All About the Tisch Dance Minor!

So what does the dance minor actually look like? To complete it, you need to fulfill 16 credits from a selection of classes. Some of these include: Ballet, choreography, bodies in cultural landscapes, modern dance, and world dance cultures. Lecture classes are 4 credits, whereas studio classes are 2 credits. To declare a dance minor is really easy! There is no previous experience required, all one has to do is speak with their advisor to ensure it can fit into their schedule, email the dance department with your plan, and you’re good to go!

I am still in the early stages of this minor, but have been loving it so far. I took ballet the past semester and really enjoyed returning to it. It took place at the Gibney Center downtown at 9am every Tuesday, so it was a great way to wake up before my other classes. Since the class has no experience required, we had students from all levels together. There were people that’s never done ballet before, and ballerinas that had been dancing since they were 2. I fell somewhere in between.

This semester, I completed two more classes in the minor: Bodies in Cultural Landscapes, a 4-credit lecture course, and Steps, Rhythm and Movement of Hip Hop Dance, a 2-credit course. 

For Bodies in Cultural Landscapes, we explored movement through the lenses of Body as Culture, Body as Commerce, and Body as Art. We read from authors and dancers such as Ana Lopez and Martha Graham, and explored dance in relation to our body and each other. My favorite portion of the semester was when we looked at the history of voguing culture in New York. We first watched Paris Is Burning, and then our professor invited her friend, a drag queen that was featured in this documentary, to come speak with us and discuss the film. We had an amazing discussion with him in the first portion of class, and he taught us voguing techniques in the second portion of class. 

In Steps, Rhythm and Movement of Hip Hop Dance, our professor grew up in Harlem and was very involved in the popping and locking scene. Because of this, he was able to teach us the history and culture of hip hop alongside dancing. He was also a professional tagger, and taught us the meaning behind each tagger’s tag. We then created our own! At the end of the semester, we all created 8×8 counts of choreography, and tied it all together in a culminating final dance piece. It was heartwarming to see how much our professor cared about all of us as individuals. By the end of the semester, we all felt like a family. 

NYU has many different dance studio spaces for us! My Ballet class met at Gibney Dance, where NYU rents out studios just for our students. We also recently celebrated the opening of a brand new building, the Paulson Center, which has a floor full of open studios. To learn more about the Paulson Center, check out their website here! The Kimmel Center has two reserve-able studio spaces, and many residential halls actually also have dance studios in them! Below is where I spent most of my time this past semester choreographing in the Paulson Center.

Right now, I’m halfway through my dance minor with 8 credits. Next semester, I’ll be taking Choreography and Steps Rhythm Movement: African Dance. I’m super excited for both of these courses! I’ve really enjoyed my journey so far, and can’t recommend this minor enough.