Dance (Mexican Dance), Bachelor of Fine Arts
Program Overview
The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Dance (Mexican Dance) degree focuses on dance training with a specialized focus on the rescue, preservation and proliferation of Mexican traditions and culture through the art of dance. It is designed to provide students with a broad and thorough base of dance technique training and performance experience to prepare for continued study at the graduate level or to enter the dance field in a professional capacity.
The Dance Program holds placement auditions for future technique courses. Entry auditions are required for acceptance into the BFA in Dance (Mexican Dance) program.
Admission requirements for this program beyond university admission requirements.
- Students must complete and pass an audition to be admitted to the BFA in Dance program.
- Students will enter as Bachelor of Art in Dance until they have been admitted into the BFA in Dance program through the formal audition process.
Progression requirements for this program.
- For all dance technique courses, faculty approval is needed to advance from level to level.
Specific graduation requirements for this program beyond university bachelor’s degree requirements.
- Students must earn a score of Satisfactory or higher in the Professional Portfolio completed in DANC 4302.
- Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all DANC courses.
- Students must earn an overall GPA of 2.5.
Core Curriculum – 42 hours
The Core Curriculum serves as a broad foundation for the undergraduate degree. All candidates for a bachelor’s degree must achieve core student learning outcomes, including communication, critical thinking, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility, by completing courses within each category or component area of the Core Curriculum as outlined below.
The University has approved specific courses that satisfy Core Curriculum Requirements. Approved courses can be found on the Core Curriculum Page. Students seeking the most efficient way to complete the core curriculum and major or minor requirements are advised to take approved courses that can fulfill both requirements. Although core curriculum courses can also be used to fulfill major or minor requirements, earned credits hours are only applied once.
The courses listed below fulfill core curriculum and major requirements. Students who have completed a core curriculum category with courses other than those listed below will still be required to take the listed course(s) to meet major requirements.
030 Life and Physical Sciences – 6 hours
Three credit hours from the lecture component of BIOL 2401 and BIOL 2402 will be applied towards this requirement.
040 Language, Philosophy and Culture - 3 hours
050 Creative Arts – 3 hours
Select any Creative Arts course except DANC 2323 Dance Appreciation.
090 Integrative and Experiential Learning – 6 hours
One credit hour from the lab component of BIOL 2401 and BIOL 2402 will be applied towards this requirement.
Major Requirements - 72 hours
Required Courses - 39 hours
Complete 2 hours from one or a combination of the following repeatable courses:
| DANC 2112 | Dance Performance: Beginning/Intermediate | 1 |
| DANC 3112 | Dance Performance: Intermediate/Advanced | 1 |
Complete 4 hours from the following repeatable course:
| DANC 3112 | Dance Performance: Intermediate/Advanced | 1 |
Mexican Dance Concentration - 33 hours
Mexican Dance History - 3 hours
Mexican Folklorico Dance Techniques - 15 hours
Students must complete a total of 15 credit hours in Mexican Folklorico Dance. Students need departmental approval to enroll in 4000 level courses.
Foundation in Mexican Folklorico Dance - 5 hours
| DANC 2250 | Foundations in Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 2349 | Foundations in Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Intermediate Mexican Folklorico - 5 hours
| DANC 3250 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3349 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Additional Intermediate or Advanced Mexican Folklorico Dance - 5 hours
| DANC 3250 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3349 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 4250 | Advanced Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 4349 | Advanced Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Contemporary Dance Foundation - 2 hours minimum
Students must complete a minimum of 2 credit hours from DANC 2246 or DANC 2345 as a pre- or corequisite for DANC 1202.
Choose from:
| DANC 2246 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 2345 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Intermediate or Advanced Contemporary Dance or Ballet
Students must complete 2 hours of intermediate (3000) or advanced (4000) Contemporary Dance or Ballet.
To enroll in intermediate or advanced Contemporary Dance, students must first complete DANC 2246 and DANC 2345.
To enroll in intermediate (3000) or advanced (4000) Ballet, students must first complete DANC 2242 and DANC 2341.
Students need departmental approval to enroll in 4000 level Contemporary Dance or Ballet courses.
Contemporary Dance - 4 hours minimum
Students who have taken DANC 2246 should select DANC 2345 and students who have taken DANC 2345 should select DANC 2246 to complete the Contemporary Dance Foundation sequence.
| DANC 2246 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| Or | |
| DANC 2345 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| And | |
| DANC 3246 | Intermediate Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| Or | |
| DANC 3345 | Intermediate Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| Or | |
| DANC 4246 | Advanced Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| Or | |
| DANC 4345 | Advanced Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Ballet - 7 hours minimum
| DANC 2242 | Ballet Foundations - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| And | |
| DANC 2341 | Ballet Foundations - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| And | |
| DANC 3242 | Intermediate Ballet - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| Or | |
| DANC 3341 | Intermediate Ballet - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| Or | |
| DANC 4242 | Advanced Ballet - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| Or | |
| DANC 4341 | Advanced Ballet - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
Additional Dance Techniques - 6 - 9 hours
All students should consult with the technique faculty advisor when selecting additional dance technique courses.
The number of additional dance technique credit hours will vary depending on whether the student has chosen Contemporary Dance or Ballet to meet the intermediate or advanced requirement.
Students will need department approval to enroll in intermediate or advanced courses for which they have not taken at least 5 credits of corresponding foundation courses.
Choose from:
| DANC 2246 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 2345 | Foundations in Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 3246 | Intermediate Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3345 | Intermediate Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 4246 | Advanced Contemporary Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 4345 | Advanced Contemporary Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 2242 | Ballet Foundations - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 2341 | Ballet Foundations - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 3242 | Intermediate Ballet - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3341 | Intermediate Ballet - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 4242 | Advanced Ballet - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 4341 | Advanced Ballet - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 3250 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3349 | Intermediate Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 4250 | Advanced Mexican Folklorico Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 4349 | Advanced Mexican Folklorico Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 2254 | Foundations in Spanish Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 2353 | Foundations in Spanish Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 3254 | Intermediate Spanish Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 3353 | Intermediate Spanish Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 4254 | Advanced Spanish Dance - Two Credit Hour | 2 |
| DANC 4353 | Advanced Spanish Dance - Three Credit Hour | 3 |
| DANC 2244 | Ballet Technique: Pointe I | 2 |
| DANC 3244 | Ballet Technique: Pointe II | 2 |
| DANC 2220 | Jazz Dance I | 2 |
| DANC 3220 | Jazz Dance II | 2 |
Free Electives - hours will vary
Free elective credit hours required may vary to achieve the institutional minimum of 120 hours for a degree.
Total Credit Hours: 42
Total Credit Hours: 120
View this program’s recommended roadmap to graduation.
UTRGV Roadmaps are a suggested sequence of courses designed to assist students in completing their undergraduate degree requirements. This is a term-by-term sample roadmap of courses required to complete the degree. Students must satisfy all requirements in their catalog including, but not limited to course prerequisites, grade point average and course grade benchmarks, progression requirements, and graduation requirements.
Students should meet with their academic advisor every semester to discuss their individualized path toward completion. Degree progress within this roadmap depends upon such factors as course availability, individual student academic preparation and readiness, student time management, work and personal responsibilities, and financial considerations. Students may choose to take courses during summer terms to reduce course loads during long semesters.