Theatre and Dance

Professor James Taylor, department chair
Professor Laurie Cameron, Dance Program coordinator

Professors Cameron, Bernhard², Pronko, Taylor
Resident Artist and Professor Leabhart
Resident Designer and Professor Linnell
Associate Professors Horowitz, Shay
Assistant Professors Lu, Martinez
Lecturers Blumenfeld, Jolley, Kemp, Koenig, Pennington, Suntree, Wenten

The Department of Theatre and Dance embodies the liberal arts education. Through a synthesis of body, mind and spirit, theatre and dance celebrate the community of world cultures. In an atmosphere of freedom, discipline and passion, students, faculty and staff approach intellectually and artistically great creations of the human spirit both in the classroom and in production.

Theatre

Pomona College’s theatre program serves the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges. Curriculum includes the study of theatre history, dramatic literature, dramaturgy, performance and design and technology.

Theatre students become proficient in devising creative solutions to complex problems. They also develop sensitivity to the interpersonal relationships inherent in the collaborative process. Thus, they are prepared for a wide variety of careers in organizations and enterprises that value these qualities. While encouraging broad development, the department also prepares them for further study on either the graduate or professional level. Many department graduates have become successful members of the professional performance community as actors, dancers, designers and technicians, producers, writers, dramaturgs, teachers and administrators.

The department presents four major productions and a dance concert each year in the modern Seaver Theatre Complex. Student performers and production personnel are drawn from majors and non-majors alike from all the Claremont Colleges. The department also co-sponsors a dynamic season of student-generated productions.

The Philbrick Fund, a bequest of distinguished theatre historian Norman Philbrick ’35, supports the department’s Distinguished Visiting Artist/Lecturer Series. Past artist/lecturers have included author and director Luis Valdez, theatre scholar Martin Esslin, designers William and Jean Eckart, director/playwright George C. Wolfe ’76, actress/playwright Anna Deavere Smith, actor Karl Malden, director-writer Eugenio Barba, The Shanghai Beijing and Shanghai Kun Chinese Opera companies, The Martha Graham Dance Company, performance artist Rachel Rosenthal and residencies by actors from the London stage. Additional support for department activities is provided by the Marion and Charles C. Holmes Fund.

• Theatre Major
   
• Theatre Minor
   
• Theatre Courses
   

Dance

Dance is an interdisciplinary art form that involves elements of theatre, music, design and the visual arts in a variety of cultural contexts. Instruction is available to students who wish to study dance as one of the liberal arts, as well as to those who aspire to professional careers in dance performance or related fields. The Dance Program challenges students to develop concentration skills, observational and analytical abilities and capacities for working with broad aesthetic concepts and fine details while developing their creative instincts. Solid foundations in modern, ballet, composition and repertory are designed to build strong technique and a sense of artistic expression, while exposure to non-Western dance forms encourages students to better understand other cultures through their performance traditions.

Within the Dance Major, there are two areas of emphasis: Performance Studies and Movement Studies. The performance emphasis, which requires technique study at the advanced level, culminates in a senior choreography/performance project, while the movement studies emphasis culminates in a senior project/written thesis that may or may not involve performance. Although encouraged to take technique throughout their four years, movement studies concentrators are not required to perform at the advanced level of technique and are encouraged to combine their work in dance with other disciplines.

The department also offers a minor in dance.

• Dance Major
   
• Dance Minor
   
• Dance Courses
   

Read more about our learning objectives:
www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/learning-objectives