Course Level:Postgraduate

Next Start Date: October 2024

Duration: 1 Year

Campus Location: Bedford Campus

Attendance: Full-time | Part-time day

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About the course

Are you an undergraduate dance or performing arts student who dreams of taking your professional performance and creative practice to the next level? Then this performance-based programme is designed with you in mind.

This exceptional course will enhance your skills across artistic, academic, educational and community contexts, offering you the opportunity for professional-level repertory performance practice along with membership of The Ensemble, our postgraduate university dance company. The programme also offers a truly global perspective with students and choreographers from around the world bringing a wealth of ideas and diversity.

Units include repertory and performance; choreographic and dance research; somatic practice; and dance psychology. The emphasis is on the health of mind and body through dance practice and includes contemporary dance, yoga, improvisation, fusion styles and dance science.

You can choose a written dissertation or a practical research project in performance, choreography, dance film-making, teaching/pedagogy or experimental performance.

Intermediate qualifications available:

Postgraduate certificate – 60 credits at Master's level
Postgraduate diploma - 120 credits at Master's level

See photos from our performances and workshops instagram.com/theensembleuob

Why choose this course?

Gain high-level practical, professional and theoretical skills in performance and/or choreographic practice
Work with a dynamic, experienced team of tutors with internationally significant experience as academics, practice-led researchers and dance artists
Our recent choreographers include Julia Cheng, Urja Desai Thakore, Sung Im Her, Annie Lok, Simonetta Alessandri, Colin Poole and Tim Casson
Benefit from professional-level facilities including four dance studios, an 80-seat studio theatre and a 260-seat main-stage theatre
Develop your professional network through our existing relationships with key organisations such as Arts Council England; Youth Dance England; dance agencies and development organisations; performance venues; professional dance companies; independent artists; community arts organisations; colleges and schools
Our graduates can be found working in the UK and internationally, in fields including freelance dance artist or choreographer; education or wider community environments; the film/video industry; and commercial sector
Our graduates include Hayley Lemon, teaching artist at Dance East; Katie Boag and Ash Goosey, independent choreographers for Arts Council projects; Emma Bouch, lead artist at NK Dance; and Katie Bateman, dancer/entertainer on Disney cruises

Find out more about financial support available

Course Leader - Dr Tamara Ashley

Moving inside and outside, within and without, I am interested in how we can partner with one another and with the earth to create moving dance works and empowered relationships.

I co-ordinate the MA Dance Performance and Choreography programme, and I am the artistic director of The Ensemble, the MA performing group, through which I work with professional choreographers each year to create new works for touring. I also teach technique and choreography across the undergraduate dance and performing arts programmes.

Find out more about Dr Tamara Ashley

Units

Choreographic Research (PER008-6) Compulsory
Dance Research Project/Dissertation (PER001-6) Compulsory
Repertory And Performance (PER010-6) Compulsory
Researching Dance (PER002-6) Compulsory
Somatic Practice (PER007-6) Compulsory
The Repertory Artist: Skills, Roles And Contexts (PER021-6) Compulsory

Assessment drives the curriculum, and responds to course aims and learning outcomes by creating opportunities for students to demonstrate skills, knowledge and abilities through a diverse range of practical, creative and critically informed contexts. Assessment of practice mirrors professional working environments and expectations as far as possible, and tests skills and abilities as a means of enhancing and preparing for the demands of future employment. This strategy emphasises the course teams concern with student acquisition of professionally equivalent skills and abilities, and it places a premium on testing independent critical thinking as a catalyst for developing reflective and articulate artists, and independent and confident researchers. Methods of assessment typify expectations of post-graduate study in advanced dance performance and include; public and in-studio performances, practical examinations, choreographic presentations, seminar presentations, oral examinations, literature reviews, essays, and case studies. This range and diversity of testing offers opportunities for you, and for the staff team, to explore your relative strengths and weaknesses, and to respond positively to individual challenge through a supportive and personalised learning environment. Feedback is an essential part of the learning and assessment process, and key to your improvement and development. Feedback will take several formative and summative forms, and formative responses to your work will be used to enable you to review and improve in advance of summative assessment wherever possible. Feedback methods, both summative and formative, may include; verbal commentary, ongoing practical explorations, peer and tutor response to work in progress showings, in-tutorial response to emerging written work, and summative feedback on final projects and submissions. For students, assessment identifies: - Achievement against Learning Outcomes - Successful application of learning and understanding - Areas of development and improvement - Areas requiring specific further study For tutors and the course team, assessment provides opportunity for: - Reflection on currency and validity of the Course Aims - Monitoring of individual student progress - Identifying individual learning problems and areas of concern Feedback on teaching, learning and assessment strategies In the Repertory Artist: Skills, Roles and Contexts unit you will work in partnership with course-peers, and with students from other postgraduate performing arts programmes, to refine and develop your performance and collaborative skills. Typically this work will draw on the expertise of the different sectors involved, and reflect the scope and nature of creative partnership-working in the professional sector. The opportunity to work as part of a group will help you to develop transferable skills such as taking initiative, communication, team working and decision making. Where group-work is used all students will achieve an individual grade for their contribution to the work. Your ability to carry out independent research is underpinned and developed throughout the assessment tasks of the core and elective units on the course, but culminates in the design and delivery of your independent Dance Research/Dissertation project. This provides you with the opportunity to utilise your skills, knowledge and abilities as an artist-scholar, and to research and manage a large-scale project.

