The Major
The Theater and Dance major provides an interdisciplinary foundation in the arts of theater and dance, and in their history, theory and literature.
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Tools
Whether you’re interested in dancing or acting, plays and playwriting, choreography, directing or design, we invite you to learn and create with us.
Department Highlights
Five College Dance
This program pools dance offerings from Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges, and the UMass Amherst, creating one of the largest dance programs in the nation.
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Our Productions
Our students produce a full seasons of shows alongside accomplished faculty, learning by doing while showcasing our students' talents and achievements.
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Our Spaces
We have two theaters, equipped with modern lighting and sound technology, a scene shop, a costume shop, an audio lab and four studio workspaces for performance, rehearsal and design.
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After Amherst
Our alumni—a collection of vibrant actors, writers, scholars, educators and designers—work all over the world in film, television, theatre, education and arts administration.
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Arts at Amherst
Together, Amherst’s dynamic arts programs foster a lively environment for the multidisciplinary study, creation and presentation of the arts.
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Current Courses
THDA 111
The Language of Movement
Description
In studio sessions students will explore and expand their individual movement vocabularies by working improvisationally with weight, posture, gesture, and relationship of body parts.
THDA 221
Russian Performances
Description
In this course we will look at the field of performance studies, and ask what makes performances matter, on stage and screen as well as in our daily lives.
THDA 320
Seminar on Opera and Musical Theatre
Description
This course examines the two genres of lyric theater (opera and musical) with special attention to composers’ musical characterizations of the women and men who populate them.
Featured Article
"Bad Jews," Good Play: Senior Theatre Thesis Thrills
Emma Ratshin '22E's senior thesis "Bad Jews" was performed last weekend, providing a provocative and dark examination of family, religious identity, and community. (Photo by Emma Ratshin '22E)
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