Dancing at Calvin
Calvin students interested in dance have many options for learning, choreographing, and performing. We have many opportunities through our academic program.
Like all students pursuing a bachelor's degree, students of Calvin's dance minor must meet the college's liberal arts core requirement through study in many disciplines. (About half of the required courses for the dance minor can also satisfy the college's liberal arts core.) As a result of their introduction to a variety of fields, students will select a major. Current dance minor students have chosen a wide variety of majors such as physical education, theater, art, music, foreign language, history, or religion.
The Dance Minor
Students may earn a dance minor through the Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, and Sport Department (HPERDS). The minor teaches the craft of dance through studio courses and performance, the science of dance through study of kinesiology, and the art of dance through studies of history, religion, culture, and composition. In addition to a variety of dance studio courses, the dance minor requires four theory courses.
Required courses: PE 156 (1), PE 202 (3), PE 212 (3), PE 310 (3), PE 330 (3)
Plus 5 Additional Dance Technique Courses with at Least Three from: PE 151,
152, 153, 154, or 155 (1 Each)
Course Descriptions
1. Anatomical Kinesiology (PE 212), a study of the science of human movement,
2. Dance History (PE 202), a study of the historical development of dance as a performance art in western cultures,
3. Dance in World Culture (PE 310), a study of the role of dance in diverse contemporary cultures: reflecting community, societal, and religious values, and expressing itself within the arts of different cultures,
4. Dance Composition and Performance (PE 330), a study of the art of choreography and performance.