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Dance M.F.A.

M.F.A.

single-paper-background Dance MFA Banner 2023

The Hollins University innovative 60-credit M.F.A. program offers students an opportunity to immerse themselves for five weeks during the summer in the intimate learning atmosphere at Hollins University, followed by three weeks of international study and immersion in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. This graduate program provides students with a wide range of experiences and opportunities, mentorships, and exposure to others in the international dance field. The M.F.A. students and faculty establish a unique community of committed artists/scholars who range in ages and experiences and are working to sustain their careers and deepen their relationship to dance.

The program offers a flexible but rigorous course of study. Using the resources of national and international institutions, the program offers three tracks: Year Residency Track, Low Residency-Two Summer (with professional field credit qualification), and Low Residency-Three Summer Tracks. Coursework and ongoing exposure to professionals/scholars from around the globe in the field of modern dance combined with opportunities both on and off campus prepares students to negotiate a diverse range of issues as they contemplate graduation and how they will engage in new communities, search for and/or continue in jobs at different institutions, and support their continued creative and academic work.

One-Year Residency Track

The year residency track is ideal for recent graduates with an eye on the professional world of dance. Students accepted to the Year Residency Track spend fall and spring semesters at Hollins.

Low Residency Two Summer Track

The Low Residency, Two-Summer Track is designed for mid-career artists, teachers, and dance professionals who must study in a limited time frame that accommodates their employment or performance schedule.

Low Residency Three Summer Track

The Low Residency, Three-Summer Track serves emerging artists, teachers, and dance professionals who must study in a limited time frame that accommodates their employment/performance schedule.

Upcoming Dance M.F.A. Events

Courses

All M.F.A. students gather for a total of eight weeks during the summer months of June and July. The degree requires a total of 60 credit hours. During these summer sessions, students spend five weeks at Hollins and travel to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for three weeks of summer study. Beginning summer 2023, Boyan Manchev and Ani Vaseva will serve as co-coordinators of the European Study experience.

Using the resources of many institutions, the dance program offers three tracks that provide both flexibility and rigor.

Costs

Tuition

$935 per credit hour for 2024-25

Fees

  • Nonrefundable application fee: $40
  • Technology fee: $600 per year
  • Health services: $395 per year
International European Study – Plovdiv, Bulgaria 2023

Our Faculty

We are a diverse artistic community that creates a learning atmosphere where students and faculty work alongside one another. We expand and deepen our relationship to dance and the world around us. Our teaching reflects a wide range of interests and experiences.

From professional dance instructors and mentors, to visiting artists and choreographers, the influences are endless. If you learn from the best, you’ll discover new ways to express yourself and refine your own style.

What Our Dance M.F.A. Graduates Are Doing

Graduates of Hollins University’s Master of Fine Arts program in dance are making notable contributions to the dance world as choreographers, performers, and artistic directors.

Residency Track Options

  • One-Year Residency Track

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    The Year Residency Track is for highly motivated students with a strong interest in expanding their knowledge and experience, especially in their creative work, in a focused and continuous way. This track is ideal for recent graduates with an eye on the professional world of dance. Students in this track work closely with faculty mentors but are expected to work independently for necessary self-realization.

    Application deadline: December 1
    Course Enrollment Schedule (subject to change)

    SUMMER I — June-July
    Location: Hollins and Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • Contemporary Body Practices
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Hollins University Session Two (two weeks)

    • Contemporary Art Practices I  [Intermedia Arts]
    • Visiting Artist Series: Composition

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • Contemporary Body Practices
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    FALL I — September – December
    Location: Hollins

    • Individualized/Movement Studio Practice, daily M-F
    • Graduate Critique, Wednesdays, 1:30-4:30
    • Graduate Seminar, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30-5:30
    • Thesis Forms I
    • Visiting Artist Series, TBA

     

    January Term I
    Location: NYC

    • Contemporary Body Practices II: Ecological Bodies
    • Two-day January retreat

     

    Spring I — February-May
    Location: Hollins

    • Individualized/Movement Studio Practice, daily M-F
    • Graduate Critique, Wednesdays, 1:30-4:30
    • Graduate Seminar, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30-5:30
    • Thesis Forms II
    • Visiting Artist Series, TBA

