Dance BA Honours
Taught by industry professionals with access to top facilities, this course will help you channel your passion for dance into a successful career in the creative industries
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Viewing course details for 2025 year of entry
- Code
- W512
- Attendance
- Full-time, Part-time
- Start
- September 2025
- Fees
- £9,250 (UK) | £16,600 (INT)
- Duration
- 3 years full-time, 6 years part-time
- Course Leader
- April Brown
- Study mode
- On campus
- Location
- Hendon campus
- Entry Requirements
- 112 UCAS points
- Placement year
- Yes
- School / Department
- School of Arts
Why choose Dance BA Honours at Middlesex?
Our Dance BA allows you to develop your professional skills by reflecting on creative practices and creating your own unique performances. You'll also have access to professional training facilities including four fully-equipped dance studios and a specialist dance theatre.
The main areas of study covers – technical training, creative practice, dance cultures, health and wellbeing, funding policies and practice and performance.
What you will gain
You will gain skills in technical and performance proficiency in dance contributing to a diverse range of creative processes, sophisticated interdisciplinary and collaborative practical engagement and how to apply safe dance practice in dance learning and teaching environments. You will be engaging with dance in diverse community contexts with inclusivity as central to the experience, presenting work through different modalities including the use of digital technology, build confidence in contributing to critical debates with informed opinions.
What you will learn
You’ll have the opportunity to develop various transferable skills through immersive training in dance teaching, collaborative practice, creative performance and dance journalism, all of which will provide you with valuable skills to pursue diverse career avenues in the creative fields.
In this course, you'll learn about:
- Technical training which covers the study of a range of dance techniques, skills for production, (lighting and sound and digital technologies), introductions to dance science and to community dance practice, skills for movement analysis, dance teaching and fitness training for dance
- Creative practice which covers the exploration of creative and collaborative ways of working, gaining skills in improvisation, task setting, choreographic practice, for a range of settings, making new work in collaboration with other disciplines (Fashion, Animation, Games, Interior Design, Architecture, and Film)
- Dance cultures, health and wellbeing, funding policy and practice which explores experiential learning through engaging with a range of dance and arts activity through performance review, debate and discussion, undertaking a placement, developing project proposals, and pitching for funding through real-world applications
- Performance which is covered through engaging in rehearsal of repertory work, in the creation of new creative work, with dance faculty and visiting choreographers and performance opportunities through on-site specialist dance theatre, moving image and digital dance technologies.
Diploma in Dance Pedagogy
If you are studying on our BA (Hons) Dance course, you can also choose to undertake the Diploma Dance in Pedagogy in association with ISTD, during the final year of your studies.
The Level 6 Diploma in Dance Pedagogy (DDP) is a regulated dance teaching qualification. The curriculum places emphasis on the various ways that dance can be delivered and underpinned by theory and critical analysis, so students graduate as confident, versatile, and highly proficient dance teachers.
On completion of the DDP you can apply for the internationally recognised Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status.
During your training you also have an option to train towards completing your ISTD intermediate contemporary examination to deliver the syllabus as a dance teacher.
3 great reasons to pick this course
Part-time study
Study at your own pace alongside work and other commitments and get the skills and knowledge you need to progress in your career.
When choosing a part-time course, you will study the same modules as the full-time course but over a longer period.
Find out more about the many benefits of studying part-time at Middlesex University.
About your course
You'll explore, investigate and interrogate a range of dance-related practical and theoretical problems through a variety of modes. You'll immerse yourself in a supported environment learning with and from each other.
On this course we:
- Provide knowledge through experiential engagement with processes by which dance is imagined, created, realised, managed, distributed and documented
- Provide skills in the core activities of dance; training, creating, performing, collaborating, and critically appraising
- Nurture environments of learning where equality, diversity, and inclusivity are central to dance education
- Foster autonomy, self-reflection, and well-being as integral to the acquisition of dance subject knowledge and transferable skills necessary for entry into the broader creative industries and post-graduate study
- Facilitate the acquisition of knowledge of contemporary, historical, and diverse cultural contexts within which dance is practiced, produced and disseminated.
Modules
This is a three year degree. It can also be studied part-time. You will study four 30-credit modules each year with two modules per semester if studying full-time.
Through this module you will develop a range of introductory skills, techniques and theories relevant to your discipline. Practical workshops will allow you to test and explore these tools in practice, and you will be facilitated to consider the individual ‘toolkit’ you plan to build throughout your degree programme. You will also develop your ability to describe and discuss approaches to performance (and related disciplines) using technical vocabulary.
