Asian Correspondent Asia News

After 84 years of dance at West Virginia University, it just keeps getting better! Great job to all the students and faculty in the dance department! Check out the news story and video on the ‘Dance Now’ program that was featured on WBOY.

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Dance at West Virginia University

West Virginia University’s rich and varied dance history began when the Orchesis Dance Ensemble was founded in 1928 by a group of women experimenting with what they called “free expression dance.” This new and innovative form of dance used the body as an instrument of interpretation—commonly known as Modern Dance. Over the past 82 years, Modern has been instrumental in building the Dance Program at WVU, especially under the direction of Mary Kathryne “Kacy” Wiedebusch.

Because of the continued growth of Dance at WVU, the Dance Minor was established through the College of Creative Arts’ School of Theatre & Dance, and emphasis has been extended to Ballet, Jazz and Tap in addition to Modern. The Dance Minor is designed for any WVU student who is pursuing a recognized university major and who has an interest in dance.

There are many performance opportunities for students on and off campus. These include informal dance showcases, the annual dance concert, musicals, as well as local, regional and national dance festivals and conferences. The program has affiliations with the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA) and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).

Recent graduates of theWVU’s Dance Program have gone on to pursue careers in dance through graduate school, the professional dance field and theatre. Others have taken theirWVU dance education to pursue other disciplines and vocations such as journalism, law, health and physical education to name a few. Current students attend summer intensives around the country and as study abroad students, such as the Paul Taylor Dance Company School in New York City, North Carolina Dance Theatre School in Charlotte, The ProDanza Italia/USA Workshop in Tuscany, Italy as well as internships with Walt Disney World in Florida.

We welcome your questions and inquiries and hope that you will consider visiting our campus and experiencing in person the possibilities that WVU and our Dance Program can contribute to your educational experience.