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BA (Hons) Professional and Commercial Dance (Accelerated Route)

BA (Hons) Professional and Commercial Dance (Accelerated Route)

Award

BA (Hons)

Start Date

To be confirmed

Duration

2 years

Mode

Full-time

Location

Shockout Arts

UCAS Points

104

UCAS Code

W667

On the intensive 2-year BA (Hons) Professional and Commercial Dance (Accelerated Route) you’ll have the opportunity to gain core skills in ballet, jazz, contemporary and commercial dance, and develop the knowledge and practical experience needed for employment in a variety of exciting and demanding professions in the performing arts industry.

Apply Now Download Prospectus Programme Specification

Course Overview

The accelerated 2-year BA (Hons) degree in Professional and Commercial Dance, delivered by Shockout Arts, offers you the opportunity to acquire and develop essential technical, artistic and theoretical competence through professional training to an advanced standard. If you're an aspiring dance artist, successful completion of this high-impact 2-year BA (Hons) provides you with the platform to begin your professional career in the dance and performing arts industry. For those students wishing to continue their education in the postgraduate sector, there are opportunities to advance onto the PGCE (M) and MA courses within the Shockout provision.

You’ll be based at Shockout Arts, studying and training in their purpose-built, high-specification dance studios that are equal to professional industry standards. Alongside your intensive practical dance training, you’ll have regular performance opportunities to help you develop a diverse range of performance and production skills.

Teaching staff at Shockout Arts are professional practitioners and choreographers. They are keen to make the time you spend with them as stimulating and rewarding as possible and enjoy a well-deserved reputation for being approachable and interested in your progress. As teaching often takes place in small groups you’ll have access to individual support and guidance at every stage.

For full details about Shockout Arts, their open days and accommodation, please visit
www.weareshockout.com

Highlights

Key Features

Entry Requirements

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

Career Opportunities

This accelerated degree aims to provide an industry-relevant specialised education that will develop your skills, knowledge and expertise in a range of dance genres to a professional level. In addition, you could gain a range of key transferable skills such as confidence, self-presentation, teamwork, self-awareness, communication skills, and the ability to cope with criticism.

Being able to provide our students with the best possible progression route is highly important to us. As a result of their hard work, our past and present students have performed with some of the biggest names in the dance and performing arts industry.

Credits include:
Janet Jackson, Dua Lipa, Zara Larsson, Alexander Burke, Tinie Tempah, Rita Ora, Kendrick Lamar, Ludacris, Mabel, Hrvy, Steff London, Jax Jones, Mariah Carey, Cheryl Cole, Pixie Lott, French Montanna, Demi Lovato, Kylie Minogue, Paloma Faith, Zayn Malik, Will.I.Am, Jess Glyne, Black Eyed Peas, Lady Leshur, Flo Rida, Bebe Rexha, Fifth Harmony, Little Mix, Spice Girls Tour, Rai Elle, Stormzy, MTV VMA’s and EMA’s, BRIT Awards, The MOBO’s, X Factor, The Voice, Jingle Bell Ball, V Festival, Wireless, Parklife, Lovebox.

What can I do with this qualification?

Graduates can take advantage of opportunities in a wide range of careers relating to performance, creative producing, education, community, and curatorial and arts administration. Opportunities exist in commercial dance for TV, cruise ships and in promotion and commercial events and popular music performances.

A career in performance is often complemented with employment in teaching or choreography. Self-employment may be another option, where you could establish your own dance-related business. Alternatively, you may choose to further your studies at postgraduate level, or train to become a dance teacher in the education sector.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

  • Teaching and education
  • Arts administration
  • Broadcasting
  • Theatre stage management
  • Event management
  • Acting
  • Dance therapy
  • Sports training
  • Marketing and PR
  • Advertising
  • Community arts
  • Musical theatre
  • Journalism and writing
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Dance critic
Fees & Funding

Home/EU Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

International Fees

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2025-26 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

How to apply

Home Applicants

If you wish to apply for multiple institutions or multiple courses at Bolton for September entry, then apply through UCAS

You can apply for up to 5 courses through UCAS (at the same or different institutions) for a fee of £27. Alternatively, if you only wish to apply for a single course at a single institution then a reduced applicant's fee of £22.50 is applicable.

The online application form and guidance notes are available on the UCAS website.

You will need the following information to complete your UCAS application form:

  • Institution Code Name: BOLTN

  • Institution Code Number: B44

UCAS - Universities and Colleges Admissions Service

Tel: 0870 1122211
Web: www.ucas.com

If you wish to apply for a single course offered by the University of Bolton for any intake, you can apply directly

If you have carefully considered your course and institution choices and decided that this course is the best option for you, you may apply directly to the University using our online application form shown below.