This module introduces you to a range of collaborative approaches to creative practice in the performing arts. You will consider ways in which material might be generated and developed, and you will examine the processes by which this work takes place. You will also develop your awareness of the interdisciplinary nature of the performing arts and consider ways in which performance is supported and extended by other disciplines.
This module examines the role of the performing arts within our wider culture and society. Through a mix of discussion, trips, screenings and critical readings, we will explore the definition and function of the performing arts as both makers and audiences, and you will be facilitated to develop your critical, analytical and reflective skills. You will develop your confidence as an independent and critical audience member and explore ways of articulating your insights.
This module puts into practice the skills and knowledge you have encountered throughout your first year through the development and realisation of a collaborative performance project. You will consolidate your understanding of practical performance-making methods and processes, gain experience of participating in a live performance in the presence of an audience and develop your ability to reflect on your individual and collective practice.
This module develops your technical skills in dance, through advancing bodily awareness and analytical movement skills through engagement with, and reflection on practical dance training. You will gain competence and versatility within a range of dance techniques and develop the ability to apply knowledge of dance science and systems of movement analysis to the observation and embodiment of technical dance training and broader awareness of health and wellbeing. Tools and techniques for self-evaluation are central to this module. You will engage in the use of digital technologies to support your practice.
The module develops your ability to engage effectively with interdisciplinary creative practice, production, and facilitation. The module opens opportunity for you to develop as artist-practitioners with experiential understanding of diversity and inclusivity within the creation of new collaborative choreographic dance work.
This module will immerse you in experiential learning through dance industry placement, enabling a broadening of perspectives in the global dance community. You will be introduced to ways of considering opportunities within a broader dance ecology with a focus on industry employment. You will develop understanding of how dance is integrated within wider contexts of participatory arts, social prescribing and arts activism through review of historical practices and the relationship between dance and politics within a global landscape.
The module engages you in dance repertory work through different mediums, live and recorded, engaging with work from different cultural and historical contexts. You will develop an understanding of the principles, methods and processes embedded in dance works and performance. Through practice-led learning, which challenges your resilience and adaptability to differing contexts of dance, you will enhance technical and artistic discipline in an authentic rehearsal and performance context.
Through this module you will consolidate practical and theoretical learning demonstrating emerging professional identity. Employability skills are embedded through engagement with dance technique classes, safe dance practice, digital technologies, and knowledge of the professional dance teaching. The accumulative knowledge of learning within this module prepares you for sustainable careers through an awareness of the value of dance, health, and well-being.
This module prepares you for the potential for certification with the ISTD, level 6 Diploma in Dance Pedagogy (offered through our dance’s status as Approved Dance Centre for the ISTD) advancing potential for employer engagement and professional employment in dance teaching. This module can also be taken as a stand-alone CPD unit.
This module develops your creativity through the collaborative process. You will collaborate with other disciplines such as music, architecture, design, animation, environmental studies, and video, in the production of new dance performance work. The module fosters independence, ambition, and co-leadership in dance making and performance through creative interaction with other artists. You will develop knowledge and understanding of the range and diversity of inter-disciplinary practices. You will engage in research, invention and realisation of creative collaborative projects.
In this module, you will be introduced to policies and funding frameworks in the UK with consideration of the relationships of employability, politics, economics, cultural and creative communities globally in dance. The module develops your entrepreneurship by guiding them in approaches to researching and responding to project proposals. Through authentic assessment methods the module will equip you with the skills necessary to articulate proposals for dance projects through real world practical applications.
This module empowers you in the devising, research, and production of an independent dance project. The project enables you to delve deeply into particular areas of interest in dance like choreography, dance science, artistic performance, dance education, or community practice and gain professional industry experience in sharing their research via a symposium. The module supports and facilitates the choice of pathways as you consider your future employment in the dance industry. You will be mentored in your chosen area in relation to dance performance culminating in presentation/facilitation of your work at an end of year symposium.
To find out more about this please download the Dance BA programme specification (PDF).
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Teaching
You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience. Your days will generally consist of practical dance technique classes / fitness for dance / dance science in the morning, with creative workshops, inter-active and seminar sessions in the afternoon. The Technical Skills and Performance strands of the programme have higher contact teaching hours and less independent study, while the Creative and Dancve Cultures strands have lower contact teaching hours and more independent study.
