Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) (B-FADANCE)

Overview

Award title	Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
Year & campus	2021 — Southbank
CRICOS code	093583B
Fees information	Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date
Study level & type	Undergraduate Coursework
AQF level	7
Credit points	300 credit points
Duration	36 months full-time

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) is a three-year full-time degree centred around studio practice, expanded dance thinking and performance. Throughout the course students develop an integrated practice as a dance artist. Expertise in dance as a way of knowing opens doorways for careers as performers, makers, leaders, activists, collaborators and cultural partners in a global world. The program focuses on the rigorous preparation of dancers as artists and cultural leaders working across all areas of the profession including performance, community, arts management, health and wellbeing sectors. It recognises that contemporary dance takes many forms and flourishes in diverse contexts, so it prepares students through an emphasis upon dance within an arts ecosystem. Students have opportunities for placements with local Melbourne dance organisations and can participate in international residencies through a travelling studio. The course structure also equips students with the professional skills for ensemble and autonomous careers in dance.

The course matrix emphasises the following core graduate capabilities: Practice; Make; Interact; Perform; Connect; and Reflect. These competencies are developed throughout the degree towards a graduate profile that is industry-ready whilst equipping students with skills for life-long learning and creative resilience. The learning of dance as an arts practice is a core component in the preparation of a professional dancer, and knowledge of diverse movement techniques and the concepts that underpin them, is considered essential to flexibly adapt to different choreographic ideas and opportunities.

Coordination, movement memory and performance qualities (expressiveness and focus), are fostered through embodied learning, open enquiry and exchange within a cohort experience of dancing together. Intensive skills development and practice take place alongside workshop and rehearsal processes for a range of performance situations. Students gain experience and know-how in performing for stage, art gallery and museum, gardens and outdoor sites, screen and digital spaces.

Deepening their artistic knowledge through acquiring mastery and craft, students can energetically engage with the creation of dance in both a local and international context. During their degree they have the opportunity to participate in a Global Atelier, a travelling studio programme through which students learn from leaders in the dance field and cultivate arts citizenship. Such collaborative skills and intercultural competencies are integral to their training.

Breadth subjects at each year level enable students to take cross disciplinary studies across the University.

After three years students will understand how they want to express themselves as artists within the field. A fourth year honours programme is also available for those who excel in their Bachelor of Fine Arts and wish to pursue deeper specialist knowledge in choreography, performance and dance as research.

Students may go onto postgraduate study and specialise in one of the career pathways opened through their undergraduate studies including dance education, dance leadership, arts and cultural management, and movement therapy.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed one of:

(a) the Victorian Certificate of Education including;
VCE Units 3 and 4 either a study score of at least 25 in English/English Language/Literature or a study score of at least 30 in English as an Additional Language;

(b) the International Baccalaureate Diploma including at least Grade 4 in English or English B (Standard Level or Higher Level);

(c) a senior secondary program, foundation studies program or equivalent approved by Academic Board including appropriate English language studies.

Applicants are also required to complete an audition, test, interview, workshop, portfolio or folio presentation, as prescribed by the Academic Board for the stream to which entry is sought.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

prior academic performance, and
performance in an audition and interview.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. For applicants who have not completed the Victorian Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the undergraduate English language requirements must be met.

Note. For applicants through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, “middle-band” selection adjustments are made only on the basis of eligibility for Access Melbourne.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) is designed to train highly skilled arts practitioners who can work independently or in ensemble across a wide range of careers and performance or production opportunities in dance. The core participation requirements of this course are consistent with this objective.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) is a demanding program requiring candidates to actively participate in all scheduled classes. The majority of subjects in the course have continuous and progressive assessment throughout the study period. A candidate for this course must possess abilities and skills in the following categories across all aspects of the course:

Physical abilities
- Physical strength, agility and endurance
- Motor skills
- Hearing
- Observation
Ability to monitor and manage own health
Communication skills
Intellectual abilities
Behavioural and social skills

Physical abilities

Physical strength, agility and endurance

The physical demands of the course on students are high. It is a requirement that students actively participate in all classes and all scheduled rehearsals. Classes include intensive physical training and performance. Active participation in classes requires sustained and repeat effort. Students must be able to safely participate in sustained cardiac and strength-based activity over a period of hours without risk to their health and wellbeing.

