Choreographic Practices
Postgraduate
MA
Dance: Creative Dance Education
Salford School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology
Attendance
Full-time
Course
One year
Next enrolment
September 2023
In a nutshell
Do you have what it takes to guide and inspire the next generation of dancers? Are you interested in developing your teaching practices with support from industry-leading dance professionals? If so, our master’s in Creative Dance Education could be the perfect next step in your career.
Over three trimesters, you’ll explore the pedagogical approaches, creative practices and professional skills needed to work as a dance professional, community dance practitioner or youth dance leader. On this course, you’ll study practical and theoretical modules and undertake an educational and industry-focused teaching placement. You’ll get an insight into teaching dance in various contexts to suit your ambitions as a dance artist, including formal education, youth dance settings and community dance environments. This programme develops both emerging and experienced dance educators by helping you to identify and support the artistry rooted in dance teaching. You’ll understand the role of choreography in teaching and explore the creative elements involved in being a dance educator.
For dance educators at any stage in your career, this course will support you in developing your creative practice and deepening your abilities to support your students.
Want to learn more about studying for a master’s in dance education at Salford? Find out more by signing up for an upcoming Open Day.
You can also follow our Dance@Salford Instagram account and find helpful FAQs, learn more about student life at Salford or explore all our Dance courses.
International applicants: Please check the international intakes page for the latest information and application dates.
You will:
- Practice in a creative university with leading industry partnerships
- Benefit from our relationships with Arts Council England in talent development, OneDanceUK, and many regional youth dance companies
- Combine theoretical modules with real-world industry placements to develop yourself fully as a dance educator
- Graduate with a portfolio of work and experience that you can use in your wider career
Placement
options available
International
students accepted
This is for you if...
1.
You’re an emerging or established dance educator who would like the opportunity to refine your craft and take your career prospects to the next level.
2.
You want to develop as both a dance teacher and creative artist, enabling you to pursue a long-term career in your field.
3.
You’re interested in the key theories, concepts and practices central to dance teaching and education.
All about the course
Our master’s in Creative Dance Education programme combines theoretical learning, applied practice, and teaching placements in order to properly equip you for a career as a dance educator.
Spread over three trimesters, you will study modules that give you a deeper understanding of crucial aspects of dance such as choreography techniques, as well as the creative opportunities and challenges associated with dance in community and/or educational contexts. In addition, you’ll cover modules on teaching strategy in dance, and learn how to deliver dance education through workshops.
You’ll have a range of opportunities to put the things you’ve learned into practice through two industry placements throughout the year. Both of these placements will give you the chance to work in curriculum-based and non-curriculum based settings.
Throughout this MA in dance education, you’ll learn key theories, concepts and practices that are vital to dance and education, as well as look into trends and current issues around teaching dance.
You’ll finish this course by completing a creative research project in which you’ll draw on your experience as a teacher and choreographer.
Learn more about each module by reading the full course breakdown below.
Full-time: semester one (September)
This module interrogates key concepts, theories and practices inherent in contemporary choreographic practice. It integrates a mixture of practical workshops and seminars. The practical workshops will introduce a range of approaches to dance-making with specific sessions focused on making work with and for young people. The seminar series will include both screening and discussions of professional practitioners and their work.
Full-time: semester two (January to May)
Approaches To Dance Pedagogy
In this module, you will be introduced to the creative and physical techniques implicit in dance workshop development and delivery. This course explores the methods and practices of teaching dance, but specific to Community Dance setting, including areas such as:
- Engagement with current issues through dance experience.
- Inclusive Dance Practice
- Workshop design
- Educational aspects of dance performance and touring.
Teaching Strategy and Design In Dance
This practical and theoretical module delves into the concepts and approaches central to dance teaching within a curriculum setting. Module content will consider the function of curriculum as the ‘spine’ of the learning experience and explore creative and physical approaches to engage students with new skills and knowledge within and through dance. This module is taught in an intensive, two-week block and will equip you with a foundation of pedagogic theory and practical knowledge central to work in the dance studio as a classroom.
Dance Teaching Placement
This module embeds the student in a placement within a dance teaching setting. Working alongside established dance teachers and/or workshop leaders, you will develop knowledge, skills and experience in teaching dance. The Dance Teaching Placement works in conjunction with the Industry Placement module, ensuring that students have a balance of placements in both curriculum based (i.e. schools, colleges) and non-curriculum based settings. You will be supported by a staff supervisor who will support you in connecting the placement experience with your own development as a creative dance educator.
Full Time: semester three ( June to September)
Industry Placement
This module embeds the student in a second placement within a dance teaching setting. Having completed the Dance Teaching Placement, this module will complement that experience, ensuring that you have held placements in both curriculum based (i.e. schools, colleges) and non-curriculum based settings. Knowledge, skills and experiences developed in the first placement will be re-interrogated in this differentiated setting. Your staff supervisor will continue to support you in connecting the placement experiences to the areas for creative research proposed for the Practice-as-Research Project/ Dissertation module.
Practice-As-Research Project/Dissertation
In this final project, you will be asked to propose an area of exploration, arising from your experiences in the previous modules and focused on future work within profession. Upon submitting a proposal, you will be assigned a supervisor to support you on this journey of enquiry. Either individually or in collaboration with others, the results of these investigations will be presented at New Adelphi alongside a wider programme of dance performances and events.
Please note that it may not be possible to deliver the full list of options every year as this will depend on factors such as how many students choose a particular option. Exact modules may also vary in order to keep content current. When accepting your offer of a place to study on this programme, you should be aware that not all optional modules will be running each year. Your tutor will be able to advise you as to the available options on or before the start of the programme. Whilst the University tries to ensure that you are able to undertake your preferred options, it cannot guarantee this.