You will gain knowledge and understanding through inter-active sessions, tutor-led introductions to, and exploration of new material and analytical approaches, learning groups and workshops providing the opportunity for discussion to address issues raised in the sessions. There will be skills-based classes providing specific, focused knowledge of the dance practices being studied, independent study and research, which requires you to broaden your knowledge, performance viewing, which allows you to consider ideas about dance practices, tutorials and feedback dialogue providing the opportunity for you to engage with feedback as active participants in a two-way process.
You learn practical skills through skills-based classes, to develop the specific physical expertise required and workshops and rehearsals both tutor led and independent study.
There will be performances, presentations and the making of new choreographic work giving you the structure to apply skills and ideas, developing your interpersonal and collaborative skills alongside your physical competence. You will take part in interactive sessions that provide a deeper understanding of the components involved, tutorials and feedback dialogue, that provide the opportunity to engage in a dialogue around your learning.
Your cognitive skills will be developed through interactive sessions, which model processes for articulating and presenting ideas clearly, and seminars, which allow you to develop your own skills in articulation and debate as ways of developing your thinking and testing your ideas.
There will be workshops and practical exploration, in which you will apply interpretations and make critical judgements in relation to dance practices, independent study and research, through which you will encounter a wide range of ideas and critical strategies.
You will study at the Hendon campus four days per week.
Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments including coursework, presentations and exams.
Your independent learning is supported by the library and study hub, laptop hire, and with online materials in MyUniHub.
Here is an indication of how you will split your time.
Year 1
| Percentage | Hours | Typical activity |
|---|---|---|
| 24% | 288 | Teaching, learning and assessment |
| 78% | 912 | Independent learning |
Year 2
| Percentage | Hours | Typical activity |
|---|---|---|
| 21% | 250 | Teaching, learning and assessment |
| 76% | 910 | Independent learning |
| 3% | 40 | Placement |
Year 3
| Percentage | Hours | Typical activity |
|---|---|---|
| 23% | 278 | Teaching, learning and assessment |
| 77% | 922 | Independent learning |
Whether you are studying full or part-time – your course timetable will balance your study commitments on campus with time for work, life commitments and independent study.
We aim to make timetables available to students at least two weeks before the start of term. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on-campus sessions.
Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop the skills relevant to your degree from research and practical skills to critical thinking. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus, even over the weekend.
Your knowledge and understanding will be assessed by articulating learning in different ways such as practical projects, performance events, academic essays, case studies, oral presentations, presentation of project outcomes via digital formats. Assessment may occur in an independent or collaborative context.
Your skills are assessed through practical assessments of projects, performances, evaluative writing, reflective journalling, blogs/vlogs, essays, presentations in various formats, short critical reviews, presentations. Assessment may also occur in an independent or collaborative context.
Assessments take place typically at the end of the module or 12-week semester, while a maximum of two assessments per module.
We use a diverse range of assessments, such as practical assessments of technical dance classes, performances and choreography, evaluative writing, essays, reflective journals, case studies, short critical reviews, oral presentations, and presentation of project outcomes via digital formats.
Assessments may also involve self, peer or group approaches. This range of assessment strategies embraces diverse learning abilities, helping to empower you for your future continued development.
Your learning will be assessed regularly. The exact balance will depend on the modules you are taking. The table below is a good guide.
| Year | Coursework % | Presentation/ Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 50% | 50% |
| Year 2 | 50% | 50% |
| Year 3 | 50% | 50% |
To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.
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North London campus
Our north London campus is 23 minutes away by underground train, travelling from London Kings Cross.
Learn moreFacilities and support
Our Sheppard Library provides a wide range of resources and support to help you to succeed in your studies.
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Over 1,000 study spaces including rooms for group study and over 500 computers available.
Learn more/101x0:851x634/prod01/channel_3/media/middlesex-university/courses-images/ug-courses/facilities/Sheppard-Library-Facilities-2014-40.jpg)
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We have one of London's biggest and best university campuses with everything you need in one place.
Our facilities/118x0:847x511/prod01/channel_3/media/middlesex-university/courses-images/ug-courses/1-College-Studio-2.jpg)
Our five fully equipped dance studios are the perfect complement to one of the most respected dance departments in the UK.
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Our five fully equipped dance studios are the perfect complement to one of the most respected dance departments in the UK.
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Our five fully equipped dance studios are the perfect complement to one of the most respected dance departments in the UK.
Student support
We offer lots of support to help you while you're studying including financial advice, wellbeing, mental health, and disability support.
Additional needs
We'll support you if you have additional needs such as sensory impairment or dyslexia. And if you want to find out whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, get in touch with our Disability and Dyslexia team.
Wellness
Our specialist teams will support your mental health. We have free individual counselling sessions, workshops, support groups and useful guides.