     

    Summer II — June – July
    Location: Hollins and Bulgaria

     

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Draftworks
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique
    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Session Two (two weeks)
    Location: Hollins University

    • Contemporary Art Practices II [Narrative Writing or Poetry] 

     

    European Study (three weeks)
    Location: Bulgaria

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique
    • Graduate Seminar
  • Dance M.F.A. Low Residency, Two Summer Track

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    The Low Residency, Two-Summer Track is designed for mid-career artists, teachers, and dance professionals who must study in a limited time frame that accommodates their employment/performance schedule. Acceptance into this track will be determined through a review of accredited professional experience and artistic maturity by a panel of Hollins faculty and professionals in the field. Twelve credits toward the degree will be granted in recognition of appropriate professional work as evidenced by works presented to date (choreography and/or performance), grants and fellowships received, continued dance education, and/or teaching residencies, professional references, and letters. A portfolio of the work will be compiled during the course of study. Two-summer acceptance applicants must be mature working artists with at least 10 years of experience.

    Application deadline: December 1

    Summer I — June-July
    Location: Hollins and Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar
    • Contemporary Body Practices
    • Digital Media Tutorials

     

    Hollins University Session Two (two weeks)

    • Writing in the Dance World
    • Contemporary Art Practices I [Intermedia Arts]

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar
    • Independent Study

     

    Fall — September-December

    • Portfolio Development
    • Independent Study
    • Thesis Forms I

     

    January Term

    • Contemporary Body Practices II: Ecological Bodies
    • Two-day January retreat in NYC

     

    Spring — February-May

    • Portfolio Development
    • Thesis Forms II

     

    Summer II — June-July
    Location: Hollins/Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique

     

    Hollins University Session Two (two weeks)

    • Contemporary Art Practices II, [Narrative Writing or Poetry]

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique
    • Graduate Seminar
  • Dance M.F.A. Low Residency, Three Summer Track

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    The Low Residency, Three-Summer Track serves emerging artists, teachers, and dance professionals who must study in a limited time frame that accommodates their employment/performance schedule. The three-summer course of study immerses students in intellectual and creative experiences. Designed for highly motivated professionals, students in this track seek to expand their portfolio as they develop their professional careers. A panel of Hollins faculty and professionals in the field determine acceptance.

    Application deadline: December 1

    Summer I — June-July
    Location: Hollins/Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • Radical Presence/Performance
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Hollins University Session Two (two weeks)

    • Contemporary Art Practices [Creative Process/making]

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • Radical Presence/Performance
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Fall I — September-December

    • Contemporary Body Practices  – Online Programming
    • Digital Media Tutorials  – Online Programming
    • Independent Study

     

    January Term I

    • Contemporary Body Practices II: Ecological Bodies
    • Two-day January retreat in NYC

     

    Spring I — February-May

    • Writing in The Dance World – Online Programming
    • Contemporary Art Practices II [Narrative Writing or Poetry]

     

    Summer II — June-August
    Location: Hollins/Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Hollins University Session Two (two weeks)

    • Intermedia Studio – Digital Media

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Seminar

     

    Fall II — September-December

    • Graduate Seminar – Online Programming
    • Independent Study

     

    J-Term II

    • Two-day January retreat in NYC

     

    Spring II — February-May

    • Thesis Forms I
    • Thesis Forms II

     

    Summer III — June-August
    Location: Hollins/Bulgaria

    Hollins University Session One (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique

     

    Hollins University Session II (two weeks)

    • Contemporary Art Practices II  [Narrative Writing or Poetry]

     

    European Study Bulgaria (three weeks)

    • Mentored Studio Practice
    • History, Theory, and Criticism
    • Graduate Performance Workshop and Critique
  • Dance M.F.A. International Residencies

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    All students of Hollins’ M.F.A. program in dance travel off site to dance centers throughout the world. In an effort to expand experiences beyond the campus setting, students will study, present their work in various settings, view concerts, and immerse themselves in specially designed “study tracks.”

