Opportunities for Students

The ACC dance department provides diverse opportunities to help students find their niche within the dance field. Many of our students branch out into professional dance careers or successfully transfer to four-year dance programs.

Perform!

The ACC dance department presents three MainStage performances and two informal concerts every year. Students perform in a professional theater setting alongside peers, faculty, and guest artists. Many ACC dance students have gone on to perform with dance companies such as Blue Lapis Light, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company, Ballet East, and others. In Dance Performance classes, ACC students prepare for a professional dance company by following a model used by local, regional, and national touring dance companies.

Produce!

Through its Academic Cooperative in Dance Production, the ACC dance department gives students an introduction to dance production planning, including management, lighting and costume design and publicity. The class incorporates practical, hands-on experience in ACC’s dance theatre as well as in local professional dance performance venues.

Create!

Our departmental focus is on movement generation and the use of choreographic principles. Through Improvisation and Composition classes, ACC dance gives students hands-on experience conceiving, planning and creating their own choreographic work. Students work alongside professional lighting designers, costume designers and music composers to complete their work. Resulting dances are performed for public audiences in Austin.

Teach!

A robust technical foundation is the groundwork for dancers and dance educators. ACC offers multiple levels of technique classes in Ballet, Modern Dance and Jazz. The ACC dance faculty is rich with professional dance experience and provides top-notch, individual instruction for their students. Motivated ACC dance students are often recruited to teach at local dance studios or for community outreach programs upon completion of their degree.

Network!

A strong network is essential for dance students whether they plan to transfer to a four-year program or pursue a professional career in dance. One of our most exciting opportunities is connecting students with the ACC dance department’s network of national college dance programs. Additionally, as a member of the American College Dance Association (ACDA), our department sponsors ACC dance students’ attendance at the ACDA southwest regional conference every spring. The conference is a unique experience that benefits dancers wishing to expand their aesthetic vision, hone their technique, and practice dance performance skills. At the conference, our students take a variety of classes with students and faculty from all over the southwest region of the US. They perform for an esteemed panel of professionals, and they attend performances by other students and faculty in the southwest region.