Dance

Mission

Five College Dance advances embodied practice as a critical mode of inquiry, expression, and civic engagement across cultural and historical contexts. We cultivate new generations of artists, scholars, and practitioners to shape the field of dance and dance studies.

Historical

Established in 1978, Five College Dance (FCD) is a creative and intellectual collaboration organized between the dance departments and programs at Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, Mount Holyoke Colleges and University of Massachusetts Amherst. A community of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, musical accompanists, visiting scholars and artists, we create and amplify access to rich, varied artistic and academic opportunities in dance.

Our House, choreographed by Shakia Barron, 2018 Mount Holyoke Fall Faculty Concert. Photo by Charles Flachs. 

Our member dance departments and programs collaborate by:

• Coordinating a shared undergraduate dance curriculum with diversely trained faculty and varied course offerings in dance technique, performance, composition and theory
• Producing at least one major repertory project most years, open to all five college students
• Providing performance opportunities on each campus for all five college students
• Opening the great majority of campuses’ events, workshops, professionalization opportunities, masterclasses, residencies, symposia, and field trips to all five college students