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The educational and artistic mission of the Five College Dance Department is to champion the imaginative, expressive powers of human movement. The curriculum emphasizes in-depth study of a broad spectrum of dance as an art form, including technical, creative, historical, cultural, and scientific perspectives. Students are encouraged to balance performance and creative studies with a comprehensive understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of different dance traditions. They may shape their major studies in either traditional or interdisciplinary ways—reflecting the wide range of career options and new directions of the contemporary field.

The Five College Dance Department combines the programs of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The faculty operates as a consortium, coordinating curricula, performances, and services. The Five College Dance Department supports a variety of philosophical approaches to dance and provides an opportunity for students to experience a wide spectrum of performance styles and techniques. Course offerings are coordinated among the campuses to facilitate registration, interchange, and student travel; students may take a dance course on any of the five campuses and receive credit at the home institution.

Note: Five College course lists, specifying times, locations and new course updates, are available two weeks prior to preregistration at both the Dance Office, 11 Totman, and at the Five College Dance Department Office, located in the Music and Dance Building at Hampshire College as well as on line at: www.fivecolleges.edu/dance.