Each spring the dance program presents Dancing Uphill, an event that features UVM student performers in faculty, guest artists, and student choreography. Auditions for Dancing Uphill typically take place during the fall or early spring semester; see our dance events for audition dates.

Each fall, the dance program presents a faculty-directed site-specific dance/movement performance. Students engage in the opportunity to work closely with faculty members in research, creation, and public presentation; the performance takes advantage of the numerous historic and scenic campus/community locales. Auditions typically take place early in the fall semester; see our dance events for audition dates.

Past site performances have explored and been inspired by:

• UVM campus ghost stories, in particular those related to Bittersweet and Converse Halls
• Public pathways leading to a performance/party on the green of Slade Hall
• The streams of Centennial Woods
• The green area around Southwick Hall and the Music Building ("Ravelling" performance video)
• The newly renovated Michele and Martin Cohen Hall for the Integrative Arts (home to the new dance studio/performance space)

UVM is an institutional member of ACDA. College dance students attend the ACDA regional conference offered each spring at various campuses throughout New England, and enjoy the opportunity to take classes with professionals and present works from their university dance programs. Our dance program commits to bringing original work created by UVM students to ACDA each year. Five UVM choreographers (4 students; 1 faculty) have been chosen for ACDA regional “best of” Gala Concerts:

• 2008 - Heather Cairl, Dirthead (Connecticut College)
• 2010 - Meghan Burgess, Quickie (Boston University)
• 2012 - Dan Yablonsky, Non-Mechanical Tools of Human Advancement (Connecticut College). This dance was chosen for presentation in the ACDA National College Dance Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
• 2016 - Mollie Morgan, Fine Line (Springfield College). This dance was chosen as an alternate for presentation in the ACDA National College Dance Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC
• 2023 – Paul Besaw (Faculty Artist), The Undertaker Waltzes In (Montclair State University). This dance was chosen for presentation in the ACDA National College Dance Festival held at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA

Each fall, dance students and faculty from a variety of Vermont colleges/universities gather to participate in performances, master classes/workshops, and student-centered discussions or feedback sessions. The emphasis of this annual festival is to encourage artistic sharing, exchange of ideas, and a close community amongst higher education dance programs in Vermont. Past festivals have been hosted by UVM, Middlebury College, Bennington College, and Marlboro College.

Each year, the dance program offers students the opportunity to take master classes with professional dance artists. Many of these are arranged in close association with the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, featuring world-class dance artists presented in their season. Other workshops and projects are funded by on-campus grants or presented in conjunction with professional Vermont-based dance artists and/or the Vermont Dance Alliance.

The UVM dance program participates in an ongoing exchange with the dance program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Students and faculty from Nebraska have participated in numerous Dancing Uphill spring concerts here in Vermont. UVM dance students and faculty have also traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, to take classes and perform in their annual concert, which takes place in the Johnny Carson Theater at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Each semester the dance program celebrates the end of the semester and the wide variety of dance pursuits on campus by hosting an informal showcase of independent student works and dance class projects. Students are welcome to submit dance projects to share in this showcase. See our dance events for dates and contact information.