Dance

Dance as an academic discipline goes far beyond technique. It is a practice-led field of inquiry that draws on performance, choreography, movement analysis, cultural theory, and the history of the body as an expressive instrument. Dance asks what movement communicates, how it is shaped by culture and society, and what it means to make, perform, and watch it critically.

Studied seriously, it develops rigorous creative thinking alongside physical skill and artistic judgement.

At Edge Hill this part-time programme gives you the flexibility to develop as a dance artist at a pace that suits your wider commitments. You will work on performance and choreography, refining technique and developing your own creative voice under the guidance of tutors who engage with current teaching and artistic practice. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and a work placement, all of which extend your professional experience and expose you to creative environments beyond the university.

These structural features give you substantial contact with professional dance contexts before you graduate.

Graduates from dance programmes pursue careers as performers, choreographers, dance teachers, movement directors, and community dance practitioners. Many work across the arts and education sectors, delivering dance in schools, community settings, healthcare environments, and arts organisations. Others move into related fields such as arts administration, dance journalism, physical theatre, and screen performance.

Teaching dance, both in schools and in independent settings, is a well-trodden path, with postgraduate teacher training routes available for those who wish to pursue it. Further study in choreography, dance science, or applied theatre is also a route taken by many graduates who wish to deepen their practice or move into research.