Get a Global Education
Do you love the edgy contemporary dance scenes in Europe and Canada? Many international colleges offer dance degrees roughly equivalent to the American BFA—and those degrees can often be completed in three years instead of four. So grab your passports: We’ve rounded up some of the top dance programs for international study.
A student in Trinity Laban’s undergraduate dance program (James Keates, courtesy Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance)
London, England
The London Contemporary Dance School offers a BA in dance. In this three-
year program, students specialize in performance or choreography. While most classes are studio-based, academic classes are incorporated as weekly seminars. Bonus: LCDS shares space with The Place, one of London’s hottest contemporary performance venues.
More information
: lcds.ac.uk/futureofdance
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
is famous
for its extensive facilities. Laban offers a three-year, practice-based BA and prioritizes research, giving students access to comprehensive music and dance libraries. Dance students have the opportunity to perform new and historical work, and to collaborate with the school’s prestigious music program.
More information
: trinitylaban.ac.uk/study
Toronto, Canada
Ryerson University
’s dance program includes a four-year BFA. The program offers classes in modern, jazz and ballet. Students also have the opportunity to take theater, design and business classes, and core liberal arts courses are required to complete the degree. Because Ryerson is a large university—not a conservatory—dance majors can minor in other academic subjects.
More information
: ryerson.ca/theatreschool/
Salzburg, Austria
The Salzburg Experimental Academy
of Dance
offers a four-year conservatory education in contemporary dance. Rather than a degree, graduates are awarded a diploma after completing their studies, with a focus in either performance or choreography. Classes
are taught by a rotating international faculty and include ballet and contemporary technique, somatic practices and weekly seminars in dance history and other related subjects. Students also have the option to study at other schools’ undergraduate dance programs—so you could take your world travels even further!
More information
: sead.at/
Dresden, Germany
The Palucca Hochschule für Tanz offers a three-year BA program focusing on technique and performance. Dancers can earn a degree in performance or pedagogy, and will be qualified to continue their academic education at any university in the German state of Saxony. Bonus: Students have the opportunity to be selected for a traineeship with the Semperoper Ballett while they work toward a degree.
More information
: palucca.eu/en/degree_programmes.html
