Dance Program

Dance at the University of Houston strives to create confidence in the student through both the disciplined practice of dance and the transferable skills of creative interaction with others.

The Dance Program at the University of Houston offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, a Bachelor of Arts in Dance, a Dance Minor, and approved curriculum for Teaching Certification in Secondary Education in Dance.

Students seeking Teacher Certification in Dance should complete a B.A. in Dance and the Teacher Education Program in the College of Education to fulfil their minor.

Our mission is to assist individuals in defining their own originality through dance, to develop curious minds, and to prepare students with the life skills of critical thinking and inventive problem solving. We are committed to providing a center for dance in metropolitan Houston through workshops, collaboration, performances, and through projects by the Center for Choreography.

Dance at the University of Houston emphasizes the following:

An Athletic Component: To develop disciplined bodies and minds by integrating physical strength, flexibility, stamina, coordination, with retention and speed of comprehension. To develop the wide range of dynamic qualities which shape the performance skills of the dancer.
An Intellectual Component: To encourage creative and thoughtful individuals, fostering students as innovative choreographers and teachers with the ability to clearly articulate ideas. To analyze movement within the contexts of tradition, history, art, music, and dance theory.
A Human Interaction Component: To balance individual thinking with collective collaboration and develop individuals who can effectively work with others to realize their potential in dance and in life.

Academic Programs

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Dance at the University of Houston provides a rigorous undergraduate program for dance students in a pre-professional environment that emphasizes the creative act of choreography, supported by rigorous practice of dance technique, and academic study in production, pedagogy, history, technology, arts business, and interdisciplinary studies.

By emphasizing the creative act of choreography in combination with competitive training in the discipline and artistry of dance performance, the B.F.A. Dance Program balances artistic training with excellence in an academic curriculum that includes dance history, pedagogy, kinesiology/anatomy, dance production, technology for dance, and somatic practices.

Activities that bridge the professional dance community and our student dancers, such as on and off campus internships and mentorships, are pivotal to the B.F.A. programming and vision. The program provides a strong networking platform that links students to a vast network of professional dancers, choreographers and performing arts organizations in Houston's professional community.

Dance, B.F.A. | 2022-2023 Academic Map
Bachelor of Arts in Dance
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Dance encompasses a variety of academic and career goals within or adjacent to a career in dance, including physical therapy, kinesiology, private studio teaching, and somatic fields such as Pilates and Feldenkrais. The available minor in Education positions future dance teachers for success, preparing them for the state exam for teacher certification. The UH Dance Program is the only one in Houston that offers two degrees in dance and a teacher certification for Texas schools K-12.

Dance, B.A. | 2022-2023 Academic Map

Teacher Certification in Dance - Secondary Education:

The state requires all educators in secondary schools to have a major in their teaching field. UH has an approved program that prepares students to take the state’s teaching certification exam in Dance; however, we do not provide the certification itself.

Dance students seeking dance certification must audition for the Dance Program as a dance major and declare their minor in Education through the College of Education’s Teacher Education program by the end of their sophomore year. Students begin taking their education courses in their junior and senior years. The Teacher Education program is organized into four phases: Pre-Teaching, Developing-Teaching, Student Teaching 1, and Student Teaching 2. When a student completes their major in Dance and meets the requirements for the Teacher Education Program, they are eligible to take the Official State TExES 8-12 exams to obtain certification to teach 8-12 Dance in Texas. For additional information visit the College of Education web site.

Presently, there is no certification in dance for PK-8. Texas only has standards and certification for secondary school. Certification for dance in PK-8 is dependent on the state of Texas adopting standards for PK-8 which has been drafted.