Kaufman unveils curriculum


The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance unveiled its curriculum yesterday: a four-year intensive program in dance performance and choreography that breaks ground this spring. The school will enroll its first Bachelor of Fine Arts dance majors in the  fall of 2015.

Introductory courses focus on technique, performance and composition, and juniors and seniors can choose concentrations in either cinematic arts or music, which are in collaboration with the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the USC Thornton School of Music, respectively.

The school will combine the rigor of a conservatory-style dance school and the academics of a four-year university.

“The vibrant liberal arts education provided by USC, among the best in the world, will help develop dancers who have a depth of understanding of the human condition,” USC Kaufman Dean Robert A. Cutietta said in an interview with USC News.

Students will work with visiting professional dance companies in residence at Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles. Dance companies will teach students in master classes in professional development.

“We want a dancer to develop a curious mind about an evolving and dynamic art form,” Cutietta told USC News.

The school also seeks to educate dancers about the realities of the physically demanding art that often leaves careers cut short by injury.

“Understanding the means of staying healthy will prolong a performing career, and understanding the workings of the industry will allow dancers career options long after they have left the stage,” Cutietta told USC News. “A lifelong career in dance will begin here.”

The school’s vice dean and director is dancer, choreographer and educator Jodie Gates. She said that knowledge of other fields such as cinematic arts and music is incredibly important to dancers.

“Dancers today have to be versatile hybrids able to connect the dots between ballet and urban folk dance [hip-hop], and learn how to apply choreography to stage, film, television and mobile devices,” Gates said in an interview with USC News.

After a gift from philanthropist Glorya Kaufman, the Kaufman School was founded in 2012. It is the first new school to be established at USC in 40 years.