Dance Minor

Students earn a minor in dance by completing eight courses (seven 5-credit courses and one 2-credit course) comprising a background in the theory and practice of dance. The course requirements are listed below. There is no comprehensive requirement for the minor.

Declaration of the minor

There are no course requirements for declaring the minor, though individual courses may have enrollment prerequisites, and a major must be officially declared before a minor may be declared. 

To declare the minor:

  1. Inform your major advising office that you wish to declare a minor and request that they update, sign and date your major academic planning form (or create one if one does not yet exist). 
  2. While that plan is current, schedule an appointment with the Theater Arts advisor to add a plan for and declare the minor (Theater Arts advising appointments are scheduled through Navigate Slug Success).
  3. Submit a Petition for Major/Minor form in MyUCSC: go to your Student Homepage and select the Undergraduate Student eForms tile > Petition for Major/Minor. If using a mobile device, be sure to select Full Site Login when logging into MyUCSC

Students are strongly encouraged to consult early with the Theater Arts advisor to create an academic plan for the minor. This may be done prior to declaration. Advising appointments are scheduled through Navigate Slug Success, or questions may be addressed to the Theater Arts advisor by emailing theater-ugradadv@ucsc.edu

Transfer students may petition to have equivalent lower-division courses taken at other schools count toward lower-division minor requirements and should consult with the Theater Arts academic advisor as early as possible regarding this possibility.

Course Requirements

Lower-Division Courses

Lower-division courses may be used to fulfill requirements in both the theater arts major and dance minor, but separate upper-division courses must be taken to satisfy major and minor requirements. Consult with the Theater Arts advisor if planning to pursue both the theater arts major and dance minor.

One course in creative practice, chosen from:

THEA 30Introduction to Dance Theory and Technique

5

THEA 33CDance Studio I

5

THEA 36Introduction to Dance Making

5

Plus one course in cross-cultural techniques, chosen from:

THEA 22Indonesian Dance and Drama

5

THEA 31ADance Studio I: Asian or Asian Diasporic Practice

5

THEA 31BDance Studio I: Ballet

5

THEA 31CDance Studio I: Contemporary Dance Theory and Technique

5

THEA 37African Dance

5

THEA 80RBollywood Dance and Culture in India and Indian Diaspora

5

THEA 80UEverybody Dance Now!

5

THEA 80ZIndian Dance

5

The following fundamentals course:

Students are highly encouraged to contact the Theater Arts advisor early to learn about the unique enrollment process for THEA 50, as well as to complete this course as early as possible, before their last year on campus.

THEA 50Fundamentals of Theater Production

2

Upper-Division Courses

One course in creative practice or cross-cultural techniques, chosen from:

THEA 131ADance Studio II: Asian or Asian Diasporic Practice

5

THEA 131BDance Studio II: Ballet

5

THEA 131CDance Studio II: Advanced Contemporary Forms and Practices

5

THEA 135Choreography I

5

THEA 136Choreography II

5

Plus one course in critical studies, chosen from:

THEA 164Issues in Dance History and Theory

5

THEA 165Dance Modernism

5

THEA 166Ballet: A History

5

THEA 167Africanist Aesthetics: Live Dialogues in the Americas and Africa

5

Plus three upper-division elective courses, which may be chosen from the following:

THEA 100AAsian Theater/Dance and Global Impacts

5

THEA 100CCourts, Courtesans, Shamans, and Clowns: Asian Drama

5

THEA 122Indian Performance: Rama, Siva, Krishna

5

THEA 124Movement for Performers

5

THEA 137Studies in Performance (Dance)

5

THEA 137AStudies in Performance (Dance): Asian

5

THEA 139Random: With a Purpose

5

THEA 151IStudies in Performance: Indonesian Dance and Drama

5

THEA 161DAsian Theater: An Anthropological Approach

5

Any upper-division course listed in the Creative Practice/Cross-Cultural Techniques or Critical Studies sections may be used as an elective (but not double counted). 

A select number of other courses may be used if approved by the department in advance (consult with the Theater Arts advisor).

The following DO NOT satisfy the dance minor requirements:

THEA 55AWorkshop in Performance: Barnstorm

5

THEA 55BWorkshop in Performance: Barnstorm Lab

2

THEA 158Chautauqua Workshop

5

THEA 190Group Projects

5

THEA 198Independent Field Study

5

THEA 199Tutorial

5