Why study in the School of Arts and Creative Industries?

Professional theatre and dance studios
Latest digital and VR technologies and performance techniques
Taught by experienced performers and practitioners
Industry links and Media Masterclasses
Media arts centre equipped with industry standard facilities
Specially equipped Art and Design building

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above.

The University of Bedfordshire warmly welcomes students from all over the world.

Individual courses may vary, but we generally require an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above.

To ensure a smooth application process, we have dedicated pages with detailed information about country-specific requirements. You can find information on our generic entry requirements too, if your county is not listed.

English Language

The English Language requirement for this course is 6.0 (with a minimum of 5.5 in any subtest) in IELTS, or an equivalent SELT. Have a look at our webpage for a list of English language qualifications we accept. If you do not have the required level of English for your chosen degree, we offer pre-sessional courses to enhance your language skills before commencing your studies.

We are committed to supporting you every step of the way, so please do not hesitate to reach out to our international admissions team for further assistance. We look forward to welcoming you to our vibrant academic community.

Find out more about specific entry requirements for your country

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above.

The University of Bedfordshire warmly welcomes students from all over the world.

Individual courses may vary, but we generally require an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above.

English Language

Audition
Interview

All applicants will be invited to auditions and interview in order to provide evidence of your practical knowledge of dance. You will also discuss why you consider the course to be an appropriate choice that will enable you to develop your dance knowledge, skills and understanding.

You will be assessed not only in relation to your current practical knowledge of dance but also in relation to whether you are able to articulate goals that match your abilities and your understanding of how this course will help you achieve your goals.

We do not assess physical fitness, strength, flexibility or other physical attributes as part of the criteria for entry, but you should consider the physical demands of core units in dance technique and performance and improvisation and composition in deciding whether this course offers you the best opportunity to achieve in this subject area.

If you are unable to attend in person for audition and interview, you may submit a digital portfolio and be interviewed by telephone.

You are also advised that in order to benefit from all the opportunities available through study you may be advised to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

How will this course improve my career prospects?

As a graduate of this course, you will be equipped to pursue a wide variety of professions as a performer; interdisciplinary performance practitioner; choreographer; educator; independent portfolio worker (consultant or researcher, for example) in the creative industries; or follow careers in screen-based performance.

Fees and funding

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £15,600

If you have any questions around fees and funding, please email international@beds.ac.uk

Fees and funding

Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk

The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £15,600

If you have any questions around fees and funding, please email international@beds.ac.uk

Extra costs for this course

For this course you need to have appropriate clothing. We estimate that the total spend on a kit would be around £35 to £50.

Your kit should include

Yoga mat
Appropriate exercise clothing/leggings/dance belt etc.
Loose outer wear for various activities

_{*The information above is for guidance only. Exact costs may vary.}

Extra Costs

Find out more about additional costs while studying at Bedfordshire. Click here.

Campus Library

The Bedford Campus Library set over four storeys offers students access to our extensive range of physical and digital resources with 300,000+ books & 80,000+ ebooks.

PCs are provided on each level for students to use offering access to a wide range of applications as well as access to group-work areas and presentation-practice rooms and a dedicated silent study floor.

BedsSU - The Hub

The Hub is home to BedsSU providing a great space for socialising with friends, catching up on some coursework or taking a well-deserved break.

The Hub is the place to go to take a break from your studies, play table tennis, socialise and watch live sport on the big screen.By night the venue becomes the place to be, with a variety of student events such as pub quizzes, live music and various themed club nights. Evening food includes delicious freshly made pizzas as well as a range of other beverages and snacks.

Bedford Gym

The Aspire Gyms offer a range of affordable membership options giving students exclusive use of a convenient campus-based fitness facility.

The Bedford gym facilitates state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smartphone compatibility as well as an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area. Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.

Dance Studios

At the centre of our campus is four fully sprung dance studios equipped with ballet barres, mirrored walls, audio playback and projection for our dance and performing arts students.

Our two campus theatres also provide the ideal performance space for students with regular events held that are open audiences of students, staff and the wider community.

Campus Theatres

Set within the Campus Centre is a 260 seat professional theatre on the ground floor with industry-standard lighting, media desk, roll-down screen, full backstage comms system and large dressing rooms with en suite showers. On the first floor there's also a well-equipped 80 seat studio theatre.

Our theatres welcome new and existing audiences to see a range of student work including contemporary dance, theatre and performing arts; holding regular events that are open to students, staff and the wider community.

Sports Science Labs

Our specialist sports science labs give students a fantastic environment to develop their research skills and expertise, where a student can explore the biology of an elite athlete who could be performing simultaneously within the sports hall.

The state-of-the-art laboratories are purpose built for research and teaching in the fields of exercise and nutrition science. This includes specialised equipment and facilities for assessing human health risk and delivering exercise and diet interventions for health promotion.

How to Apply

UK students applying for most postgraduate degrees at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form

You can apply online using our applications portal.

Find out more about how to apply as an International student

How to Apply

UK students applying for most postgraduate degrees at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form

You can apply online using our applications portal.

Find out more about how to apply as an International student

Visit the School of Arts and Creative Industries

More than a Degree

Dance Performance and Choreography
MA