Hone your artistry in a program of study where critical thinking meets creative practice.
The Master of Fine Arts in Dance program is structured as a training of the holistic dance artist, preparing students to be thoughtful citizen-artists of the 21st century. Students are engaged in intensive, mentored creative work, movement practice, and analytic studies.
The goal is to present students with an inclusive curriculum that exposes them to vital aspects of the art form as performers, creators, and scholars; to widen students’ definition of dance and performance; and to encourage students to envision a vital role for themselves as artists in an ever-changing, contemporary world.
Candidates who possess a strong creative and technical foundation and who are interested in pursuing aspects of dance as a profession are encouraged to apply.
Academic Program
The Graduate Program in Dance combines seminars in reading, writing, and research with choreographic inquiry and daily physical practice in various genres.
Sarah Lawrence’s distinctive two-year Master of Fine Arts in Dance takes a holistic approach to training dance artists through intensive, mentored creative work, movement practice, and analytic studies. Through exposure to vital aspects of the art form as performers, creators and scholars, this program will widen your definition of dance and performance, preparing you to construct a vital role for yourself as an artist in an ever-changing contemporary world.
Why pursue your MFA in Dance at Sarah Lawrence College?
- You will be taught by a diverse spectrum of award-winning creative artists from the New York City dance world who are leading practitioners in the field
- Our multidisciplinary curriculum invites creative investigation in movement practice, somatics, theory, history, and pedagogy
- Small class sizes allow for individualized mentoring and one-on-one support for your artistic development
- Our proximity to NYC, the epicenter of the dance world, gives you the opportunity to attend world-class dance events, forge professional partnerships and showcase your creative work
- This intensive program takes a progressive approach to training dance artists through experiential learning, preparing you to be thoughtful citizen-artists of the 21st century
Program Overview
- Analytic studies in the dance program include dance history and theory, experiential anatomy based in the work of Irene Dowd, and lighting design.
- All students develop their own creative work for performances each semester through a process of mentored critical feedback in addition to ongoing studies in choreography, improvisation, and other forms of creative practice.
- Graduate students are required to maintain a daily physical practice chosen from offerings in contemporary practices, classical techniques including ballet and West African Dance, improvisational practices, and somatic forms.
- All students participate in the Guest Artists Lab throughout their time in the program. Guest artists regularly include leading practitioners in the field of dance and performance.
- Students regularly meet one-on-one with their advisers to discuss their overall objectives and progress. They are encouraged to study broadly, widen their definitions of dance/performance, and pursue studies pertinent to their specific goals.
- The proximity of Sarah Lawrence to NYC, a major crossroads in the dance world, allows for the dance program to benefit from a high quality faculty and guest artists who are leading practitioners in the field. It also affords the opportunity for students to attend world-class dance events throughout the school year.
Program Requirements
A total of 48 course credits (24 credits per year) are required to receive an MFA in Dance. Students are admitted on a full-time basis only.
A master’s thesis project, comprising a performance thesis of approximately 30 minutes as well as a written thesis of 20-25 pages must be completed in the second year. Students will also prepare an oral presentation of their thesis work in a lecture for the faculty and the Sarah Lawrence community.
