Professional Dance BA Hons | University of Chester

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Course Summary

Challenge the boundaries of your physical expression through a dynamic studio-based learning experience. Ignite your passion for dance and shape your future with our BA (Hons) Professional Dance degree. The course focuses on nurturing talented individuals into highly skilled professional dancers through a rigorous blend of creative and explorative training and innovative teaching.

Our expert staff and highly motivated professionals will ensure that you develop in a supportive and collaborative environment, while benefiting from studying in state-of-the-art, subject-specific studios.

Underpinned by a critically informed approach to current trends in media and technology, you will develop your skills in a range of styles, whilst developing strong performance and choreographic skills.

Gain valuable industry experience, collaborate with professionals, and present your work, so that you leave us as a world-ready graduate with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to excel in the diverse world of dance.

Our graduates have gone on to work with companies throughout Europe and the UK, and also secured Arts Council funding to create their own work.

Interested in other performance-based programmes? We also offer BA (Hons) Performing Arts, BA (Hons) Drama, and BA (Hons) Acting.

What you'll study

The BA Professional Dance course contains core modules at each level of study.

Year 1 (Level 4):

An introduction to performance and production principles.
Explore how technology plays a role in creating performances.
Learn about the industry and what it takes to succeed.

Year 1 will introduce you to dance and movement techniques, professional working practice, choreographic approaches, and performance technology. You will develop physical skills, somatic knowledge, and creative practice through performance projects.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

Year 2 (Level 5):

Build upon your foundation with more advanced learning.
Combine technical skills with creative approaches.
Engage in collaborative and inclusive performance design

Year 2 will extend your technical abilities and develop your choreographic skills through experimentation and somatic exploration. Placements and study abroad options further expand your horizons and develop industry links.

Year 3 (Level 6):

Engage in performance projects that bring together everything you have learned.
Focus on artistry and creativity—express yourself as an emerging dance artist.
Embrace the possibilities of technology as a powerful tool within and for performances.
Enhance your critical thinking and analytical skills demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of how theory informs practice.

Year 3 will allow you to take greater responsibility for planning and managing your own studies, aligned to your personal artistry and future dance career aspirations. Independent projects enable you to deepen your areas of practice, preparing you to launch into industry work, or postgraduate study.

Throughout your journey you will also explore professional practice which will prepare you for industry and a successful career in the creative industries and beyond.

This course is delivered in three terms of 10 weeks each. In each term students typically study 40 credits comprising one overarching module which may cover a variety of topics. This will be made up of scheduled classes, workshops, lectures, seminars and tutorials as well as group work and independent study or practice.

Independent study might include following asynchronous learning material on the University’s VLE, tutorial time with staff, using the University’s library, working with peers, rehearsing, and preparing work for assessment.

Teaching will be delivered by passionate, experienced academics and practitioners in their field. This is likely to be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers.

There will be a broad range of assessment methods so that students are exposed to the different types of tasks they might encounter in the industry, these could include:

Practical activities (group and/or individual)
Performance
Production and/or technical outputs
Workshops (applied, educational, creative)
Experiential/work-based learning
Industry and professional live briefs
Digital outputs (for example, podcasts, web pages, social media platforms)
Verbal and non-verbal presentations

We continuously review the assessment methods used in order that they adequately prepare students for graduate level employment.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Study a Common First Year

This course shares a common first year with students on the
BA (Hons) Performing Arts, BA (Hons) Drama, and BA (Hons) Acting courses.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within mathematics, developing your skills to become a World Ready graduate.

Entry requirements

UCAS Tariff	104 points
GCE A Level	Typical offer – CCC-BCC from performance-related qualification or experience
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
International Baccalaureate	26 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers: H3 H3 H3 H4 H4 Scottish Highers: BBBB
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: DMM
Extra Information	Applicants will be invited to audition. Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A Level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. Candidates who do not meet the minimum entry requirements, or who have non-standard qualifications and/or relevant experience, are encouraged to apply and will be considered if they can demonstrate appropriate ability through their audition.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

72UCAS points

UCAS Tariff	72 points
GCE A level	72 points overall, including grade D in A level
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
International Baccalaureate	24 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 Scottish Highers: CCDD
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall
T Level	T Level: Pass (D or E on the core)
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
Extra Information	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.

Fees and funding

£9,250per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,250 a year, or £1,540 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

The University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £13,950.

This fee is set for each year of study. All undergraduate students are eligible for international and merit-based scholarships which are applicable to each year of study.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials.

Students often elect to purchase a laptop; where students choose to do so, the cost is likely to be around £800-£1000.

Additional costs are likely to be small and infrequent, but there may occasionally be optional trips and small specialist equipment may need to be purchased.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

Where you'll study Creative Campus, Kingsway

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Specialist Studio and Workshop Spaces

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Music Rehearsal and Recording Facilities

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Contemporary Art Space Chester (CASC)

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Equipment Loan Provision

Your Future Career

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.

Professional Dance BA (Hons)

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