Overview

This course was previously named BA (Hons) Dance: Urban Practice.

The BA Dance course is a vibrant and distinctive dance degree. It prepares you for a career in the arts whilst exploring many various types of dance.

Whether it is popping or locking, contemporary or Lindy Hop, our course is the first of its kind to offer a degree in dance without borders or limitations. You will have many chances to showcase your work in our yearly student-led festival. You'll get to participate in university dance courses and outside events, broadening your dance career opportunities.

Whether you aspire to pursue dance therapy courses or other dance careers, our programme supports you. The dance team will support and guide you to develop your skills in a number of different dance careers. This could be as a researcher, choreographer, performer or in arts management whilst giving you networking opportunities from our varied and exciting industry links.

Our dance degree course is designed to provide you with practical and theoretical knowledge. You will gain hands-on experience and develop a comprehensive understanding of the field. This could lead to a career in dance choreography or careers in dance therapy. The opportunities provided by our bachelor's degree in dance will help you explore various dance career opportunities and achieve your professional goals in the dance industry.

Course options

Degree

UCAS code: W590112 UCAS points

Home Applicant
Full time, 3 years
Pound 9535 per year

Apply through UCAS

International Applicant
Full time, 3 years
Pound 15560 per year

Apply direct

Diverse dance practice with Jo Read

Hear from Senior Lecturer in BA Dance, Jo Read, as she breaks down the Dance course at UEL.

00:00 watch time

What makes this course different

1st in London

Our dance courses ranked 1st in London in 5 categories including “The Teaching On My Course” and “Learning Opportunities” in the 2024 National Student Survey. (National Student Survey 2024, Results published 10 July 2024)

Highly rated by our students

95% of students surveyed on our dance course responded positively to questions on “Academic Support” in the 2024 National Student Survey. (National Student Survey 2024, Results published 10 July 2024)

Hands-on experience

You'll be able to perform in and help organise COLL!DE - one of Britain's most vibrant and innovative annual student-led dance festivals.

Ranked 6th nationally

Our drama and dance courses are ranked 6th nationally in the Guardian University Guide 2025.

Guardian University Guide 2025

Course modules

As part of your dance degree, you'll study a wide range of dance forms, such as hip-hop, club and funk styles, capoeira, African contemporary, Afro-house, bharata natyam, kathak and kalarippayattu. This will provide a truly rounded introduction to your degree in dance.

This module aims to:

Introduce, foster and develop a range of technical skills and core principles in dance styles that include, but are not limited to, contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with some focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas.
Expose you to movement styles that encourage you to explore space, centre your body's relationship with space, and focus attention on peripheral space.
Inform and develop knowledge of the components needed for effective health and fitness to support you through your dance course and, ultimately, in careers in the dance industry.

Research and Development

In this module, you will research and develop an understanding of the nature of collaboration within the performing and creative arts. You will critically evaluate the social, cultural, and technological context of your collaborative practice, and evaluate the nature of both disciplinary practice and multidisciplinary practice.

In disciplinary practice, disciplinary skills are developed and applied within defined areas of practice through collaboration with others. By doing so, you will gain insights into both disciplinary practice and multidisciplinary practice,

Collaborative practice involves independent disciplines collaborating on their own terms and within their specialised areas of practice, establishing effective working partnerships between disciplines, with limited integration.

You will develop and apply specialised disciplinary skills associated with your particular programme pathway, and develop skills in creative collaboration, project management and production, and research. You will evaluate roles within your collaboration that reflect professional practice.

This module integrates theory and practice and develops skills in reflection, analysis and evaluation. You will research practice-based theories while developing creative project work in collaboration with students from other disciplines for internal performance and presentation.

This blend of theoretical and practical learning ensures that all students on our courses are well-equipped for the diverse and dynamic nature of their profession.

In this module, you will apply skills in professional creative activities developed in Skills and Collaboration modules, to a final creative project outcome. This may take the form of a public presentation, performance, installation, creative production, staged or site-specific performance, or event, for example. This will be defined within the overall project brief, which will also identify how learning outcomes in this module will be evidenced.

This module aims to:

Extend and develop a range of technical skills and core principles in dance styles that include, but are not limited to, contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with some focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas.
Expose and expand your practice of a variety of movement styles that encourage you to explore space, centre your body's relationship with space, and focus attention on peripheral space as you progress through the dance course.
Reinforce and develop a deeper knowledge of the components needed for effective health and fitness to support you through your dance training to reflect industry standards and prepare you for your dance career.

