<p>Start UC - Irvine dance major discussions here!</p>
<p>The Dance Department at the University of California--Irvine is one of the 15 "Most Highly Recommended U.S. Programs" in the Arco "Performing Arts Major's College Guide," compiled by the former Director of Admissions of the Juilliard School. There are about 200 dance majors--there is no dance minor--10% are men, and about 15% of the students have a double major in a wide variety of areas. Students must audition for acceptance into the dance program (end of January) before they are admitted to the university. UC has an early application deadline, and they need to apply to the University in November. Prospective students audition in all three major disciplines: ballet (pointe is included, but not required), modern, and jazz. All students are admitted to the BA program, but may subsequently pursue a Performance BFA or, with faculty approval, a BFA in Choreography.</p>
<p>There is a strong focus on the techniques of ballet, modern, jazz, tap, world dance, and dance and technology and a world class faculty. The Claire Trevor School of the Arts has its own campus with excellent dance studios--ABT uses these for a summer intensive--and there is a phenomenal list of guest teachers and artists including the National Choreographers Initiative. The Dance Department has an exchange program with the Conservatoire National de Paris, and the UCI Etude Ensemble, directed by Prof. Donald McKayle ("One of America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures," 5 Tony nominations and an Emmy nomination) was the first American company to be invited to perform at the Danse de Mai festival in Paris. Other schools that do this exchange program include The Royal Ballet School of London and the National School of the Arts in South Korea. </p>
<p>Each year the Department presents four fully mounted, on-stage dance concerts, and there are other performance opportunities in musical theatre, performance ensembles, and opera. UCI also has a top 12 Drama Dept, a new BFA program in Musical Theatre with New York satellites, and six theatres on campus, including the 750-seat Irvine Barclay Theatre.) </p>
<p>Students have gone on to professional companies, including the San Francisco, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart Ballets; the Bella Lewitzky, Lar Lubovitch, and Bat-Dor Companies, Ailey II, and in major musicals including Jerome Robbins' Broadway, and the original cast of Chorus Line, as well as in films, television, and theatre. Others have entered the professions of dance education, dance anthropology, medicine, law, and psychology.</p>
<p>This is a great program for serious dancers who can meet University of California admission requirements. Dance@UCI</a> - Dance@UCI<br>
Today@UCI:</a> UCI-TV: UCI Dance Performance Videoclip</p>