire.

    • Creative Performance (30 credits)

      This module will provide you with exposure to a professional rehearsal environment through participation in the creation of dance works.

      Through engaging in choreographic processes, you will develop a sense of personal artistic interpretation and an awareness of ‘self’ and enhance your understanding of the role the dancer plays in the creation and performance of such work.

      Throughout the module, you will have the opportunity to investigate, develop and apply varying rehearsal techniques as well as to perform the created work in a professional theatre context.

  • OR choose one of the following exit awards:

  • Year 3 - Choreography (Compulsory)

    • Applied Professional Practices (30 credits)

      This module makes links with the wider dance profession, develops key skills and attributes and engages you in practice-based experiences. Learning through reflection on your engagement with professional practice, you will gain vital employability skills necessary to effectively plan and pursue a career in the creative arts industry.

    • Dance Technique Practices (30 credits)

      This module will enhance your dance technical skills. Alongside the technical training, you will be encouraged to reflect how the techniques studied inform your artistic, creative, or educational growth and understanding of dance.

    • Collaborative Practice (30 credits)

      This module enables you to develop research in collaboration with other disciplines such as; music, architecture, fine art, or art and design.

      The module aims to foster independence and ambition in dance making through encouraging dialogue with other artists.

      You will develop knowledge and understanding of the range and diversity of inter-disciplinary practices.

      You will independently engage in the research, invention, and planning of choreographic projects.

    • Choreographic Research Project (30 credits)
  • Year 3 - Dance Science (Compulsory)

    • Applied Professional Practices (30 credits)

      This module makes links with the wider dance profession, develops key skills and attributes and engages you in practice-based experiences. Learning through reflection on your engagement with professional practice, you will gain vital employability skills necessary to effectively plan and pursue a career in the creative arts industry.

    • Dance Techniques (Practices) (30 credits)

      This module will enhance your dance technical skills. Alongside the technical training, you will be encouraged to reflect how the techniques studied inform your artistic, creative, or educational growth and understanding of dance.

    • Teaching Safe Dance Practice (30 credits)
    • Dance Science Project (30 credits)
  • Year 3 - Performance (Compulsory)

    • Directed Performance (30 credits)
    • Creative Performance (30 credits)
    • Dance Technique Performance (30 credits)
    • Applied Professional Practices (30 credits)

      The module develops key theoretical and analytical frameworks to enhance your understanding of methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives for analysis and interrogation of dance practices and dance works.

      The module will also introduce you to areas of professional practice within the dance field and develop your understanding of ethical implications, strategies, and skills required for navigating a journey through the profession.

To find out more please download the Dance BA Honours specification (PDF).

We review our courses regularly to improve your experience and graduate prospects so modules may be subject to change

  1. Teaching and independent learning
  2. Coursework and assessment

Facilities

Our five fully equipped dance studios are the perfect complement to one of the most respected dance departments in the UK.

Student support

We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health and disability support.

Additional needs

We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.

Wellness

Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.

Work while you study

Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.

Financial support

You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.

How can the BA Dance support your career?

There are numerous pathways that Middlesex Dance graduates have successfully pursued both independently and with high-profile industry bodies.

These include performance opportunities with Akram Khan, C-12 Dance Theatre, Flawless, Stop Gap Dance, Zoo Nation, JV2, Blue Boy and Ross McKim Ensemble. Choreography graduates have created work for Resolution!, Siobhan Davies Dance, GradLab, and have attracted Arts Council England funding to create and tour new works.

Many graduates enhance their careers with internships with Arts Organisations such as Dance Research Studio, Trinity Laban, DanceXchange and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Others have forged careers with One Dance UK, The Lowry Theatre, Move It and National Institute of Dance Medicine & Science [NIDMS].

Graduates have attained posts at The Place, London Studio Centre, The Royal Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance, writing for leading dance journals, working within the health and fitness industry teaching exercise to music and coaching dance and sport-related activity.

Many graduates progress to MA study including Middlesex’s new MRes (Research-based MA), MAPP (MA by Professional Practice), MSc Dance Science, and further to PhD studies.

MDXworks

Our employability service, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.

Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has put us in the top 10 UK universities for students who want to be CEOs and entrepreneurs (Hitachi, 2021).

We can help you to develop your employability skills and get some valuable work experience. We provide workshops, events and one-to-one support with job hunting, CVs, covering letters, interviews and networking.

We also support you in securing part-time work, placements, internships, and volunteering opportunities, and offer an enterprise support service for those looking to start their own business.

Global network

You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.

  1. UK entry
  2. International entry
  3. How to apply

These fees are for the 2024/25:

UK students1

Full-time: £9,250

Part-time: £77 per taught credit

International students2

Full-time students: £16,600

Part-time students: £138 per taught credit

Additional costs

The following study tools are included in your fees:

  • Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
  • Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
  • Free printing for academic paperwork
  • Free online training with LinkedIn Learning.
  • Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders and digital audio recorders.

The following course-related costs are not included in the fees, and you will need to budget for these:

  • Theatre, museum and art gallery visits.

Scholarships and bursaries

To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:

  • MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
  • Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
  • Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.

Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.

Fees disclaimers

1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.

Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.

Helen Kindred
Director of Dance and Professional Practice Programmes

Dr. Helen Kindred is a renowned dance artist-scholar and Senior Lecturer in Dance and Professional Practice. She has toured globally as a performer and achieved international recognition for her performances and choreographic work spanning nearly three decades.  Dr. Kindred earned her PhD from Middlesex University in 2021 and has made significant contributions to the field, serving as an Artistic Assessor for Arts Council England and holding key roles at Middlesex University and DanceHE. Currently, she serves as a Trustee on the Board of BEEE Creative.

Chris Tudor
Senior Lecturer in Dance Technique and Programme Leader BA Dance

Chris was a dancer with Richard Alston Dance Company and London Contemporary Dance Theatre, he has choreographed and directed extensively for theatre, film and television. He has been a guest teacher for Rambert Dance Company, National Dance Company Wales and Michael Clarke, and taught at the Royal Ballet Upper School in Covent Garden for many years. Chris holds an MA in Contemporary Dance with Distinction from University of Kent and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Angela Woodhouse
Senior lecturer in Dance Choreography

Angela’s artistic practice is concerned with audience relations, performance installation, site specific work and interdisciplinary practice. Her most recent collaborative work will tour internationally in 2019/20.

  • Jordan Franklin

    Dance Studies BA graduate

    Having had experience in the dance industry prior to coming to Middlesex University, the course was able to further my dance knowledge and skills a great deal. It gave me all the necessary tools to become stronger and more physically able in order to better my dance styles within and outside of contemporary dance. It also improved my professionalism, punctuality and organisation.

    After graduating I performed in Boy Blue Entertainment's production of Blak, Whyte, Gray at the Edinburgh International and Emancipation of Expressionism in the GCSE AQA Curriculum as shown on BBC2’s Darcy Bussell’s New Dance. In addition to my work as a performer and choreographer I have also taught dance in multiple countries and around the UK, something I was able to continue whilst studying.

  • Bethany Holmes

    Dance Studies BA graduate

    Choreographer Bethany Holmes talks about the inspiration behind her stunning final year dance piece, how she came to collaborate with a Music student, and what her time at Middlesex was like.

  • Cherilyn Albert

    Dance Studies BA graduate

    I am very grateful for the creative freedom I had whilst studying at Middlesex University. I was able to test my choreographic ideas and take risks, which has already benefited me since graduating. For example, I have presented a developed version of my 2nd year choreography at Resolution! at The Place. I collaborated with a designer of whom I connected with during my 3rd year collaboration project at Middlesex. I was very happy to be invited back to the Dance department to create a new work with 15 first years and alongside that I have been teaching dance to children across London. I am part of YAAG at Siobhan Davies Dance where I'm an advisor, panellist and a co-curator of their youth events. A lot of my time post graduation has been focusing on solidifying my company Instigate Unknown, doing research and development, workshops and performances. Aspirations for the future are being able to spend more time focusing on my company, applying for funding, hosting events and taking our works on tour.


We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.

Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.

Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.

At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.

Other courses

Professional Arts Practice BA Honours

Start: September 2024

Duration: 1 year full time, Distance Learning

Code: W49X

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