Implementation and Impact

In this module, you will collaborate with students from other disciplines in creative projects that model professional practice. Collaborative Practice involves independent disciplines collaborating on their own terms and within their specialised areas of practice, establishing effective working partnerships between disciplines, with limited integration.

You will further develop and apply specialised disciplinary skills associated with your particular programme pathway, and further develop skills in creative collaboration, project management and production, and research, developing understanding and insight into the context and impact of your work through practice and research. You will carry out and evaluate roles within your collaboration that reflect professional practice.

Through practice and research, you will develop an understanding and insight into the context and impact of your work, which is vital for those aiming for advanced qualifications.

You may collaborate on projects with disciplines within the cluster (Music, Dance, Drama, Performing Arts, Creative and Professional Writing), or externally (e.g. Media, Art and Design, Games).

Collaboration activities assessed in this module will develop a final creative output, which might include a public performance, production, composition or installation for example, presented and assessed within the overall project.

Developing the key psychological and physical determinants of human performance is increasingly critical for successful graduate-level employment, entrepreneurship and career progression in the 4th industrial revolution.

This module will provide you with the opportunity to identify the skills, competencies and experience required for successful development in, and in, a range of potential future career areas.

You will begin to recognise the areas for your own personal and professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligence) through taught and workshop activities.

Central to the developmental process is for each student to cultivate the reflective skills, openness and self-awareness to enable themselves to assess what they are doing, identify areas for improvement, and confidently receive and give constructive feedback. You will additionally develop knowledge of strategies to advance your own physical intelligence through 'lifestyle' and 'self-care' approaches to inform your health and wellbeing.

Having developed skills and an understanding of the key developmental areas of competency, you will participate in FUEL, a performance and production events microbusiness for the performing and creative arts, as defined by project briefs.

You will be mentored and supervised by students from higher years. In this position you will learn and begin to apply the cognitive, cultural and social intelligence developed elsewhere in your studies (and from external activities) as required in the workplace, namely cognitive flexibility, emotional resilience, motivation, ethical decision-making, managing your audience, coordinating with others, negotiation, creativity, active listening, attention, problem-solving, research, synthesis and analysis.

Each year, you'll take modules in technique, choreography, professional development and research as part of our dance course. There'll be opportunities to focus on performance and choreography through film and video practice. You can work with music and theatre students to gain more experience and widen your dance career opportunities.

Extend technical skills and core principles of movement learned in Level 4 to techniques studied in Level 5 of our dance degree course.
Investigate and reflect on embodied knowledge in a shared space of kinesthetic awareness with peers through the practice of dance styles that include contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with a focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas.
Explore the nuances of dance technique(s) to attain efficiency, coordination, and the discovery of the source of movement whether from a space of interiority or immediate surroundings.
Research, theorise, and perform dance styles derived from Asian and African cultures that have circulated across their respective diasporas through the channels of colonialism, immigration, and globalisation.

Research and Development

In this module you will research and develop an understanding of the nature of interdisciplinary collaboration within the performing and creative arts, making reference to key models of practice and practitioners. You will critically evaluate the social, cultural, technological, economic and environmental context of your collaborative practice, and evaluate the nature of both disciplinary practice and multidisciplinary practice which is crucial for those pursuing an MA and aiming to build a successful acting career.

You will develop and apply specialised disciplinary skills associated with your particular programme pathway, as well as develop and integrate skills in creative collaboration, project management and production, and research. You will carry out and evaluate roles within your collaboration that reflect models of professional practice.

By engaging with these interdisciplinary projects, you will also address the specific requirements of your area, providing a strong foundation for future professional practice. This module supports your journey towards achieving qualifications by offering practical and theoretical insights.

This module aims to:

Extend, evolve and further technical skills and core principles of movement learnt throughout the dance course.
Analyse and evaluate embodied knowledge in a shared space of kinesthetic awareness with peers through the practice of dance styles that include, but are not limited to, contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with a focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas.
Encourage you to further explore the nuances of dance technique(s) to attain efficiency, coordination, and the discovery of the source of movement whether from a space of interiority or from immediate surroundings.
Research, theorise, and choreograph using dance styles derived from Asian and African cultures that have circulated across their respective diasporas via the channels of colonialism, immigration, and globalisation.

Implementation and Impact

In this module you will collaborate with students from other disciplines in creative interdisciplinary projects that model professional practice, and which result in a public engagement, performance or presentation of creative or participatory work.

