The MFA in Dance: Interdisciplinary Research provides a laboratory for established artists, makers, and practitioners to reimagine and enact dance through a range of collaborative and self-directed research from the speculative to the practical.
The program's intimacy and flexibility allow each student to deepen and expand their personal areas of interest through individualized focused mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the production of bold, new creative work. The curriculum includes opportunities to study in other Tisch departments, such as Performance Studies, Art & Public Policy, and Interactive Telecommunications Program, and to teach within an advanced research institution in one of the most artistically diverse cities in the world.
The 2-year, 60-credit program will accept 4 students. Full tuition remission is provided.
Applicants to the Dance Interdisciplinary Research program are expected to have at least seven years of professional experience prior to applying to the MFA program. Those applying straight from an undergraduate program or that do not have the required experience will not be considered for admission.
We are no longer accepting new applications for 2023. The next admissions cycle, which will be for entry in 2024, is now accepting applications at the link below.
Our next Virtual Q&A Session will be held on Monday, January 8, 2024 at 10am ET. Register at the link below.
Culminating Final Project
The Culminating Final Project is a creative endeavor supported by a body of work generated within two years of investigative and mentored research. The project can take into account a broader range of political, cultural and historical context. This is an opportunity to create a significant contribution and potentially advance the field by implementing the research process through one of many possible presentational formats:
- An evening length performance (30-45 minutes):
a. Self-produced within the department or a venue in the NYC area, for example Dancespace Project, PSNY, MoMa PS1, Gibney and Movement Research
b. Site-specific dance within the appropriate time range
- Scholarly paper/article: Adhering to the requirements and standards a recognized industry publication
- Film/Multimedia Project (of comparable scale): choose to work in a variety of media based formats that include dance-film, video art, virtual gallery, vr, xr, ar, and interactive installation projects that are all housed within an online or online formats including a website, social media platforms, aps for devices and blogs.
- Curatorial Project: organizing panel or conference
- Scientific study/experiment
- Pedagogical Contribution- Online learning module, presentation of technique or embodied practice
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Students are encouraged to engage with an outside community organization or production company in the Fall of the 2nd year. This experience is meant to activate dance within other contexts outside of the Tisch academic setting. The goal is to create deeper artistic, intellectual, communal, civic and social impact for the culminating project and its dissemination in the professional world while offering service to the local community. Through exposure to cultural production in the workforce, clear strategies for identifying and expanding one's audience/community, along with post-graduation job placement can be generated.
Potential sites for the relevant application of dance research within this component include social justice organizations, non-profit art institutions, digital technology labs, wellness and movement therapy programs, environmental organizations, design houses/ateliers, research institutes, etc.