Contemporary Dance (BFA)
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Offered by:Department of Contemporary Dance, Faculty of Fine Arts
Why study Contemporary Dance?
Contemporary dance reflects the present. It redefines existing forms of dance and evolves new ways of moving. Our program affords you the time, space and opportunities to advance your creative and technical capacities as a choreographer and performer.
Our program is unique in offering core choreography and creative process courses over the full span of your degree, with technical training that supports choreographic research and versatility in performance.
Our faculty members are dance professionals, actively connected to the contemporary dance community. From the moment you arrive, you will be treated as an emerging artist, developing your vision with the faculty’s skill and guidance. You will stage your own choreographies, collaborate across disciplines, and perform in new works created by your peers.
Montreal is a city with no shortage of role models. Our alumni have a strong tradition of innovation and initiative. There is room for you to make your mark here. It is the perfect place to take risks, push your limits and feel confident launching a professional career in contemporary dance.
Program Details
A Bachelor of Fine Arts degree takes a minimum of three or four years (90 – 120 credits) of full-time study, depending on your academic background.
Program option:
- Major in Contemporary Dance (60 credits)
Annual Capacity
This program is only available for Fall admission.
- 20
The deparment receives an average of 100 applications from across the continent and from overseas. Live auditions are held in Montreal in the Spring. Candidates who cannot attend for geographical or financial reasons, may submit their audition by video as per the guidelines and deadlines posted in the Admissions page.
Cegep Students
No specific courses are required beyond a DEC.
Additional Requirements
- Pre-audition questionnaire
- Audition
- Interview
Pre-Audition Questionnaire Deadline: March 1
- Available at concordia.ca/dance
- Late applications will continue to be accepted for certain programs for an undetermined amount of time. Please see program availability for the fall.
- Applicants must apply online before submitting the Questionnaire.
Minimum cut-off averages
Minimum Cut-off Averages should be used as indicators. Data may change depending on the quality of the application pool. Admission to the Faculty of Fine Arts is very competitive. Applicants who meet the stated minimum requirements are not guaranteed admission to these programs.
- Quebec Cegep (CRC): DEC CRC 18.0
- Canadian High Schools: 70%
- U.S. High Schools: C+
- University Transfers (internal/external): C
Admission to most programs is based on portfolio/audition evaluations as well as academic grades. Applicants selected for admission have normally achieved grades that exceed minimum requirements.
- International Bacc. (IB): A minimum total of 26 points. Admission to competitive programs is based on strong portfolio/auditions and, normally, above-average grades.
- Bacc. Français: A minimum grade of 11 for students who have completed their Bacc. Français outside of Quebec. Admission is competitive and based on strong portfolio/auditions and, normally, above-average grades.
(excluding diplôme professionnelle)
Make sure you also meet Concordia’s minimum admission requirements.
Given the program’s focus on creative process and choreography, the dance training we provide is a synthesis of technique principles and new approaches in dance training, beyond style specific techniques. Teachers bring to class a diversity of perspectives, fed by their sustained practice as performers and artistic collaborators.
Technical training is in contemporary dance. The teachers draw from a diversity of current movement practices, offering synthesized approaches to training that are adapted to the needs of choreographic research and versatility in performance. Classes may include notions from existing dance forms and movement principles, barre, floor work, somatics, new hybrid styles, depending on the teachers. However, there are no specific techniques taught such as ballet, jazz or modern styles such as Graham, Limon, or lyrical dance. Students gain proficiency in movement coordination, flexibility and stability, musicality and dynamic versatility. Classes are usually accompanied by a live musician.
There are regular opportunities for students to experience other dance approaches outside the regular course offering through workshops and extra technique classes organized by the Dance Students Association.
Visit the courses page for course sequences and consult the Undergraduate Calendar for complete list of current courses.
Sample classes
You’ll study staging, technique, and choreography, creative process from concept to movement, structure, and production.
- Creative Process
- Choreography
- Sound and Silence for the Dancer
- Practical Anatomy for the Moving Body
From day one, you create and perform. Throughout the year there are formal and more informal performance events, held on campus and in various venues in Montreal.
The Contemporary Dance Department has a ‘black box’ studio theatre (MB 7-265), fully equipped with lighting, projection and internet connection for webcast for such events as:
- Studio 7 is a series of open evenings of performance per year geared towards collaboration across disciplines and the development of new works by students in all areas of the visual and performing arts. A Contemporary Dance student curates these free events.
- Spirale is a performance event organized and staged in the black box studio by 1st year students, in the winter term.
- Independent Study projects by graduating students cover a variety of approaches in research/creation/production. Presentations may take the form of open labs, site-specific or staged public showings, amongst others.
- End-of-semester productions of 2nd and 3rd year student choreography are held in the Black Box in December and at Concodia’s D.B. Clarke theatre in April.
- Art Matters Festival in March. This festival launched in 2001 by Concordia’s Fine Arts students has quickly become a major event in Montreal, held throughout both campuses and in a number of venues in the city.
When is our next dance performance? Visit our news and events page to find out.
The Faculty of Fine Arts has beautiful facilities for dancers. You rehearse in smart rooms with windows that look out over the city. We have:
- Three dance studios with sprung floors, video recording equipment, and professional projection and integrated sound systems
- Our large dance studio has a full lighting grid and can serve as a black box studio theatre, fully equipped with lighting, projection and internet connection for webcast
- Two additional rehearsal studios adjacent to the fully equipped gym
Visit our facilities page for more information on our studios, resources and venues.
There are different forms of exchange: bilateral agreements between Concordia University and certain institutions, international exchanges that do not have financial agreements and visiting student status.
- See the Conference of Rectors and Principals of Quebec Universities
- Consult the Office of the Registrar
- Students wishing to apply for an exchange may contact the Faculty of Fine Arts Student Academic Services, International students counselor, Perla Muyal
Our program helps you situate yourself in the professional dance world. You’ll notice how the creative work you do in the program will give you a huge advantage when you leave the Department. Our alumni are full-fledged artists in the contemporary dance community, whose work resonates on local, national and international levels.
A degree in Contemporary Dance can lead you to many creative careers, including:
- Professional dance
- Choreography
- Launching your own dance company
- Teaching
- Artistic mentoring
- Curating performance events
United States students
A US Federal Student Aid-eligible version of this program is offered. This version meets all US regulations (such as no co-operative education or e-courses) for eligible programs.