You will further develop and apply specialised disciplinary skills associated with your particular programme pathway, and further develop skills in creative collaboration and facilitation, project management and production, and research. You will demonstrate understanding and insight into the context and impact of your work through practice and research. You will carry out and evaluate roles within your collaboration that reflect professional practice in contemporary multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work.

You may collaborate on projects with disciplines within the cluster (Music, Dance, Drama, Performing Arts, Creative and Professional Writing), or externally (e.g. Media, Art and Design, Games).

This module will provide you with the opportunity to apply several of the skills, competencies and experience required for successful development to, and in, a range of potential future career areas.

You will advance the areas identified at level 4 for your own personal professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligence) through taught and workshop activities.

You will reflect on the success of the strategies that they employed to further develop your reflective skills, self-awareness, 'lifestyle' and 'self-care' approaches and where necessary improve your approaches.

Having developed skills and understanding in the key developmental areas of competency, you will facilitate and produce projects and events for FUEL, a performance and production events microbusiness for the performing and creative arts, as defined by project briefs.

You will have the opportunity to select an in-house microbusiness project to join in the role of 'Producer'. In this position you will take on a specific production role, working collaboratively with peers and academic staff on a live project. In doing so you will apply the cognitive, cultural and social intelligence learnt elsewhere in your studies (and external development) required in the workplace. In addition to the intelligence developed in the level 4 Mental Wealth Module, you will also focus on service orientation, self-discipline & management, reaction & response time, cognitive & muscle memory, managing stress, critical thinking, Complex problem-solving, research, synthesis & analysis.

In your final year, you can take advantage of our excellent links with partner organisations such as East London Dance, Breakin' Convention and The Source, a new arts venue that has been created in a partnership between the University of East London and Newham’s Youth Empowerment Service You'll do a work placement and experience what it's like to build a career in the dance industry. Thanks to our reputation, you'll have lots of opportunities to work with acclaimed professional artists. Examples include famous choreographers Kenrick Sandy (Boy Blue) and Hofesh Shechter and top dancers such as house dance's Clara Bajado and popping and locking master Fred 'The Realness' Folkes. For those looking for a career in dance choreography, this is an especially useful experience.

This module aims to:

Refine and apply performance skills and core principles of movement learned in Levels 4 and 5 across techniques studied in Level 6 of our dance degree.
Concentrate on your articulation and intentionality of movement styles that include, but are not limited to, contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with some focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas.
Harness individual qualities in dance performance through an engagement of presence, authorship and intent of movement.
Guide you to develop individualised and adaptable modes of expression across a range of techniques as part of your dance degree course.
To develop a practical working knowledge of improvising, devising and choreographing dance for identified community groups and use cultural diversity in planning, delivery and development of all activities.
To identify, research and critically analyse effective dance teaching practices for a specific identified client group, considering the concept of the artistic and creative process.
Develop knowledge of assessment and evaluation of learning through dance when facilitating a dance class/workshop.

Research and Development

In this module, you will establish a design portfolio of research and development materials in collaboration with others culminating in a proposal for an interdisciplinary practice-based project, which you will design and lead, and a related written research topic.

You will establish relevant collaborations with others appropriate to your proposed project (e.g. creative collaborations across disciplines, creative and technical collaboration, production support, marketing strategy and implementation, project management). These relationships will model professional practice and may be internal and/or external to the University environment.

Key features

Research and propose a substantial creative and collaborative interdisciplinary project
Conduct research into a chosen topic related to creative practice
Produce a review of literature and other relevant research sources
Present research and development materials reflecting academic and professional industry stands

In this module, you will apply skills in professional creative activities developed in the Skills and Collaboration modules, to a final creative project outcome. This may take the form of a public presentation, performance, installation, creative production, staged or site-specific performance, or event, for example. This will be defined within the overall project brief, which will also identify how learning outcomes in this module will be evidenced.

This module aims to help those enrolled in the dance degree programme:

Refine and apply performance skills and core principles of movement learned in Levels 4 and 5 through individualised deliberate practice strategies across techniques studied in Level 6.
Concentrate on the articulation and intentionality of movement styles that include, but are not limited to, contemporary, hip hop, social, and club styles with some focus on dance forms practised across the Asian and African diasporas reflecting a professional dance artist.
Support and guide you to develop individualised and adaptable modes of expression across a range of techniques on the dance degree.
Harness individual qualities in dance performance through an engagement of presence, authorship and intent of movement, and the shaping of space through a heightened grasp of one's kine-sphere in relation to others.
Focus on sustained awareness of the source of movement whether from a space of interiority or from immediate surroundings.
To develop and apply a practical working knowledge of improvising, devising and choreographing dance for identified community groups and use cultural diversity in planning, delivery and development of all activities.
To prepare, produce and apply effective dance teaching practices for a specific identified client group, in the community dance context, considering the concept of the artistic and creative process when creating and delivering a specific teaching lesson plan for a project/session workshop.
Demonstrate knowledge of assessment and evaluation of learning through dance when facilitating a dance class/workshop.