    Specifically designed to promote exchange within a larger dance community and to better understand the internationalization of dance education, these residencies open pathways that will create lifelong relationships and opportunities.

    European Dance Study – Plovdiv, Bulgaria

    Students travel to dance centers throughout the world to study with members of the thriving international professional and academic community. Students experience mentored studio time and the facilitation of a program of creative work and take part in discussions and readings. Past residencies have taken place in France, Austria, Belgium, and Germany. The M.F.A. Dance European Study has been located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, since 2023.

     

    Boyan Manchev - Dance MFA BulgariaBoyan Manchev, European Study Co-Curator

    Boyan Manchev is a philosopher and professor at the New Bulgarian University (Sofia) and at the HZT – UdK (Berlin). He is also former director of program and vice president of the International College of Philosophy in Paris. His actual research, which proposes the perspective of a radical materialism, is focused on the fields of ontology, philosophy of art, and political philosophy. Manchev has lectured widely at European, North-American, and Japanese universities and cultural institutions. He has organized and/or collaborated on a number of projects, congresses, and public forums dealing with philosophy, art, and politics at the CIPh (Paris), ZKM (Karlsruhe), Tanzquartier (Vienna), Apexart (New York), CND (Paris), BAK (Utrecht), UTCP (Tokyo), Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Berlin), among others. He curated the exhibition Out of Time at the Sofia City Art Gallery (March – April 2011). He has participated as theorist, dramaturge, or performer in theatre and contemporary dance projects, including Tim Etchells and Adrian Heathfield’s The Frequently Asked, Boris Charmatz’s expo zero and Poster session “Mouvement” for the Festival d’Avignon, and Ani Vaseva’s Frankenstein, A Dying Play. Manchev is the author of seven books and more than 100 book chapters, catalogues, and other publications in various languages. In the last years he has appeared in Logic of the Political (Sofia: Critique&Humanism, 2012); Miracolo (Milano: Lanfranchi, 2011); L’altération du monde: Pour une esthétique radicale (Paris: Lignes, 2009); La Métamorphose et l’Instant – Désorganisation de la vie (Paris: La Phocide, 2009); Rue Descartes 64: La métamorphose, ed. by B. Manchev (Paris: PUF, 2009); Rue Descartes 67: Quel sujet du politique?, ed. by G. Basterra, R. Ivekovic, and B. Manchev (Paris: PUF, 2010). His book The BodyMetamorphosis (Sofia: Altera, 2007) deals extensively with contemporary art, performance, and dance.

    Ani Vaseva - MFA Dance BulgariaAni Vaseva, European Study Co-Curator

    Ani Vaseva was born in 1982 in Sofia. She graduated in theatre studies and theatre directing at NATFA, Sofia. She is a theatre director, the author of theatre plays of critical and theoretical texts on dance and theatre, and holds a Ph.D. in performance studies from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Among her visual projects are Still Here. On The Meteor Arhcipelago (together with Georgi Sharov, Museums Night, Plovdiv, 2015), Gorgons In The Depot, or Apocalypse Now (exhibition curated together with Monika Vakarelova and Boriana Rossa, part of The Other Eye project of Maria Vassileva at the Sofia Municipal Gallery, 2013), In-Out (installation, part of the Love exhibition, curated by Maria Vassileva, Raiko Alexiev gallery, 2012), Power Fridge Points (together with Natalia Todorova and Ivana Nencheva, Tanzquartier Wien, 2011), The War Of The Little Girls (together with Ivan Donchev and Boyan Manchev, Vaska Emanuilova gallery, 2010) etc. Among her last performances are A Play For Us (2018), Roadtrip to Hell (2017), The Murderer And The Whore (2017), Lovecraft (2016), Total Damage (2016), Maldoror (2015), A Play for You (2014). Her book What Is Contemporary Dance (2017) explores the complex processes and conflictual ideologies that stand behind the concept of contemporary dance. Between 2015 and 2018 she has been teaching history and theory of theatre and literature at New Bulgarian University and the Luben Groys Theatre College, where together with Leonid Yovchev she was leading an acting class in 2017-18.

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