BE A PART OF A CREATIVE, SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
All our Dance courses are delivered by the Salford School of Arts, Media, and Creative Technology. Our focus is to ensure that you have the skills you need to pursue your dreams, and we encourage our students, past and present, to collaborate with each other and achieve great things.
Each year - through the Create Student Awards – our School rewards the incredible achievements and successes of our final year and postgraduate students.
Whatever you choose to study with us, you’ll be mentored and supported by experts. And once you graduate, it won’t end there. You’ll join a thriving alumni network across Greater Manchester and beyond, meaning you’ll be supported professionally and personally whenever you need it.
Dance Facilities
This Dance degree course is based at our £55 million New Adelphi building, the home of performance and creativity on campus.
Our range of performance facilities include:
Dance studios – our industry-standard studios are where you’ll spend much of your time, honing your skills in a professional environment to best prepare you to enter the world of dance.
New Adelphi Theatre – this 350-seat venue provides an opportunity for you to stage performances in front of live audiences. It also regularly hosts of professional shows and performances.
Studio theatre - this classic black-box performance space offers a more intimate venue than the New Adelphi Theatre. It features flexible seating and staging, so you can shape the space to meet your creative needs.
Explore our Dance facilities at New Adelphi, or take a 360 tour of our New Adelphi building.
Teacher Profile
Sarah Jane Lockwood, Programme Leader of MA Dance: Creative Dance Education
Sarah is an experienced dance artist with a background in community arts and performance, dance pedagogy and socially engaged practice. When not lecturing at Salford, she works as a professional dance artist and project evaluator, delivering activity for a range of education and community arts providers across the North of England. In her previous post with Ludus Dance, Sarah worked as a Creative Programme Manager, delivering/managing a range of projects in grassroots, community performance, inclusive dance and talent development contexts. In recent years she has delivered projects in collaboration with Grand Theatre Blackpool, Ludus Dance, The Electric Sunshine Project and Maelstrom Theatre.
Contact Sarah Jane Lockwood or explore the Dance faculty at the University of Salford.
What about after uni?
EMPLOYMENT
After graduating with a master’s in dance education, you’ll be perfectly positioned to teach dance in a range of working environments. You may choose to pursue a career as a dance teacher in a school or college, a dance instructor or a choreographer, to name just some of your options. You’ll have a deep understanding of pedagogical approaches, understanding of current practice, policy and legislation in the arts, as well as transferrable skills preparing you for a wide range of careers across the sector. Your ability to research, develop and deliver ideas in a creative and professional way will be highly valued by many employers.
FURTHER STUDY
Graduates showing strong academic and research skills can pursue a further academic research path through our doctoral (PhD) programmes on a full-time or part-time basis subject to a satisfactory proposal.
Career Links
This programme has links with a number of industry bodies, including OneDanceUK, The Lowry’s Youth Development Team and Company Chameleon.
In addition, we have an annual dance artist-in-residence scheme that has engaged with companies such as Company Chameleon, Hawk Dance Theatre, Kapow Dance Theatre, along with many independent dance artists. These schemes bring workshops, apprenticeships, performance, project and mentoring opportunities to our dance students. In addition, we hold intensive masterclasses each academic year, hosting a range of national and international dance artists to work with our under and postgraduate dance students. This has recently included working with choreographers from Phoenix Dance and Company Chameleon among many others.
What you need to know
APPPLICANT PROFILE
To gain a place on this MA Creative Dance Education degree, you’ll have to submit a personal statement and meet our entry requirements when you apply.
Within your personal statement (up to 500 words), we’ll want to understand:
• what motivates you and what current experiences do you have in terms of dance education?
• how have you been involved and what did you do?
• why do you want to work in the performance and dance education sector?
• and why the University of Salford and this degree is the right choice for your future goals.
For some applicants, you’ll be asked to provide us with a portfolio of work and potentially take part in an informal group seminar discussion/interview or audition– either live or on camera – to demonstrate your skills.
Once you’ve made your application to study with us, we’ll contact you and let you know the next steps.
We welcome applicants with prior PGCE/PGDE dance/performing arts qualifications, who may be eligible to ‘top up’ to the MA Creative Dance Education with the award of credit via Accreditation of Prior Learning from parts of the course on the basis of postgraduate certificated learning already achieved.
Standard entry requirements
Standard entry requirements
Applicants to this programme must have a good degree in a dance-related subject
International students
If you are an international student and not from a majority English speaking country, you will need IELTS 6.5 with no element below 5.5. We accept qualifications from all around the world. Find your country to see a full list of entry requirements.
We also accept a range of other English language qualifications. If you do not have the English language requirements, you could take our Pre-Sessional English course.
Alternative entry requirements
Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL)
We welcome applicants with prior PGCE/PGDE dance/performing arts qualifications, who may be eligible to ‘top up’ to the MA Creative Dance Education with the award of credit via Accreditation of Prior Learning from parts of the course on the basis of postgraduate certificated learning already achieved.
The Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) process could help you to make your work and life experience count. The APL process can be used for entry onto courses or to give you exemptions from parts of your course.
Two forms of APL may be used for entry: the Accreditation of Prior Certificated Learning (APCL) or the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).
How much?
| Type of study | Year | Fees |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time home | 2023/24 | £8,550per year |
| Full-time international | 2023/24 | £15,750per year |
Additional costs
You should also consider further costs which may include books, stationery, printing, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits.
Scholarships for International Students
If you are a high-achieving international student, you may be eligible for one of our scholarships. Explore our international scholarships.