Theater & Dance

We believe in the creative and intellectual potential of every student, and work to build skills in creative problem solving, collaborative action and play.

Whether you’re interested in dancing or acting, plays and playwriting, choreography, directing or design, we invite you to learn and create with us.

Welcome Jude Sandy!

Jude Sandy is an actor, director, teacher and movement artist, born in Trinidad & Tobago, and now based in Philadelphia. He joins our department as Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance. Jude will be teaching courses in acting and theater-making, and the history of Black Performance. He will also be directing our fall show! On Broadway, Jude was an original company member of the Tony-Award winning "War Horse", and he has appeared at leading Off-Broadway and regional theaters. Welcome, Jude!

Department Highlights

About the Theater & Dance Major at Amherst College

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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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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Theater & Dance Courses

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.

Meet Our Faculty

Our faculty teach and conduct research in a wide range of disciplines: dance and choreography, acting, directing, playwriting, performance installation, video production, voice and speech, dramatic literature, the various design disciplines, and topics in the history and theory of theater and dance. Meet the entire department