Thesis
Educating a dancer: a study of entrepreneurial skills in undergraduate dance training
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
2014
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6253
Abstract
Entrepreneurial skills provide dancers with transferrable skills that can be applied within and outside the professional dance field. This multifaceted skill set allows dancers to be more employable throughout their professional career by providing them with a variety of employment options while still performing, as well as after their retirement from the stage. This paper examines entrepreneurial skills related to the business aspects of a professional dance career in order to answer the question: how do university BFA Dance degree programs train dancers in entrepreneurial skills in preparation for professional dance careers? The research question is addressed in three main parts: a literature review of existing research, the findings of original research conducted on 25 randomly selected BFA Dance degree programs, and recommendations to improve the quality of training undergraduate dance students receive in entrepreneurial skills. The literature review draws from scholarly articles on dance education and arts entrepreneurship, as well as economic data on artists and dancers in the United States labor force. The original research then analyzes the course catalogs and curriculum requirements of 25 randomly sampled university BFA Dance degree programs in order to determine which BFA Dance degree programs are entrepreneurial. Finally, the paper concludes that the preponderance of BFA Dance degree programs are not entrepreneurial, as they largely do not require entrepreneurial courses, offer entrepreneurial electives, or entrepreneurial minors within the BFA Dance degree. It recommends connecting existing resources within the university, allowing dance students to create their own majors or minors, and evaluating the high demand in undergraduate Dance degree programs for additional skills in choreography.
Metrics
88 File views/ downloads
33 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Educating a dancer
- Creators
- Catherine L. Ross - DU
- Contributors
- Julie Goodman (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Arts Administration; Arts and Entertainment Enterprise; Drexel University; Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design
- Other Identifier
- 6253; 991014632076204721