Implementation and Impact

In this module you will implement and deliver an interdisciplinary practice-based collaborative project, which you will design and lead, accompanied by a written research report on your chosen research topic.

Having established working relationships with others in the design, research, and development of your project, you will continue to collaborate in the implementation phase, innovating and leveraging ways of working across and within disciplines toward transdisciplinary practice and presentation in the public and professional domain.

You will deliver your project within the parameters defined in your proposal and through leadership and management of the project's implementation, making appropriate adjustments and modifications to facilitate its progress. You will present the project outcomes and measure its impact following models of professional and academic practice evaluated in your research proposal.

Key Features

Design, produce, and lead a substantial creative interdisciplinary project
Conduct research into a chosen topic related to creative practice and produce a report
Present creative interdisciplinary projects innovatively in the digital domain
Present research outcomes reflecting academic and professional industry stands

This module will provide you with the opportunity to apply the full range of skills, competencies and experience required for successful development to, and in, a range of potential future career areas.

You will advance the areas identified in the second year for your personal professional development (including emotional, social, physical, cultural and cognitive intelligence) through taught and workshop activities.

You will reflect on the success of your strategies to further develop your reflective skills, self-awareness, 'lifestyle' and 'self-care' approaches and where necessary improve your approaches.

Having developed skills and understanding in the key developmental areas of competency, you will manage and lead projects and events for FUEL, a performance and production events microbusiness for the performing and creative arts, as defined by project briefs.

You will have the opportunity to select an in-house microbusiness project to join in the role of 'Manager'. In this position, you will oversee the successful operation of the enterprise, coach and mentor students new to the programme and lead those working in 'producer' roles. Working collaboratively with peers and academic staff, you will ensure the effective delivery of a live project by managing people and physical resources. In doing so you will apply the cognitive, cultural and social intelligence learnt elsewhere in your studies (and from external activities) required in the workplace.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

You will gain skills to prepare you for a career in the dance industry and the wider creative industries. This will happen through work placements, developing arts management skills and your involvement in creating and staging community dance projects. We're proud to have helped shape the careers of our students and support the growth of the dance industry.

Our dance course graduates run their own companies, work as dance producers and managers, deliver and teach workshops in communities and choreograph and direct works for stage and screen.

Industry links

Our dance degree is proud to collaborate with a wide range of industry professionals and organisations, many of whom guest lecture on the course.

Our partners and collaborators include:

Boy Blue
freeYOURstyle agency
Far From The Norm
Breakin' Convention
The Capsule
MOVE IT
Choreographers such as Kloe Dean, Elliot Parmar, Kenrick Sandy, Luke Lentes, Kieran Warner

Graduate employers

Graduates from our dance degree course have gone onto commercial work such as performing with Lizzo and Beyonce whilst others have secured roles in organisations such as:

Breakin' Convention
East London Dance
MOVE IT
Studio3Arts
Boy Blue
Far From The Norm
AMCK
Hub Studios

Job roles

Typical roles within the dance industry and the wider job market that our dance degree graduates now work in include choreographer, producer, senior manager, director, entrepreneur, performer, marketer, physiotherapist, talent agent, music production, academic, teacher, community practitioner, videographer and photographer.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Further study

You could undertake further study in MA Contemporary Performance Practices or learn how to set up your own dance practice with our MA Creative Enterprise.

As a university committed to your career growth, we've curated dedicated Career Zones across all of our campuses with practical services tailored to your success. From internships, personalised coaching, and employability workshops to volunteering, mentoring, placements, and enterprise opportunities, we offer a diverse range of support."

Rema Khatun

Career Zone

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting-edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including:

Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work
Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts
1-2-1 career coaching services
Careers workshops and employer events
Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top:

Work-based projects
Networking and visits to leading dance organisations
Support in starting a new business
English National Ballet and Sadler's Wells East on our doorstep

How you'll learn

You'll learn as you dance. Our dance students have had exciting opportunities, such as the chance to perform for the Queen at the televised 60th anniversary Buckingham Palace concert.