Work while you study
Our Middlesex Unitemps branch will help you find work that fits around uni and your other commitments. We have hundreds of student jobs on campus that pay the London Living Wage and above. Visit the Middlesex Unitemps page.
Financial support
You can apply for scholarships and bursaries and our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
We have also reduced the costs of studying with free laptop loans, free learning resources and discounts to save money on everyday things. Check out our guide to student life on a budget.
Careers
How can the BA Dance support your career?
You may progress to careers in dance and the wider creative industries as teachers/facilitators, choreographers/makers, entrepreneurs/company artistic directors, performers, marketing/administrators for the arts, arts venue programmers, dance/arts producers.
There are numerous pathways that Middlesex dance graduates have successfully pursued both independently and with high-profile industry bodies.
These include performance opportunities with Akram Khan, C-12 Dance Theatre, Flawless, Stop Gap Dance, Zoo Nation, JV2, Blue Boy and Ross McKim Ensemble. Choreography graduates have created work for Resolution!, Siobhan Davies Dance, GradLab, and have attracted Arts Council England funding to create and tour new works.
Many graduates enhance their careers with internships with Arts Organisations such as Dance Research Studio, Trinity Laban, DanceXchange and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Others have forged careers with One Dance UK, The Lowry Theatre, Move It and National Institute of Dance Medicine & Science [NIDMS].
Graduates have attained posts at The Place, London Studio Centre, The Royal Ballet School and the Royal Academy of Dance, writing for leading dance journals, working within the health and fitness industry teaching exercise to music and coaching dance and sport-related activity.
You will be equipped to go on to postgraduate taught study and postgraduate research programmes, including but not limited to:
- MA Professional Arts Practice
- MRes
- PhD
Placements
All students on the BA Dance course will undertake a placement experience in a dance organisation (minimum forty hours). You will self-select your placement with support from tutors. Past placement experiences have been with professional dance companies, dance schools, theatre venues, national and international dance organisations.
MDXworks
Our employability service, MDXworks will launch you into the world of work from the beginning of your course, with placements, projects and networking opportunities through our 1000+ links with industry and big-name employers in London and globally.
Our dedicated lifetime career support, like our business start-up support programme and funding for entrepreneurs, has put us in the:
- The top 20 UK universities for business leaders and entrepreneurs – Business Money, 2023
- A top 10 university for producing CEOs – Novuana, 2023
We can help you to develop your employability skills and get some valuable work experience. We provide workshops, events and one-to-one support with job hunting, CVs, covering letters, interviews and networking.
We also support you in securing part-time work, placements, internships, and volunteering opportunities, and offer an enterprise support service for those looking to start their own business.
Global network
You’ll study with students from 122 countries who’ll hopefully become part of your global network. And after you graduate, we'll still support you through our alumni network to help you progress in your chosen career.
Entry requirements
At Middlesex, we're proud of how we recognise the potential of future students like you. We make fair and aspirational offers because we want you to aim high, and we’ll support you all the way.
Qualifications
- UCAS points
- 112 UCAS points
- A Levels
- BBC
- BTEC
- DMM
- Access requirements
- Overall pass: must include 45 credits at level 3, of which all 45 must be at Merit or higher
- Combinations
- A combination of A-Level, BTEC and other accepted qualifications that total 112 UCAS points
We accept T Levels for entry onto this course (and our extended courses with a foundation year) with GCSEs in line with UCAS tariff calculation.
We accept students with a wide range of qualifications, including combinations of qualifications.
We’ll always be as flexible as possible and take into consideration any barriers you may have faced in your learning. And, if you don’t quite get the grades you hoped for, we’ll also look at more than your qualifications. Things like your work experience, other achievements and your personal statement.
If you have relevant qualifications or work experience, we may be able to count this towards your entry requirements.
Our entry requirements page outlines how we make offers.
Auditions and Showreels
Entry on to the BA Dance course requires students to either attend an on-campus audition or to submit a short showreel. For more information about audition or showreels please see the Auditions & Showreels tab.
Transfer courses?
If you have a qualification such as a foundation degree or HND or have completed terms at another university, you may be able to join us in year two or three. Find out how to transfer courses.
Mature students (over 21)
You can apply at any age, even without formal qualifications, provided you can demonstrate relevant experience and ability.
Open days
We strongly advise all prospective applicants to attend an open day. You will be able to talk to staff and students, listen to talks on the subject areas that interest you, ask questions and view some practical dance sessions.
