MA Interdisciplinary Dance Performance course structure - Northern School of Contemporary Dance

Devising and Collaboration in Performance (15 credits)

Collaboration and devised processes are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in dance and performance, demanding that performers actively contribute to the authorship of artistic work. This module will provide an in-depth understanding of performance processes, looking at different devising methodologies, ensemble creation and interdisciplinary collaboration; alongside investigating authorship, agency and decision-making.

This module will include a number of performance opportunities, enabling you to develop your practice within live performance settings analogous with industry practice.

Modes of Performance (15 credits)

In this module, you will work on developing your skills as performers, exploring a range of approaches and methods, allowing you to have an experiential understanding of stage presence, performative styles, confidence, and generosity in performance.

This module is taught through a number of laboratories with selected practitioners that will question and deepen your knowledge within performance. Each of these laboratories will allow the opportunity for immersion within a particular practice and offer opportunities to perform in a range of settings including non-convention settings such as site-based work, film and interactive installations.

Through a final extended performance project, this module culminates in an external performance project led by a professional artist who works with an interdisciplinary approach allowing the student to put into practice all the skills they developed within the course as they would in a professional field.

Technical and Embodied Practices (30 credits)

Students will participate in daily classes/workshops as a method of developing their technical and performance skills in studio-based sessions. Students will experience a range of sessions developed to extend their interpretive abilities, enhance their physical execution of technical material and also provide strategies for movement observation and analysis.

Classes will be led by a range of tutors and will ensure that students experience relevant styles and approaches which are current in the dance community. There will be a focus on individual personal practice, enhancing skills of reflection to ensure that students are able to identify and apply their skills in a range of contexts.

Marketing, PR and Digital Representation (15 credits)

Being able to market yourself, create an artistic identity and have online visibility is crucial to any emerging dance artist. This module will prepare you for traditional approaches to marketing, as well as exploring the ever-shifting landscape of social media and digital technologies. The module will put particular emphasis on practical and reflexive learning enabling you to engage with a wide range of approaches necessary to be a successful artist.

Research Project (60 credits)

With this Module, all MA students come together and have a chance to work with one another across courses. You will undertake a series of lectures and workshops prior to working independently on a focused and original research project with a critical and systematic understanding of current knowledge.

Research outcomes may take a range of forms including performance, choreography, lecture demonstration or dissertation. You will be expected to draw on your experiences and expertise from earlier in the course. This module is seen as an opportunity to apply the specificity of your learning so far to a project directly relevant to your on-going professional development. The projects on this module will be presented in a final sharing/mini-festival of work.

Course Structure