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Become a Dance Major!

"The place of the dance is within the heart, the soul and every fiber of those who major in dance"

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The Department of Dance and Folk Dance at Laney College offers an Associate Arts Degree in Dance, and a choice of several Certificates of Achievement (CTA): Modern Dance Teaching Preparation and Performance CTA; Jazz Dance Teaching Preparation and Performance CTA;  World Folkloric Dance Teaching Preparation and Performance CTA; Ballet Dance Teaching Preparation and Performance CTA; Pilates Mat Teacher Training CTA ; Pilates Reformer Teacher Training, and Pilates Comprehensive Apparatus Teacher Training CTA. These comprehensive programs are designed to prepare students as artists, innovators, and global leaders who can perform, teach, and build careers in Commercial Dance, Pilates industries, and related fields.

Students may choose to study abroad through the departments’ multiple global education programs, including a 16-week cultural immersion in Ghana, West Africa, where students collaborate with peers from the University of Cape Coast, National Theater, Village Communities, and local dance companies on projects of interest. The dance program at Laney has a 12-year track record of faculty-led study abroad. Past regions of study include Ghana, Benin, Cuba, and Haiti. New Covid-19 restrictions may impact course offerings and future travel destinations.

The Dance AA Degree program blends an extensive curriculum designed to equip students with 21st century global citizenship and intercultural competencies that extend way beyond the classroom- assets which may be the most valuable of all competencies for employers due to their cross cultural, cross curricular applications.

For the Associate Arts Dance Degree, students must complete the General Education pattern, courses for the major for a total of 60 units. Students wishing to continue transfer to the CSU or UC system should meet with a counselor to develop a transfer plan which addresses all major and general education transfer requirements.

CTE: The Associate Arts Degree in Dance is related to the following careers and more!*

  • Arts Administration: Artistic Directors, Executive Directors, Fund Developers; Festival Directors
  • Professional Dance: Choreographers, Performers, Studio Teachers, Broadway, Film & Television Industry, Stage Manager for Dance
  • Fitness Studios: Dance/fitness studio owners, Pilates/Yoga instructors, studio managers
  • Recreation: Youth Instructors; Camp Counselors; Program Coordinators & Directors
  • Journalism: Dance critics; Arts editors; Performing arts column writers for newspapers
  • Health & Wellness: Personal Trainers, Mindful Body Conditioning
  • Arts Advocacy: Public Policy in the Arts; Grant making; Grant Writing
  • K-Post Secondary Education: Elementary, Middle/High school, College or University Professors*
  • Therapeutic Practice: Dance Therapy*

*Some careers require further training plus additional education. Please consult with your Dance AA advisor, Department Chair of Dance for more information on K-Post Secondary Education requirements. For more information about dance at Laney College, visit. https://laney.edu/dance/aadancedegree/.

The Department of Dance offers an Associate Arts Degree in Dance that provides an extensive curriculum in dance theory and hands-on technical and experiential practice in the context of a broader education within the Liberal Arts. Our dance courses meet CSU/UC transfer requirements.

Q: Why are students who pursue careers in the arts highly desired by employers and considered to be model critical thinkers?

A: Dance helps you to develop intercultural communication skills which may be the most valuable of all competencies for employers due to their cross cultural and cross curricular applications. The study of dance provides you with 21st century global education and intercultural competencies that extend way beyond the classroom.

Students who study the arts possess a diverse mindset with a leniency toward global leadership!

Q: How can I benefit from choosing the AA Dance major?

A. You can…

Transfer to Post-secondary Performing Arts Programs  and many other majors!

When you complete the AA Dance Degree requirements, at Laney College, you have fulfilled all of your basic 60 unit GE pattern for transfer. Of those 60 units, 19 units are the Dance Degree portion which are CSU and UC transferable. Students wishing to transfer to the CSU or UC system or other private college should meet with an academic counselor to develop a transfer plan which addresses all general education and lower-division transfer requirements. (Yvonne (L) used her AA Dance degree to pursue professional mixed martial arts and Samantha (R) used her AA Dance degree to transfer to Long Beach State to earn her BA and is now at NYU pursuing her master’s degree in Public Health. (Watch some of our videos to see Yvonne and Samantha in dance motion!)

Q: What types of career opportunities are there for someone who majors in Dance?

A: The Associate Arts Degree in Dance extends to the following careers and more!

  • Dance Education: Pre-K – 12 teachers or teach in colleges and universities
  • Professional Dance: Choreographers, Performers, Studio Teachers
  • Arts Administration: Artistic Directors, Executive Directors, Fund Developers; Festival Directors
  • Fitness Studios: Dance and fitness studio owners and managers
  • Health & Wellness: Personal Trainers, Mindful Body Conditioning
  • Arts Advocacy: Public Policy in the Arts; Grantmaking; Grant Writing
  • Therapeutic Practice: Dance Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy
  • Stage: Broadway, Lighting Design, Film & Television, Stage Managers
  • Recreation: Youth Instructors; Camp Counselors; Program Coordinators & Directors
  • Journalism: Dance critics; Arts editors; Column writers for newspapers

See our new Careers & Pathway page to learn more!