About the Courses
On this course, you will place your own practice (whether emerging or established) at the heart of your studies. Using a range of artistic and scholarly contexts from dance and other artistic disciplines, you will explore new approaches to the research and realisation of choreography in professional and academic contexts. The curriculum allows you to explore and develop your own interests in the context of practice research and current industry perspectives.
Balancing taught with independent study, the course is highly practical in its delivery with largely studio-based activity alongside some classroom-based seminars and lectures. You will explore practice-research methods, artistic perspectives, collaboration and your relationship with your audience. You are encouraged to personalise your studies by drawing directly upon your own background, identity, c
On this course, you will place your own practice (whether emerging or established) at the heart of your studies. Using a range of artistic and scholarly contexts from dance and other artistic disciplines, you will explore new approaches to the research and realisation of choreography in professional and academic contexts. The curriculum allows you to explore and develop your own interests in the context of practice research and current industry perspectives.
Balancing taught with independent study, the course is highly practical in its delivery with largely studio-based activity alongside some classroom-based seminars and lectures. You will explore practice-research methods, artistic perspectives, collaboration and your relationship with your audience. You are encouraged to personalise your studies by drawing directly upon your own background, identity, culture and specialist movement practices. Teaching is delivered by acclaimed artist practitioners and academics in the fields of dance and wider creative practices.
Embedded within the course are opportunities to engage with the work of industry partner FABRIC and to make connections with artists in residence at the International Centre for Choreography (iC4C).
The course is designed for those wishing to further their skills to develop themselves as independent professional artists working across a range of contexts, and as artist-academics. It is ideal for recent graduates, established artists and education and community practitioners who wish to reinvigorate their practices and deepen their engagement in choreographic processes.
Modules
Core modules
For more information about the part-time course structure, please contact the Admissions Team.
Choreographing the Self
This module will introduce you to current practices and concerns in contemporary choreography. Through practical studio-based learning alongside reading and discussion you will be introduced to a variety of artistic perspectives. You will explore ways to embed this new knowledge in the context of your own developing artistic practice through the creation of solo work.
Practice-Research Methods
This module asks what is ‘practice-research’? Current literature and practices are explored, including topics such as:
Terminology
Triangulation frameworks
Outputs
Documentation
The role of dramaturgy and artist as agent
What makes practice ‘practice-research’?
What can practice offer research?
You will design and trial a practice-research methodology relating to your own research interests.
Audiences and Documentation
In this module, students will investigate and analyse different models of engaging with audiences of theatre and performance and documenting experiences, processes, and practices. Students will be introduced to different approaches to and critical considerations of audience engagement, which might include: participant-spectatorship and immersive theatre; technologically-engaged performance and audience experience; community engagement and performance co-creation; theatre historiography and archives; and popular or contemporary performance and its audiences. The module will invite students to consider who the audiences for their own work might be and will participate in ‘artist survival’ activities around identifying and reaching their audience(s), documenting their practice, pitching for funding, and preparing grant applications.
Creativity and Collaboration
Students on the module will be introduced to a number of different models of creative partnership and practices of collaboration/co-creation. A wide-ranging and interdisciplinary context for this work will be provided in order to enable students to contextualise their own work in a critically-informed manner. At the core of the module will be the placement or negotiated project. Students will devise a creative portfolio plan in negotiation with the module leader to ensure that their chosen practical activity satisfies the module’s learning outcomes. The creative portfolio plan will also require that they have chosen a structure which will allow them to demonstrate reflective engagement with the experience.
Optional modules (you will choose one)
Final Choreographic Research Project
In this module you will work with your individual supervisor and the Programme Leader to produce an independent choreographic research project with a public facing final performance outcome. The Practice Research Methods module is designed to prepare you for this final project and the Negotiated Study and Performance Making modules will have given you further opportunities to develop your understanding of your practice as research.
Dissertation
This module is a final written dissertation. It is an opportunity for you to focus on an area of research interest of your choice. You will be supported by your individual supervisor to demonstrate a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the techniques applicable to your own research and advanced scholarship in choreography.
Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.