Dance

Dance your way to your BFA //

In studying dance at USM you will experience dance as a technician, artist, performer, teacher and dance maker. We offer many performance opportunities for our majors, and all incoming students are guaranteed a performance opportunity in their first semester. You will be exposed to dance as an art form with a history of its own.

The Southern Miss British Studies in dance program is an outstanding opportunity for students to travel to the UK and experience live dance concerts, art and culture.

Download Degree Plans or Visit the University Catalogue

The University of Southern Mississippi is an accredited, institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance.

3 Performance Ensembles

Study Abroad in London!

8 Concerts in an Academic Season

What you will learn in Dance at Southern Miss.

Students learn diverse dance techniques, improvisation, composition, and choreography, performance, dance studies, dance history, teaching dance, music for dance, dance anatomy, dance and technology, and other electives.

Our degrees require an internship that serves the professional interest of individual students.

Upper-level coursework in dance choreography and a written thesis are the culminating projects for Performance and Choreography majors. Dance Licensure majors student teach in their final semester.

Performance Ensembles //

Freshman Company: As a “Freshman Company” member students will rehearse with a faculty member and set a new modern dance with the Company. Students will be exposed to the collaborative nature of modern dance choreography—preparing them to successfully audition for the Repertory Dance Company. The Freshman Company performs excerpts of their dance at High School Dance Day and the entire dance at the December Informal Dance Concert.
Repertory Dance Company: The USM Repertory Dance Company (RDC) provides an opportunity for dance majors to gain valuable performance experience and to become further prepared for professional careers in dance. RDC assessment standards are built on the rigorous expectations of the professional field in the areas of skills, knowledge and dispositions (professionalism) required. RDC performs in all major program concerts and works with faculty, student, and guest choreographers.
Repertory Dance Company II: If students are eligible to audition for RDC and do not make it, then they may enroll in RDC II. This will include learning, collaborating, and performing in faculty or senior dance major’s choreographic works. The works are featured in the the Informal Dance Concert in the spring semester—as a stepping stone into RDC.

Internships //

An individualized internship in the professional dance world is a requirement for all majors. Internships are developed in conjunction with the student’s adviser with the purpose of furthering the education and exposure to an area of professional interest for the student.
Recent internship opportunities include participating in: USM’s British Studies Dance Program in London, the American Dance Festival, Mark Morris Dance Group’s winter intensive, the International Association of Black Dance conference, lead intern for the Mississippi Dance Festival, and choreographing for summer stock musical performances. Additional opportunities in dance education, dance therapy, arts administration, marketing, and more are available.

Scholarships and Awards //

Service Awards: The dance program offers service awards to students who submit a successful application. Applications are accepted in the spring for the following academic year. Service awardees are assigned tasks within the dance program that include: collecting the mail, setting up the lobby display for concerts, cleaning out costume storage, coordinating the sale of USM dance t-shirts, assisting with duties for guest artist residencies, etc. These awards range from $100-$500.
Foundation Awards: Foundation Awards are our named scholarships chosen by the dance faculty. These awards range from $200-$1000. Faculty decides on these awards based on need and talent. Apply for Scholarships
Jim Clinton Award: This award is for summer study at a festival, conference or workshop. Students apply for this award in the spring semester. This award ranges from $200-$800.
Department Special Scholarships: Department Special Scholarships are awarded by the dance faculty for talented and needy students. These awards range from $1,500-$8,000. These scholarships are exclusive and competitive.
Outstanding This and That Awards: Outstanding This and That awards are faculty chosen awards to recognize the hard work of our majors. They include Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Dance Educator, Service Awardee, Production, and Thesis. The Outstanding Freshman Award includes $100 deposited into your student account. These awards are announced at the department picnic at the end of the spring semester.

Study Abroad //

On British Studies, London becomes the students’ classroom as they experience dance and movement sciences abroad first-hand and conduct research supervised by their professor. Learn More

The Big Show //

Are you a sophomore, junior or senior interested in majoring in dance after high school? The Big Show, is your opportunity to see what dance at Southern Miss can offer you for FREE! New dates to be set for 20-21.

Audition and Apply //

How to Audition //

To apply for acceptance into the undergraduate BFA program in dance at Southern Miss, you must apply to the University AND audition as part of the application process.

University Application

Audition

Here is a checklist of materials you need to prepare to submit to the online audition application form:

Resumé
Personal Dance Major Narrative Questions
- Share any significant dance experiences or training you’d like to highlight or makes sure we are aware of.
- Why do you want to study dance in college? Do you have career goals yet?
- How did you hear about the USM Dance Program?
Contact Information of a Reference, Dance Teacher (First Name, Last Name, Email, Title/Position, Organization)
- Once you submit your audition application form online, your reference will receive an email on behalf of Southern Miss Dance with an online recommendation form for their submission.
- Note: You will need to certify that you have permission from your reference to share their email address, so they can be contacted via email by USM Dance to request the recommendation.
Essay: Select one of the questions below for your one-page essay (If auditioning for a scholarship) :
- 1. What is the most meaningful dance experience(s) you have had thus far in your training and why? How did these shape what you hope for from here?
- 2. What has dance taught you about yourself? How does what you have learned as a dancer inform your life and visa versa?
Online Video Audition

Video Audition Guidelines //

Video Audition Guidelines

As a precaution in response to the COVID-19, our USM Dance program in the School of Performing and Visual Arts is currently only accepting online audition materials and video submissions, as an option for students.

Introduction: Let’s get to know you! Look at the camera and state the following information to begin your audition video :

Name
Where you are from
Your goals as a dance major
Why you would like to attend The University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Performing and Visual Arts to major in dance

Dance Performance: This section may include combinations from dance classes, a performed dance piece, improvised movement, etc. Movement can be in any dance style, a variety of dance styles, and be self or instructor choreographed (or a combination of both).

Length: Please note that the video should not exceed ten minutes in length.

Attire: Applicants must wear well-fitted dance attire where the body is fully visible; Your video must be taped in a theatre or dance studio with good lighting and the recording must be in focus; and incomplete or poor-quality videos may result in the student’s submission not being considered.

Deadline: All videos must be received no later stated University deadlines for undergraduate admissions.

Format: Your audition video may be submitted via video form by either uploading an MP4 file.

Thank you for following the instructions above. This will assist us in evaluating everyone on similar work and make the video audition close to what students are asked to do during the in‐person auditions. We can’t wait to review your submission!

FAQ