There's the opportunity to help organise, choreograph and perform in our acclaimed student-run festival COLL!DE - a wonderful day-long, international celebration of dance.

You'll be taught by a team of professionals, featuring skilled academics, specialist dancers and choreographers as part of your dance degree.

They're multi-talented, like Course Leader Carla Trim-Vamben. She's a professional performer and researcher, trained in contemporary, African and club dances such as waacking. She has years of experience as a community dance practitioner. She has taught dance nationally and internationally.

We're located in University Square Stratford. It has advanced performance studios and more than £750,000 of new specialist equipment. It's close to UEL and Newham's arts venue - The Source, East London Dance and Theatre Royal Stratford East.

They're among our partners, who work closely with us to offer professional development, performance viewings and workshops.

You'll have the chance to take up dance work placements here in the UK as well as abroad.

Guided independent study

When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This will typically involve skills development through online study, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects and preparing coursework assignments and presentations.

Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, and specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, including MS Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.

Academic support

Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas – including learning and disability support.

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.

Workload

Each year you will spend around 280 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module.

The approximate workload hours for this course per year are:

Scheduled teaching - 284 hours
Guided independent study - 916 hours

Your timetable

Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm.

For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.

Class sizes

To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 10 - 30 students a year. In the classroom, you will be taught in groups of 10-20 students. However, this can vary by academic year.

How you'll be assessed

We'll assess you through practical performances, rehearsals and dance technical developments. We assess theoretical work through essays, workbooks and journals that reflect on progress and performance. Second and third-year modules contribute to the final degree award classification. In your final year, you'll undertake a compulsory written dissertation and a placement with a dance organisation or company.

Campus and facilities

Our campus and the surrounding area

Our waterfront campus in the historic Royal Docks provides a modern, well-equipped learning environment.

Join us and you'll be able to make the most of our facilities including contemporary lecture theatres and seminar rooms, art studios and exhibition spaces, audio and visual labs and a multimedia production centre.

Features include our 24/7 Docklands library, our £21m SportsDock centre, a campus shop and bookstore, the Children's Garden Nursery, cafés, eateries, a late bar, plus Student Union facilities, including a student lounge.

The University of East London is one of the few London universities to provide on-campus accommodation. Our Docklands Campus Student Village houses close to 1,200 students from around the world. We are well connected to central London and Canary Wharf, with London City Airport just across the water. We also run a free bus service that connects Docklands with Stratford campuses.

Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by School of Arts and Creative Industries

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

What our students and staff say

I chose UEL because its urban dance course is the only one of its kind in the UK. The most memorable thing has been seeing myself and others finding our style and also progressing academically."

Scott Dean

BA (Hons) Dance

I went from starting in September with a huge bout of imposter syndrome to finishing the year with tremendous confidence that I can actually go on and achieve a degree."

Nicholas Garbett

Graduate

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Dance BA (Hons)

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Dance BA (Hons)

Dance BA (Hons), home applicant, full time

Dance BA (Hons)

Dance BA (Hons), international applicant, full time

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About our foundation years

Diverse dance practice with Jo Read

What makes this course different

1st in London

Highly rated by our students

Hands-on experience

Ranked 6th nationally

Course modules

Dance Technique: Healthier Dancer 1 Core Module

Collaboration 1 Core Module

Public Project 1 Core Module

Dance Technique: Healthier Dancer 2 Core Module

Collaboration 2 Core Module

Mental Wealth: Professional Life: Enterprise and Engagement 1 Core Module

Dance Technique and Hybrid Forms 1 Core Module

Multidisciplinary Collaboration 1 Core Module

Public Project 2 Core Module

Dance Technique and Hybrid Forms 2 Core Module

Multidisciplinary Collaboration 2 Core Module

Mental Wealth: Professional Life Enterprise and Engagement 2 Core Module

Dance Technique and Community Dance Techniques 1 Core Module

Final Project: Research and Development Core Module

Public Project 3 Core Module

Dance Technique and Community Dance Techniques 2 Core Module

Final Project: Implementation and Impact Core Module

Mental Wealth: Professional Life : Enterprise and Engagement 3 Core Module

Download course specification

Your future career

Industry links

Graduate employers

Job roles

Further study

How we support your career ambitions

Career Zone

Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

How you'll learn

Guided independent study

Academic support

Dedicated personal tutor

Workload

Your timetable

Class sizes

How you'll be assessed

Campus and facilities

Our campus and the surrounding area

Who teaches this course

Official student data from Discover Uni

What our students and staff say

Related courses

TERMS AND CONDITIONS Modal