<sup>The School of Dance at the University of the Arts encourages undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty, to boldly take risks in the process of discovering and transforming ourselves, each other, and by extension, the world. A large school situated within a small university for the visual and performing arts in Philadelphia, the School of Dance reimagines the depth and rigor of a discipline-based dance conservatory by pursuing a pedagogy that interweaves practice, theory and the development of critical thinking to actively motivate students and the development of their research. The School of Dance relies heavily on a collaborative interdisciplinary network of artists, mentors and scholars to foster critical conversations about the meanings, purposes, and potentialities of dance and performance in contemporary society. The undergraduate program (BFA) asks students to develop the ability to think critically and build their identity as artists. This program is divided into two parts: the Foundation Series (for 1st and 2nd year students) and Portfolio & Research Series (for 3rd and 4th year students). The graduate (MFA) program aims to rethink inherited practices and consider an inclusive global future for the field by departing from a traditional educational format proposing instead the manifestation of temporary schools that create and enliven experimental and emergent pedagogies. The School of Dance at the University of the Arts seeks to open up student-driven pathways and expand the ways students access and reimagine the practices and techniques of making and performing dance - valuing their skill, commitment and the urgency of their ambitions as capable of developing new and critical perspectives in dance.

As part of the School of Dance’s HomeSchool platform, The Big Share: WILD CONSTELLATIONS is an ever expanding and continously unfurling virtual exhibition. As the internet becomes a vital nexus for communication and exchange, this space invites us to think imaginatively and wildly about how we explore and practice ways of being in dance, and ways of being part of the world. Discussions, radio shows, rehearsals, process archives and performances in various arrangements and across multiple digital platforms will offer a multitude of encounters with student, faculty and guest artists works.</sup>

<sup>School of Dance 
Leadership Team

Donna Faye Burchfield 
Dean

Jen McGinn
Associate Dean

Sara Procopio
Assistant Director

Esther Siddique
Artistic Associate  

Mehgan Abdel-Moneim
Administrative Associate

Niall Jones
Assistant Director / Creative Producer</sup>