Explore majors, minors and certificate offerings in the Department of Dance.
Learn about our application process and how to visit us on campus.
Discover scholarships available to students and learn how to apply.
Your Future. Made in Charlotte.
Welcome to the Department of Dance
The Department of Dance provides exemplary, integrated dance training and academic preparation in a community that values lived experience, embodied practices, creative process and performance.
Vision & Values
About the Department of Dance
In the Department of Dance at UNC Charlotte, students find rigorous dance training and academic preparation and the flexibility and support needed to pursue individual interests and career paths. UNC Charlotte faculty are diverse in their perspectives and training and innovative leaders in performance, choreography, dance scholarship and teacher training. Our professional advisors help students navigate double majors and minors. Dance study is enhanced by state-of-the-art facilities, study abroad opportunities and the activities of a vibrant campus and the bustling, arts-minded city of Charlotte.
UNC Charlotte’s Department of Dance does not require an audition for acceptance. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance. We bring our vision to life through three main components, described below.
Your Community
The Department of Dance is a diverse community where students access many different dance styles. We focus on modern and contemporary dance, classical and contemporary ballet, and dance forms of Africa and the African diaspora. The Department of Dance is part of the College of Arts +Architecture. Unique in the Carolinas, the College includes Architecture, Art and Art History, Music, Theatre and Dance. This provides our students with interdisciplinary opportunities. CoA+A students may attend events across the College and visit uptown art galleries for free. Charlotte is home to resident professional dance companies and to major theaters. Dance students benefit through masterclasses and by seeing multiple concerts per year.
Your Artistry
All students in the Department of Dance may audition to perform in two fully produced concerts a year choreographed by faculty and guest artists. Students also choreograph and perform their own works in the department-produced Under Construction concert and as part of student groups, Range of Motion Dance Ensemble and MOVE Dance Alliance.
Our students have been lucky to work as part of National Endowment for the Arts-funded faculty research projects and with many guest artists.
Your Degree
The Department of Dance provides exemplary liberal arts educations for students who desire professional and personal engagement with dance. We offer B.A. degree plans for majors interested in Dance Performance, Choreography, and Theory, Applied Dance, or Dance Education, and double majors with other programs are common. Our Advanced Dance Studies Certificate is designed for students who want to create a senior project. In partnership with professional dance companies, the Department offers a Professional Training Certificate in Dance with the Charlotte Ballet and an internship program with Baran Dance. Our Musical Theatre Certificate offers interdisciplinary training for students interested in that field.
Our Research
Research in the College of Arts + Architecture creates new ways of seeing, creating, designing and inhabiting our world. Our research supports our students in becoming inquisitive, self-reliant, hardworking and aware of the challenges that shape the world they share with others.
Start Your Journey in Dance
See what life is like in our department
On the stage
Explore Dance Concerts
Students have the opportunity to perform in two fully produced concerts a semester as well as other faculty-led showcases and student-choreographed productions.
Explore Recent Concerts
Watch Concert Excerpts
Upcoming Dance Events
See upcoming events in UNC Charlotte's Department of Dance.
No events found.
Recent Dance News
Melody Shanahan
B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Applied Dance; B.A. in Criminal Justice; Undergraduate Certificate in Professional Training with Charlotte Ballet
“My favorite thing about the dance department are the professors and the connections! I feel so at home when I’m in the department, and I’ve made such amazing friends in my first year of college! Dance has always been a part of my life. Ballet opened my eyes to a beautiful artistry and amazing techniques. Being Hispanic also brought me the culture of Mexican Folklorico and the music . Now I perform all over North Carolina blending Ballet techniques/ steps with Latin beats in various festivals and theatres!”
Devdan Ferguson
B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Applied Dance; B.S. in Computer Science with a concentration in AI, Robotics and Gaming; and an Undergraduate Certificate in Professional Training with Charlotte Ballet
“My favorite thing about the Department of Dance is getting to study with such an interdisciplinary focus. You truly become a full-bodied, mature artist by studying and taking in every technique possible, it allows you to find your voice in a way nothing else can.”
Natalia Moss
B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Performance, Choreography and Theory and an Undergraduate Certificate in Advanced Dance Studies
“I love how much authenticity there is in our department. Every professor is so knowledgeable and dedicated to their craft, and there are so many students with all different backgrounds and specialties of their own. The community we are all able to build with each other is so important, and I am incredibly grateful and proud to be a part of it all!”
Kari Sescourka
B.A. in Dance with a concentration in Performance, Choreography and Theory; Undergraduate Certificate in Professional Training with Charlotte Ballet
“I hope after college to have a professional career with a contemporary ballet or modern dance company. After that, I plan on going to physical therapy school to become a physical therapist for dancers. My favorite thing about UNC Charlotte’s dance department is the amazing community it offers. The students and faculty are both so wonderful and supportive. It is a place that truly allows for students to find what style and artistic career they want to achieve.”