Motor skills

Students must possess gross and fine motor functions to be able to participate fully and independently in all classes.

Hearing

Students must be able to hear and follow verbal instructions and auditory cues.
Students must be able to accurately perceive time and tempo in music.

Observation

Students must be able to participate in classes, rehearsals and performance. They must be able to observe and follow technical instructions as delivered by teachers and others. Students must be aware of their surroundings and their position within spaces.

Communication Skills

Students must be able to communicate effectively and respectfully, both verbally and in written form.

Monitor and manage own health

Students must be capable of identifying the potential risk of injury and take responsibility for their own safety and the safety of others whilst undertaking these activities.

Intellectual Skills

Students must possess a range of intellectual capacities, including
- Critical self-reflection
- Analysis
- Complex problem-solving
- The ability to draw links across diverse areas of learning and practice

Behavioural and Social Skills

Students must possess the behavioural and social attributes that enable them to participate in a complex, group-based learning environment.
Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning.
Students must be capable of working effectively both as individuals and team members.
Since they also contribute to other students’ learning in a collaborative environment, they must possess interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of others. Assessment components may include collaborative tasks.
Students must be capable of and committed to effectively working under direction and undertaking regular independent preparation and practice.
Students must be reliable and dependable in meeting commitments for classes, rehearsals and performances.
Students must behave in a respectful and collegial fashion with other students, academic, administrative and technical staff of the Faculty, members of industry and external bodies, and the community.
Students must be mature, self-aware and have the emotional health necessary to utilise their intellectual and creative abilities fully, including skills in critical self-reflection.
Students must be able to perform publicly and receive criticism and feedback publicly.
Students must possess emotional resilience, as expected of performers within the profession.
Students must be aware of their personal limitations, and be cognisant of when and where to seek assistance or professional advice and support.

Attendance Requirements

A minimum of 80% attendance at all classes and rehearsals is compulsory in the course. Teaching staff will take a roll to record attendance.

Reasonable adjustments

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements.

https://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

The University of Melbourne is required by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) and Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made for students with disabilities.

‘Reasonable adjustments’ are modifications or accommodations made by the University that assist a student with a disability to participate in their course or access University facilities on the same basis as someone without a disability. A reasonable adjustment might be an aid to vision or hearing, or allowing extra time for written examinations. The role of Student Equity and Disability Support (SEDS) is to support students with disabilities, including assisting in the negotiation of reasonable adjustments for students who have disabilities.

Any such adjustments must be reasonable and cannot compromise the academic integrity of a course. Reasonable adjustments are provided to assist students to fulfil the core participation requirements, not as a substitute for those requirements

With appropriate support and reasonable adjustments where possible, students must be able to meet the Core Participation Requirements in order to graduate from the Bachelor of Fine Arts course.

In determining whether an adjustment is reasonable, the University will consider:

The nature of the disability;
The effect of the adjustment on the student’s ability to demonstrate the required learning outcomes and participate in the course;
The effect of the adjustment on any other person, including other students and staff; and
The cost and logistical impact of the adjustment.

Students should note that a reasonable adjustment may include modification to assessment and providing additional support services, but the University cannot make an adjustment that would affect the academic integrity of the course or the safety of students or staff.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

apply a high level of embodied skill in the performance of movement vocabularies and movement sequencing;
critically analyse, consolidate and synthesise key concepts in the discourse of dancing in diverse contexts;
engage with and contribute to group processes and ensemble thinking in a range of performance settings;
utilise flexible and transformative kinesthetic and problem-solving skills through rehearsal and performance;
reflect upon and evaluate processes, methods and performance outcomes to inform and enhance their own practice;
develop an independent creative practice to facilitate the continued development of dance craft;
identify and respond to opportunities relevant to professional aspirations.