Year 1 Required Course Work
Required Courses (Full-Year Courses unless otherwise specified)
Creative Practice:
- Live Time-Based Art
- Guest Artist Lab
- Movement Materials Lab (fall)
- Choreographic Laboratory (spring)
Movement Practice:
- Movement Studio 3
Analytic Studies:
- Graduate Seminar: Independent Study in Dance
- Anatomy in Action
- Choreographing Light for the Stage
- Dancing in Progress (fall)
- Dance Teaching Methods (spring)
Elective Courses (approximately 2-4 additional class sessions per week – see below)
Examples of potential elective coursework include:
- Performance Project
- Alexander Technique (Fall)
- Music for Dancers (Spring)
- Costume Design for Dance
- Ballet
- Hip-Hop
- Salsa (Spring)
- Yoga (Spring)
- West African Dance (Spring)
- Sound Design (offered through the Theatre Program)
- Video and Media Design (offered through the Theatre Program)
- Coursework elsewhere in the College appropriate to the individual student’s interests
Year 2: Required Course Work
Required Courses - (Full-Year Courses unless otherwise specified)
Creative Practice:
- Live Time-Based Art
- Guest Artist Lab
- Movement Materials Lab (Fall)
- Choreographic Lab (Spring)
Movement Practice:
- Movement Studio 3
Analytic Studies:
- Thesis Prep Seminar
- Dancing in Progress (Fall)
- Dance Teaching Methods (Spring)
Elective Courses (approximately 2-4 additional class sessions per week – see below)
Examples of potential elective coursework include:
- Performance Project
- Alexander Technique (Fall)
- Music for Dancers (Spring)
- Costume Design for Dance
- Ballet
- Hip-Hop
- Salsa (Spring)
- Yoga (Spring)
- West African Dance (Spring)
- Sound Design (offered through the Theatre Program)
- Video and Media Design (offered through the Theatre Program)
- Coursework elsewhere in the College appropriate to the individual student’s interests
Elective Course work
- Contemporary & Improvisational Forms
- Somatics, Improvisations, and the Athletics of Intimacy
- Gaga
- Butoh
- Hip-Hop and other forms of street dance
- Classical forms
- Ballet
- West African or African Diasporic Dance
- Bharatanatyam
- Composition
- Performance Project (with visiting artists and companies)
- Somatic Practices
- Feldenkrais: Awareness Through Movement
- Conditioning for Dancers
- Yoga
- Alexander Technique (currently offered through the Theater Program)
- Perspectives on Dance Pedagogy
- Anatomy Research Seminar
- Music for Dancers
- Various offerings through the Theatre and/or Music Programs including
- Media Design
- Voice
- Costume Design
- Creative Impulse: The Process of Writing for the Stage
View our courses page for a complete listing of courses and descriptions
Guest Artists Lab
The Guest Artists Lab is an experimental laboratory that aims to expose students to a diverse set of current voices and approaches to contemporary dance making. Each guest artist will lead a module of between three and seven class sessions. These mini-workshops will introduce students to that artist and their creative process. Guests will represent emergent, as well as established, practices.
Guest artists in recent years include:
2024-2025
Fall 2024: Jenn Nugent, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Mariana Valencia
Spring 2024: mayfield brooks, Jessie Young, Yanira Castro
2023-2024
Beth Gill,Ogemdi Ude, Jonathan Gonzalez,Yanira Castro, EmmaGrace Skove-Epes, Kimberly Bartosik
2022-2023
Jenn Nugent, Mariana Valencia, Ishmael Houston Jones, Chamecki Lerner, Jon Kinzel, Luis Lara Malvacias
2021-2022
Trisha Brown Dance Company, Sarah Michelson, Ogemdi Ude, Kimberly Bartosik,Netta Yerushalmy, Yanira Castro, mayfield brooks
2019-2020
Mary Armentrout, Angie Pittman, Joanna Kotze, Jonathan Gonzalez, Luciana Achugar, Fana Fraser, Eleanor Smith, Pepper Fajans
2018-2019
Abby Zbikowski, Dean Moss, Netta Yerushalmy, Sarah Michelson, and David Thomson
2017-2018
Nora Chipaumire, Beth Gill, Pepper Fajans, Silas Riener, Molly Lieber, Eleanor Smith
Dance Making
Students are enrolled in Dance Making throughout their time in the MFA in Dance program; they create works for performance at the end of each semester and, in the final semester, students will develop their performance thesis as a part of this course. The course includes bi-weekly showings and individual feedback with faculty the following day, as well as mentored support from the dance program costumer, music advisors, and production manager. Students will have two two-hour rehearsals scheduled with their performers each week in addition to personal studio time during the week.
New Fellowship Available
The Greene Fellowship in Dance is a special two-year fellowship which provides full tuition remission and teaching stipends for two students, one entering the program in fall 2025 and one entering in fall 2026.