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Honors in Dance


Honors in Dance can be achieved through a project in history, choreography or performance designed by the student. Invited dance majors begin planning their research in their junior year with a faculty advisor. The entire senior year is devoted to the development of the dance major's creative scholarship. A committee consisting of dance faculty and at least one outside faculty member evaluate the caliber of the final research project.

Recent Honors Projects

Merryn McKeough (2022)

Play Meter: Investigating Play as Process in Movement Work
Merryn created a movement work exploring different aspects of play, examining themes of engagement, collaboration, effort, fun, and the value of process over outcome. Her research focused on the relationship between the final piece, Play Meter, and her choreographic process, which was rooted in game structures, generating movement through play.

Merryn McKeough (2022)

Maria McNiece (2020)

Very Unpromising Material: A Physical Reimagining of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
This project considered Beckett’s influence on the theater landscape, investigated the development of the Theater of the Absurd, and analyzed the historical underpinnings behind the creation of Waiting for Godot. The work sparked questions regarding human agency, time, suffering, and above all, hope.

Maria McNiece (2020)

Laura Briggs (2019)

Embodying foma: Dancing to Investigate Themes in Cat's Cradle
This project investigated, translated, and challenged themes of science, religion, nationalism, and romance in Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 novel Cat's Cradle. Demonstrated through five solos, the process was a collaborative effort between the artist and the dancers.

honors

Serena Schmitt (2019)

The Intimate Awkward: An Exploration of the Intersection Between Awkwardness and Intimacy on Stage
This project raised questions and attempts to uncover where intimacy and awkwardness coexist in performance, between the dancers and between the dancers and the audience. Serena employed various techniques to make the audience feel involved and intimate with the work while experimenting with technical elements to determine what accentuated this relationship best.

Serena Schmitt