Generic skills

Refer to Graduate Attributes.

Graduate attributes

Graduates of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) will have developed the following skills and attributes that allow them to be:

Artistically excellent:

demonstrate a flexible and innovative approach to the national and international challenges facing the professional artist/practitioner in the 21 Century;
have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and of the ethics of artistic practices and scholarship;
have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
reach a high level of achievement in artistic practice, writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication;
be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.

Knowledgeable across disciplines:

critically examine, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a range of disciplines;
expand analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects;
have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems;
have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.

Leaders in communities:

initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces;
have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations;
mentor future generations of learners;
engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity:

value different cultures and their cultural forms of practice;
be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work;
have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community;
respect Indigenous knowledge, cultures and values.

Active global citizens:

understand their relationship with and responsibility to their cultural environment and society;
accept social and civic responsibilities;
be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment;
have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics.

Course structure

For students commencing in 2021 or later

300-point program:

237.5 points of compulsory subjects
- 75 points at Level 1
- 75 points at Level 2
- 87.5 points at Level 3
12.5 points of elective subjects at Level 2
50 points of breadth subjects
- including at least 12.5 points at Level 2 or 3.

Course Progression Rules

To progress from Year 1 to Year 2, students must complete all Level 1 compulsory subjects.
To progress from Year 2 to Year 3, students must complete all Level 2 compulsory subjects.
NB. Compulsory subjects in this program have prerequisites. Refer to individual subject entries.

For students who commenced prior to 2021

For students who commenced the Bachelor of Fine Arts prior to 2021, please click here to view your course structure and subject options.

Dance subjects

Year 1

75 points of Level 1 compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DNCE10029	Body Knowledges: Dance Science	Semester 1	12.5
DNCE10030	Dance Lab 1: Studio Practices	Semester 1	25
DNCE10031	Dance Lab 2: Integrated Practices	Semester 2 (Early-Start)	25
DNCE10032	Thinking through Dancing	Semester 2	12.5

Year 2

75 points of Level 2 compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DNCE20034	Dance Lab 3: Repertory Studies	Semester 1	25
DNCE20035	Knowing Dance	Semester 1	12.5
DNCE20036	Dance Lab 4: Composing while Dancing	Semester 2	25
DNCE20037	Digital Dance	Semester 2	12.5

PLUS

12.5 points of Level 2 elective subjects. Students select one of:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DNCE20038	Global Atelier: Travelling Studio	Winter Term	12.5
DNCE20039	Professional Placement	Year Long	12.5
DNCE20040	Travelling Studio	Winter Term	12.5

Year 3

87.5 points of Level 3 compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
DNCE30026	Dance Lab 5: Dance and Music	Semester 1	12.5
DNCE30027	Inter-disciplinary Project	Semester 1	25
DNCE30028	Choreographic Production	Semester 2	25
DNCE30029	Dance Lab 6: Performance Skills	Semester 2	12.5
DNCE30030	Professional Practice	Semester 2	12.5

Breadth requirements

50 points of breadth subjects including at least 12.5 points at Level 2 or Level 3.

Find breadth subjects

Use the Handbook Search function to find subjects that can be used as breadth studies in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)

Reassessment is available in this course

Reassessment is a second attempt at passing a compulsory subject if a borderline failure in a single subject has a significant impact on the student's progression through their course. A borderline failure is usually a mark of 45% or more. Reassessment is not available if failure in the subject is a result of a finding of student academic misconduct; or a student was awarded a NH grade due to failure to participate in a component of assessment that was a hurdle requirement or failure to attend or participate in the subject as required.

Refer to Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326): https://policy.unimelb.edu.au/MPF1326

Last updated: 18 December 2020

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