Master of Arts in Dance Pedagogy

The Master’s Program in Dance Pedagogy combines critical thinking, artistic-pedagogical practices, and exploration of the wide range of meanings in the arts.

Why study here?

As a student, you will reflect on and develop the practices and pedagogy of performing arts within our open and conversational community. We will guide you towards critical, innovative thinking, as well as multidisciplinary interaction, multi-artistic collaborations and an experimental attitude. The foundation of the programme is your personal experiences and perceptions, which are brought into open dialogue with other students, teachers and the academic field of art pedagogy.

About the studies

In the Master’s Program in Dance Pedagogy, art pedagogy is seen as a form of artistic activity where pedagogical questions are ever-present. In the context of art pedagogy, art, performance, and teaching are viewed as encounters where aesthetic, ethical, and political phenomena are intertwined. Art and pedagogy feed off each other, which gives rise to change in both.

Art pedagogy is an academic discipline that investigates and develops art pedagogy and builds on its philosophical and theoretical foundations. In the master’s program, the practices and theory of performing arts and its pedagogy feed off each other, giving rise to change at many levels. This process leads to the practical, experiential, reflective, communal, or social transformation towards conscious artistic-pedagogic practice. Aesthetical, ethical, and political phenomena are interconnected in the master’s program.

The program consists of advanced studies in the arts, studies in the theory and practices of art pedagogy, research studies, teaching practices, international interaction, and elective studies that support the development of the student’s identity as an art pedagogue.

The goal of the master’s program is to train open-minded art pedagogue professionals who have found their own voice, have cooperation skills, and are aware of their responsibility.

The degree requirements for Master’s Programmes in Dance Pedagogy and Theatre Pedagogy include pedagogical studies for teachers (60 cr). Tampere University is in charge of the study module in pedagogy as a whole.

Teaching methods

Studies are based on mandatory attendance, commitment, and interaction. The program uses diverse and ever-evolving teaching methods. Courses are arranged in the form of workshops, group projects, lectures, and seminars, as well as independent learning assignments. Most of the instruction takes place on weekdays between 9:00 and 17:00.

Collaborations

The Master’s Programs in Dance Pedagogy and Theatre Pedagogy engage in close cooperation with each other. About half of the studies are arranged collaboratively, and the teachers in the programs form a joint collegium, which acts as a decision-making body in regard to the programs’ pedagogical guidelines and curricula. The main partners in the organizing of the teaching are the University’s Department of Music Education and CERADA (Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts) as well as the Department of Art at Aalto University. Our international partners include the University of Auckland (New Zealand), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim), University of Copenhagen, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, and Sami University of Applied Sciences.

The teaching practices can be carried out as either Finnish or international collaborations.

Teachers

Teachers in the Master’s Program in Dance Pedagogy are experts in the artistic field that they represent as well as in art pedagogy. They have diverse professional backgrounds and a strong research-based orientation in art pedagogy. In addition to the permanent teaching staff, the program welcomes experts as guest teachers on a regular basis.