USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

Students in the BFA program take a myriad of dance classes along with school-wide general education requirements. This allows BFA students to explore subjects outside of dance, as well as add minors to complement their dance training.

The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance continues to seek to transform dance. One goal that our community continues to work towards is the idea of “The New Movement.” USC Kaufman explores addressing this idea through a hybrid and collaborative approach. One way the school allows students to explore the idea of “hybridity” is through the module of cross techniques.

Interested in applying for a minor in dance? Visit our Dance Minors page. The University of Southern California admits students of any race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical disability or mental disability.

Admission to the BFA in Dance is highly selective, with the school seeking to enroll approximately 24 of the world’s most exceptional dancers each year. Applicants for Fall 2026 admission—including first-year applicants, transfer applicants and current USC students—must submit all materials by December 1, 2025. This includes the USC Undergraduate Application and the USC Kaufman Portfolio for first-year applicants and transfer applicants.

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Selected topics of current interest. Previous offerings have included: Rhythm Nations: Introduction to African, Indian and Latin Dance, Dance and Feminine Sexuality: From Bollywood to the West, Computer-Mediated Performance, From Dance in LA to Dance USA, Neo-Classical Pointes: A Study in Variations and Duets, Neuroscience and Dance for Games and Health, Horton Technique, Preparing for a Career in Dance and the Performing Arts, Dance Masters Forum, Dance for Zoom Fatigue, Musical Theatre Dance Techniques, Acting for Dancers.

Student will focus on individual research and readings with faculty mentors. This course is only open to majors and minors.

This course involves the preparation, rehearsal and performance of experimental choreography in main stage repertory.

This course is a continuation of DANC 342gp, and explores dance as an art form in its artistic, political and socio-cultural climate. Students will utilize their bodily knowledge as a means to study dance history.

This course is designed to build higher level skills in preparation for success in the commercial dance industry. Students will develop intermediate/advanced skill sets in preparation for auditions, on-screen performances and interactions with agents.

In this course, students will learn Pilates mat exercises in order to promote healthy movement practices and to develop strength, balance, flexibility and coordination.

Intermediate and advanced solo and partnering techniques in classical, contemporary, and street dance. Some sections are open only to dance majors. Previous open sections have included Hip-Hop Exploration Sessions.

This course provides an embodied encounter with prominent practitioners in the field. Students will experience an array of technical vocabularies, repertory and strategies for improvisation and composition.

Practice-based community engagement through dance, pedagogy and program development. Only select sections are open to all USC students. Previous sections have included Mobilizing Hip-Hop in the Community.

In this course, students will explore the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin of Batsheva Dance Company. The course is rooted in guided improvisation. Previous dance experience is required.

In this course, students will explore the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin of Batsheva Dance Company. The course is rooted in guided improvisation. Unlike Gaga: Dancers, it is open to all individuals, regardless of previous dance experience.

Students in this course will examine and practice compositional approaches to developing choreographic ideas through integrating improvisational techniques, editing choreographic material and evaluating and executing choreography and performance.

This course provides an introduction to mindfulness and other practices supportive to the dancer.

Through lecture and participant-driven interaction, students in this course will practice and learn distinguishing aesthetics of international dance styles.

This course introduces principles of nutrition, cross-training and the use of Somatic techniques as methods of promoting holistic physical health for dancers. Students will practice physical conditioning and self-reflection in every class meeting. This course is generally only open to majors and minors.

In a broad study of dance in movies, television, the internet, mobile devices and new media, this course looks at how dance on screen is influenced by storytelling, camera technology and editing.

This course examines the role that vernacular dance and music played in the creation of Jazz Dance.

This course explores the discursive foundations, political motivations and aesthetic strategies of dance writers and artists whose works have created the category of “Black dance.”

Students will examine the role and presence of dance in popular culture.

Dance minor Yifei Yu is an international student who discovered a love for dance in his elective courses at USC Kaufman. Now a senior, he has taken dance classes of many cuts and colors—here, he tells us what he has learned so far.

The Choreography for Stage and Screen Minor is one of four minor programs offered at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. This program specifically explores the different techniques used to create dances for the stage and screen, including new media.

Because we offer dance technique courses in various levels, everyone from beginners to lifelong practitioners will find a rewarding program of study. Students with previous dance experience may place into intermediate (b-level), intermediate/advanced (c-level) and advanced (d-level) technique courses.

USC Kaufman also offers individual classes in technique, performance, choreography, production, theory and history that are open to all students at USC. In addition to the dance major and open courses, the minor in Dance and minor in Dance in Popular Culture: Hip-Hop, Urban and Social Dances, provide a rewarding program of study for any USC student.

One of the main pillars of our curriculum here at The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance is our Repertory and Performance course. This course gives students the opportunity to learn and perform a diverse and exciting range of work, including new works and iconic repertory. I have been fortunate to perform iconic works by choreographers George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin and Justin Peck, just to name a few.

This course acts as supervised application of dance theories and practices within a part-time employment context in the dance field. This course is only open to majors and minors.

This course serves as an exploration of artistic entrepreneurial mechanisms to initiate innovative endeavors in the professional dance world. Lectures will address different aspects of creativity, culture, commerce and community from perspective of promoting dance and amplifying its visibility and relevancy in today’s society.

This course investigates various dance topics across major cities of artistic inspiration in a Maymester format. Courses include lectures, site visits and practical studies and may be held at USC or off campus, including abroad. Some sections are open only to dance majors.

In this course, students will examine the multifaceted world of dance in Los Angeles where history, socioeconomics, race, gender, sexuality, commerce and entertainment intersection to create genres that influence contemporary life. Some sections are open only to dance majors.

Students in this course will explore theoretical aspects and application of creativity, choreography, accompaniment, dance notation and production in individual and group composition.

This studio course introduces the foundational techniques, histories and contexts of a variety of dance forms and styles.

This course introduces students to all that is required in choreographing for the screen. Through both lecture-based and lab-based instruction, students will focus on rhythmic analysis, versatility, composition, notation techniques and stylizing aspects.

This course is designed to introduce students to the styles, norms and standards prevalent in the commercial dance industry, including technical approaches, practical skills and historical benchmarks.

This course examines Iconic Dance Films, analyzing different director’s and choreographer’s cinematic and choreographic strategies.

This course acts as an introduction to using existing and emerging technologies to create and deliver dance works.

This course examines the intersection of dance with subjects such as nutrition, neuroatypicality, neurodegenerative disease, occupational and movement therapy, somatic techniques, cognitive conditioning, fitness and more.

In a broad overview of the principles of the physiology of exercise, functional anatomy, bio-mechanics and kinesiology, this course teaches students how to analyze movement and apply this knowledge to their dance studies. This course is generally only open to majors and minors.

In this course, students will develop their descriptive and analytical skills in a dance-writing context, including dance journalism, educational writing, scholarship writing, audience development and marketing through social media.

This course explores dance’s artistic, political and socio-cultural contexts in a classroom setting. It is only open to dance majors and minors .

This course provides an introduction to the significance, history and practice of Urban Folk Dance, including hip-hop, freestyle, street dance and relevant social dances of the 20th century.

This course provides an interdisciplinary overview of dance studies and art criticism. Students will explore topics such as architecture, photography, poetry, technology, cinematic arts, sports and medicine, and how they relate to dance. The course is also a requirement for all dance minor programs.