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MA Professional and Commercial Dance

MA Professional and Commercial Dance

Award

MA

Start Date

To be confirmed

Duration

12 months

Mode

Full-time

Location

Shockout Arts

The MA Professional and Commercial Dance gives students the edge to succeed as an artist in the demanding and ever-changing dance sector. This innovative and challenging MA programme offers you the opportunity to advance and refine your technical, creative and performance practices through the formation of a pioneering, exciting professional and commercial dance graduate company.

Apply Now Download Prospectus Programme Specification

Course Overview

The 1-year MA Professional and Commercial Dance has been created and delivered by Shockout Arts. Shockout Arts track record for developing current and industry-focused dance programmes has seen them gain national and international recognition, equipping students and individuals for a dynamic and fast-moving sector.

This innovative and challenging MA allows you to refine your technical, creative and performance practices through a range of projects, performance opportunities and traditional taught modules, designed to nurture and advance the creative practice of dancers and practitioners at all stages of their careers. The programme will also equip students with wider skills surrounding entrepreneurship and creative planning to enable students to sustain career longevity within the dance industry.

This exciting programme allows you to create and form a pioneering, original professional and commercial dance graduate company. Based at Shockout Arts, studying and training in purpose-built, high-specification dance and performing arts studios. The programme will be delivered by a combination of Shockout Arts professionals alongside industry specialists from various fields within the sector to ensure outstanding quality teaching driven by and reflecting industry standards and expectations.

Alongside dance and creative practice students will also be challenged to analyse the professional and commercial dance arena to refine their identity within this emerging area of research surrounding professional and commercial dance. This programme will provide you with real-world experience of professional company ethos and practices to ensure longevity within the ever-evolving professional and commercial dance industry.

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 MA aims to provide an industry-relevant specialised education that will refine and nurture your skills, knowledge and expertise in a range of professional and commercial dance genres to a professional level alongside refining and developing wider employability skills to ensure career longevity.

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.

Alternatively, you may choose to further your studies and research at doctoral level contributing to the knowledge of professional and commercial dance.

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. Possible areas of employment include:

  • Teaching and education
  • Arts administration
  • Broadcasting
  • Event management
  • Dance therapy
  • Marketing and PR
  • Advertising
  • Community arts
  • Musical theatre
  • Journalism and writing
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Dance critic
  • Choreography
  • Creative direction
Fees & Funding

Home/EU Fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £7,500 for the academic year 2024/25.

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 on our Master's Bursaries.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 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

Call Admissions

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@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.

Teaching & Assessment

This programme is modelled upon that of a professional dance company therefore a variety of teaching and learning strategies are employed throughout the programme. This will ensure the acquisition and development of appropriate technical and artistic skills, professional etiquette and creative concepts alongside academic advancements.

A mix of teacher-directed and student-centred approaches will allow for learner autonomy to be developed and nurtured to refine individual creative and academic identities. At postgraduate level independent study and guided independent learning will form a significant part of the programme. This will include engaging with wider research and reading surrounding themes and issues will be explored both practically and theoretically alongside independent rehearsals to support practical development and advancement. A variety of teaching and learning methods allow for a range of learner needs. The methods employed include practice-based enquiry, self-directed study, lectures, seminars, critiques, tutorials, presentations and work-based learning. This programme adopts a blended style of learning and teaching including online delivery and engagement, where appropriate.

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.

  • Professional and Commercial Dance Company (Performance Practice)
  • Critical Reflective Practice
  • Professional and Commercial Dance Company (Creative Practice)
  • Dance Administration and Management
  • Masters Project: The Company

Assessment methods

Level Assessment method
Level 1 Coursework 24%
Practical exams 76%

Learning Activities

Level Activity
Level 1 Guided independent study 57%
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 43%

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.

Programme Contacts

Help Centre

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Part of the University of Bolton Group

Bolton college
Alliance learning
Anderton centre2
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