A direct application to Bolton provides the following features:

  • Free of charge to apply

  • Secure, simple and streamlined

  • Contact us directly for any admissions queries

  • Regular updates on your application directly from the University

  • Invites to offer holder events and taster sessions where you can meet your future tutors and get a flavour of university life

NOTE: You cannot apply both through UCAS and directly to Bolton. Submitting an application to any university through UCAS during the same academic year will void any direct application you make to Bolton.

For courses starting in September, please be aware that we are required to share your information with UCAS if we accept you on this course. We will create a simplified UCAS acceptance record on your behalf and return this to UCAS. By submitting your application directly to the University of Bolton, you agree to these terms.

If you are ready to apply directly, please select your chosen start date from the list below.

Before applying, please read the entry requirements section of this page.

If your course runs at multiple locations or has various start dates, please be sure to select the correct application link from the list below.

Before beginning your application, you should have the following information to hand:

  • Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates

  • Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies

  • Details of any employment history, including name, address, dates and role

  • Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately

  • Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already inputted.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Undergraduate Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk

International Applicants

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Partner Organisation Applicants

University of Bolton Group Partners

Bolton College
University Collegiate School
Alliance Learning
University of Bolton

For valued members of the University of Bolton Group and progressing students, we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible.

If you have carefully considered your course and institution choices and decided that this course is the best option for you, you may apply free of charge to the University. By selecting the appropriate link from the list shown below, you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this, and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

When you are asked to add a contact email address, please ensure you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address, we will be unable to identify you as a partner and offer you the benefits of being part of our group.

NOTE: You cannot apply both through UCAS and directly to Bolton. Submitting an application to any university through UCAS during the same academic year will void any direct application you make to Bolton.

For courses starting in September, please be aware that we are required to share your information with UCAS if we accept you on this course. We will create a simplified UCAS acceptance record on your behalf and return this to UCAS. By submitting your application directly to the University of Bolton, you agree to these terms.

If you are ready to apply directly, please select your chosen start date from the list below.

Before applying, please read the entry requirements section of this page.

If your course runs at multiple locations or has various start dates, please be sure to select the correct application link from the list below.

Before beginning your application, you should have the following information to hand:

  • Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates

  • Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies

  • Details of any employment history, including name, address, dates and role

  • Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately

  • Details including email addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already inputted.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Undergraduate Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

Teaching & Assessment

We use a variety of teaching and learning strategies throughout the programme to develop appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills and help you achieve the intended learning outcomes. We take a blended learning approach that includes practical sessions, lectures and workshops. The practical sessions take place within the dance studio environment and are designed to teach each of the core technical forms as well as the specialist area of commercial dance and musical theatre.

In addition, you’ll be expected to spend time on guided independent study; for example, engaging in general background reading, preparing for seminar activities, working on assignments and in rehearsing and training. The development of employability and information literacy skills and personal development planning (PDP) is also explored.

You'll be expected to attend traditional lectures, seminars, practical sessions, workshops and tutorials. You may also have opportunities to work on live projects as part of your practical modules. Through these, you can gain unique insights and a thorough understanding of the performing arts industry operating in international markets and across many sectors.

Some of the key assessment forms for this programme are in-studio technical assessments, practical skills assessments, showcase performances, practical project reports, portfolios, oral presentations, written coursework and a major research project. You’ll receive feedback on your assessments so that you’ll know what you have done well and where you can improve.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

  • Musical Theatre Techniques
  • Core Techniques
  • Contextual Dance Studies 1
  • Commercial Dance
  • Choreographic Devices
  • Contextual Dance Studies 2
  • Musical Theatre Techniques and Performance
  • Professional and Commercial Technique and Performance
  • Professional Practice and Self Promotion
  • Advanced Technical and Performance Studies
  • Professional and Commercial Showcase
  • Major Project with Research Skills

Assessment methods

Level Assessment method
Level 1 Coursework 27%
Practical exams 73%
Level 2 Coursework 20%
Practical exams 80%
Level 3 Coursework 45%
Practical exams 55%

Learning Activities

Level Activity
Level 1 Guided independent study 45%
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 55%
Level 2 Guided independent study 39%
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 61%
Level 3 Guided independent study 60%
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 40%

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.

Postgraduate Options

Programme Contacts

Help Centre

We have the answers to your questions, find all the advice and support in one place.

Part of the University of Bolton Group

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QQA Scheme Participant

Help Centre

We have the answers to your questions, find all the advice and support in one place.

Part of the University of Bolton Group

Bolton college
Alliance learning
Anderton centre2
QQA Scheme Participant