When most people think of the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment, some of the first things that might come to mind is the amazing performances or the fact the school is known as a “Rockette Factory”.
Everyone thinks of the incredible performance program, and how at just about any professional show you can look and find a credit from OCU. However, the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment offers so much more than a performance degree.
There are three dance degrees and one business degree offered by the world-renowned program: Dance Performance, Dance Pedagogy, Dance Management and Entertainment Business.
Each degree program offers its own unique classes and opportunities to further the education of each student and prepare them for the entertainment industry.
Dance Performance is exactly what it sounds like. In this program students take as many dance classes as they can and build up their performance skills such as dance technique, singing, and acting. This track also requires the highest technique levels in the three disciplines taught at the dance school.
The Dance Pedagogy track, also known as the American Dance Teacher program, teaches the students how to be dance teachers. In this track, senior pedagogy majors can teach classes in the Community Dance Academy (CDA) attached to the Dance School.
In this setting, Pedagogy majors receive real life experience in teaching students of all ages, as well as receive feedback from the supervising professors on how to improve their teaching style.
Finally, the last dance track is Dance Management. In the management track students are no longer required to reach a specific technique level, but they are required to learn behind the scenes of performances including how to manage and produce shows. Juniors in their spring semester are required to work a backstage job during the dance show, instead of performing.
No matter what track you are, the dance school offers a multitude of opportunities to choose from as you are able to take any class that is available as long as there is space in the class.
Outside of the classes there are plenty of opportunities that students can engage in such as working in the costume shop, in the production room, in the reception office and so much more. Students never have to look far for these opportunities and the more each student surrounds themselves in each opportunity, the more well-rounded and better prepared they become for real careers.
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