We welcome students from the UK and all over the world. Join students from over 122 countries and discover why so many international students call our campus home:
- Quality teaching with top facilities plus flexible online learning
- Welcoming north London campus that's only 30 minutes from central London
- Work placements and networking with top London employers
- Award-winning career support to get you where you want to go after university.
Qualifications
We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the accepted qualifications on your country's support page. If you are unsure of the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact your nearest international office.
English language
You will need to meet our English language requirements. And, don’t worry If you don't meet our minimum English language requirements, as we offer a Pre-sessional English course.
Visas
To study with us in the UK, you might need a Student visa. Please check to see if this applies to you.
We will consider all applications on their individual merit. Your audition or showreel is an opportunity to demonstrate your experience and suitability for the BA Dance programme.
Mid-week Audition
Our mid-week on-campus audition days are an excellent opportunity to meet dance tutors, hear more about our BA Dance course, see our specialist dance facilities and observe current dance students in classes.
As part of the audition day, you will take part in a practical workshop and engage in a short group discussion which will be led by Middlesex dance tutors. There is no requirement for you to prepare anything in advance for your audition day.
Open Day Audition
Prospective students who choose to audition at one of our open days will still have the opportunity to hear about the course, tour the dance facilities, and take part in a practical audition workshop, however, there will not be the opportunity to observe classes.
If you want to attend and audition at one of our open days but have not yet submitted your UCAS application to us, we can audition you and then simply review your application and suitability retrospectively.
Showreels
If you are unable to join us for an audition on campus, you can instead choose to submit a short showreel to demonstrate your suitability for the course. Following receipt of your application you will be sent guidance on what your showreel should include and how to submit it. Your showreel will be reviewed by a dance tutor and an offer will made following this.
Showreels should be 2-3 minutes in duration. We welcome all dance practices so select a style of your choice or draw on improvisational movement or freestyle.
We ask that showreel demonstrate the following:
- application of basic dance technique in relation to the style you choose to move in
- your individuality, we want to see how you like to move!
We do not require you to submit a professionally shot or edited showreel. Showreels can be captured using any device and can be shot in an environment of your choosing that is safe to dance in. You can also choose to send us a pre-existing video of you dancing. However, If you are not the only person in the video, please clearly state how we can identify you from the other dancers- e.g. tell us what you are wearing/where you are in space.
Open days
We strongly advise all prospective applicants to attend an open day. You will be able to talk to staff and students, listen to talks on the subject areas that interest you, ask questions and view some practical dance sessions.
You can apply now via UCAS using the code W550.
Need help with your application? Check out our undergraduate application page.
Personal Statement
Find out how to make a an effective personal statement.
Interviews
You won't be required to interview for this course.
Fees
These fees are for the 2025/26:
UK students1
Full-time: £9,250
Part-time: £77 per taught credit
International students2
Full-time students: £16,600
Part-time students: £138 per taught credit
Additional costs
The following study tools are included in your fees:
- Free access to the resources, learning materials and software you need to succeed on your course
- Free laptop loans for up to 24 hours
- Free printing for academic paperwork
- Free online training with LinkedIn Learning.
- Audio-visual equipment available for loan, including digital stills cameras, digital video recorders and digital audio recorders.
The following course-related costs are not included in the fees, and you will need to budget for these:
- Theatre, museum and art gallery visits.
Scholarships and bursaries
To help make uni affordable, we do everything we can to support you including our:
- MDX Excellence Scholarship offers grants of up to £2,000 per year for UK students
- Regional or International Merit Awards which reward International students with up to £2,000 towards course fees
- Our MDX Student Starter Kit to help with up to £1,000 of goods, including a new laptop or iPad.
Find out more about undergraduate funding and all of our scholarships and bursaries.
Fees disclaimers
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
Student Testimonials
"Having had experience in the dance industry prior to coming to Middlesex University, the course was able to further my dance knowledge and skills a great deal. It gave me all the necessary tools to become stronger and more physically able in order to better my dance styles within and outside of contemporary dance. It also improved my professionalism, punctuality and organisation.
After graduating I performed in Boy Blue Entertainment's production of Blak, Whyte, Gray at the Edinburgh International and Emancipation of Expressionism in the GCSE AQA Curriculum as shown on BBC2’s Darcy Bussell’s New Dance. In addition to my work as a performer and choreographer I have also taught dance in multiple countries and around the UK, something I was able to continue whilst studying.
Jordan Franklin
Dance Studies BA graduate
Speak directly with one of our Unibuddy student ambassadors
Unistats information
Please select 'see course data' on the following course option to view the full Unistats data for BA (Hons) Dance.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.