- UCAS Code
- W511
- Location
- Penryn Campus
- Length
- 3 years full-time
- Direct line
- 01326 213730
- Admissions
- admissions@falmouth.ac.uk
Focusing on innovative choreographic practices that bridge the boundaries between art forms, this course gives you the creative edge you need to excel in today's interdisciplinary world of choreography and performance.
Falmouth's BA(Hons) Choreography degree is one of the only choreography courses in the country that focuses on choreographic making at BA level. With us, you'll graduate as a choreographer/performer with the ability to both choreograph and dance to a high standard. We offer bodywork training alongside choreography training, as well as theory and contextual study. Falmouth teaches more physical technique training classes than any other institution. Our courses are close to conservatoire level, providing varied classical and contemporary technique training as well as somatic practices.
Looking closely at dance, site, music and theatre, you'll be encouraged to approach your study in an independent and professional way. You'll also learn about the practical side of putting on performances and promoting them, including production management, marketing, fundraising, lighting, and audiovisual approaches.
Site-specific modules, physical training for dancing outdoors or in specific contexts and locations, and music and dance exchanges to produce work with Falmouth's music students are just some examples of our working practices, which will inspire you with the creative possibilities of your choreography.
How is the course taught
Our BA(Hons) Choreography and BA(Hons) Dance courses are closely linked, with a common first year, during which you'll attend classes together – looking at the same issues from your different choreographic or performance perspectives. You'll learn through classes, lectures, workshops, performance projects, group critiques/seminars, individual tutorials, lecturer and/or student-led initiatives in performances and presentations of work.
Visiting artists, such as Andrea Bozic, Lucy Cash, Jorge Crecis, Katie Duck, Nik Haffner, Jane Mason and Marie-Gabrielle Rotie, run workshops and residencies as part of the course. Along with our staff – active choreographers, dancers and researchers themselves – they'll help you form ideas, develop physical skills and explore the languages of movement and choreography, while encouraging your individual and collaborative performance and composition methods.
Careers
- Freelance choreography and performance making
- Work in a dance company or theatre, film, opera, TV or music videos
- Career in teaching, cultural industries or further studies
Assessment
Assessment is based on written assignments, studio and site-based practice, performance and presentations, two final year projects and a dissertation.
Experience you'll get
- Regular visiting artists delivering week-long workshops or residencies
- International exchange
By choosing to study for a degree in Choreography at Falmouth you will:
- Be studying the only choreography course in the country that focuses on choreography-making at BA level.
- Benefit from being taught by friendly and approachable staff who are also practitioners active with their own dance companies or in areas of professional research.
- Be based at the new Performance Centre, a high-specification facility, purpose-built for students' specific needs with the very latest equipment.
- Formulate ideas, develop a variety of physical skills and explore the languages of movement through a combination of classes, lectures, workshops, performance projects, group seminars and tutorials.
- Work closely alongside BA(Hons) Dance students and have the opportunity to collaborate with Falmouth's music students.
- Benefit from the expertise of regular visiting artists, such as Kirstie Simson ("one of the legends of British dance and one of the greatest exponents of contact improvisation" - Time Out) and Marie Gabrielle Rotie, a Japanese Butoh expert who has presented works at the Royal Opera House, Laban and the Royal National Theatre. They both run week-long workshops with our students, focusing on specific areas of expertise.
- Have the opportunity to benefit from exchanges with other institutions such as SNDO (Amsterdam), Towson (Maryland), Hollins University and the American Dance Festival.
- Benefit from the course's close links with artists and arts organisations in Devon and Cornwall, including C-Scape, Kneehigh, Wildworks, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Hall for Cornwall Truro and The Arts at Dartington. Many of our workshops are run in conjunction with Falmouth's Theatre students, so you'll also have the chance to work with innovative performance groups like Gob Squad and Goat Island.
Interview and selection process
We invite all applicants to an audition.
The audition will last for approximately five hours and will include a tour of the campus, talk about the course, group technique class, group creative workshop, and individual auditions. We invite up to 30 applicants to each audition.
You will need to wear suitable practice clothes for the workshop. You will be asked to prepare a simple phrase of movement for development within a small group. You will need a written piece in response to a performance you have recently seen or a book on dance/choreography that you have recently read.
We are looking for technical dance ability, as well as a strong interest in contemporary dance movement, ideas and research. Successful applicants will have a real desire to learn and collaborate well with others.
Interviews are currently taking place.
Location: Penryn Campus
What you'll do
Stage 1
During your first year, you'll attend classes with BA(Hons) Dance students and work together on projects, sharing ideas from your different perspectives. You’ll gain confidence in using improvisation and develop your understanding of anatomy, techniques, choreography and performance in cultural contexts, interweaving physical training with creative processes.
Stage 2
Building on your experiences in your first year, you'll continue to develop your practice as a choreographer as well as mover and maker. You'll increase your ability to articulate your ideas, critically analyse performances and understand your connection to the wider context of contemporary practices.
Stage 3
In your final year, you'll continue to develop your own innovative choreographic practice by focusing on your own specialisms as well as taking part in cross-disciplinary collaboration. You'll do a dissertation and complete a professional practice project in preparation for the world of work.
