Train | Create | Perform
Professional training for dancers, choreographers, educators, and movement artists working across concert, commercial, community, and interdisciplinary performance.
Wichita State University is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), reflecting our commitment to nationally recognized standards of excellence in dance education, artistic practice, and professional preparation.
Where Can This Degree Take You?
The Dance BFA prepares you to do more than perform. It prepares you to create, teach, collaborate, and lead. Through intensive dance training and the Performing Arts Core, you'll develop skills in performance, choreography, collaboration, production, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, community engagement, research, and ethical practice. You will learn to apply these skills through dance concerts, films, musicals, interdisciplinary productions, community projects, and creative research. You will graduate with the artistic, technical, and professional skills to build sustainable careers, pursue advanced study, contribute to their communities, and help shape the future of dance.
- Professional dancer
- Choreographer
- Dance company artist
- Commercial dancer
- Musical theatre performer
- Independent artist
- Movement director
- Studio dance instructor
- Community arts educator
- Private coach
- Dance program coordinator
- K–12 dance educator (with appropriate licensure requirements)
- Higher education faculty (typically with graduate study)
- Artistic director
- Rehearsal director
- Producer
- Creative director
- Production coordinator
- Arts entrepreneur
- Community arts practitioner
- Outreach coordinator
- Cultural programmer
- Arts nonprofit leadership
- Arts advocacy and engagement
- Somatics practitioner
- Wellness programming specialist
- Recreation and community health programming
- Movement and wellness coaching
- Community health initiatives
- Dance science and performance research
- Movement analysis
- Dance medicine and wellness pathways
- Dance/movement therapy (with graduate study)
- Psychology and counseling pathways (with graduate study)
- Social work and community mental health pathways (with graduate study)
- Human-centered professions that integrate movement, health, communication, and relationship-building
The BFA in Performing Arts - Dance prepares you through experiences as performers, choreographers, educators, collaborators, and leaders. You wil develop creative, analytical, and communication skills that support graduate study and professional training. Collaborative work within the School of Performing Arts further strengthens the adaptability and interdisciplinary perspectives valued in today's arts and education professions.
Graduates also pursue advanced degrees in fields such as:
- Dance (MA, MFA, PhD)
- Choreography
- Dance Education
- Dance Science
- Kinesiology and Exercise/Health Science
- Arts Administration
- Higher Education
- Public Health
- Psychology
- Counseling
- Social Work
- Dance/Movement Therapy
- Business
- Communication
- Other related interdisciplinary fields
Why Dance BFA in Performing Arts at Wichita State?
The BFA in Performing Arts - Dance prepares students to become dynamic performers, choreographers, educators, collaborators, and leaders. Through intensive training in technique, creative practice, and community engagement, students develop the artistic excellence, versatility, and professional skills needed to shape the future of dance and the performing arts.
Apply your training through dance concerts, interdisciplinary productions, film projects, community performances, student-led work, and collaborative creative experiences. Students have opportunities to perform, choreograph, teach, and create original work while collaborating with actors, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and peers across the School of Performing Arts.
Dance careers require artistic excellence, creativity, collaboration, and leadership. The dance program combines rigorous training in performance and choreography with professional preparation in teaching, community engagement, collaborative production practices, digital portfolio and website development, and professional presentations. Working within a School of Performing Arts provides valuable experience navigating the interdisciplinary environments common throughout today's performing arts industry.
Employers seek artists and professionals who can communicate, collaborate, lead, and adapt. Through performance, choreography, teaching, and interdisciplinary experiences, Wichita State Dance students develop transferable skills in leadership, teamwork, communication, creativity, and problem-solving. Graduates are prepared for opportunities in performance, choreography, arts education, community arts, administration, and a variety of creative and professional fields.
At Wichita State, Dance students join a vibrant artistic community where performance, choreography, teaching, and leadership intersect. Working alongside peers, faculty, and regional, national, and international guest artists, students develop the skills, creativity, and adaptability to shape the future of dance and the performing arts.
Bartlett PhotoArt
Bartlett PhotoArt