MADISON, WI — The University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department is thrilled to announce the launch of its new Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance, a fully funded two-year graduate degree program for exceptional artists to engage in advanced creative and scholarly explorations that positions dance as a vital cultural, aesthetic, and intellectual force in the 21st century.
The program has two named options–a Dance MFA in Screendance and a Dance MFA in Creative Research, Culture, and Practice. Applications for the inaugural cohort will open in Fall 2025. The program will officially welcome its first class of students to campus in Fall 2026.
UW-Madison Dance Shapes the Future
“This program is for dance artists whose work is grounded in critical inquiry, cutting-edge performance-making, and interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Jin-Wen Yu, professor of dance and chair of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department. “It is another example of our department’s commitment to shaping the future of the field.”
UW-Madison, the birthplace of the first dance degree in higher education in 1926, will offer the first terminal degree in screendance, a hybrid art form at the intersection of dance and digital media.
“Screendance is exploding, especially post-pandemic,” said Li Chiao-Ping, professor of dance and director of the MFA program, whose work combines multiple art forms to explore themes of culture and identity, both on stage and on screen, is core faculty for this new program. “Empowering the next generation to investigate these possibilities deeply and seriously will transform the dance field across the globe.”
Along with Li, Douglas Rosenberg, professor of art at UW-Madison, and Omari Carter, assistant professor of dance at UW-Madison, will be among the core screendance faculty. Rosenberg is an award-winning filmmaker, scholar, and leading voice in screendance who has published seminal books in the field, including “Screendance: Inscribing the Ephemeral Image” and “The Oxford Handbook of Screendance Studies.” Carter, whose work has been selected for festivals across the globe, is a screendance maker, choreographer, and body-percussionist.
The MFA in Creative Research, Culture, and Practice embraces the emerging scholarship and theories of practice which are characteristic of a 21st-century postmodern, globally connected, technological world. For this option, “We’re seeking artists who will engage with emerging technologies while remaining rooted in culture—interrogating histories, reimagining identities, and challenging systems. Their work must navigate a cross-national landscape where multiple ideologies coexist, and where dance continues to be a powerful force for social insight, cultural preservation, and transformation,” said Chris Walker, professor of dance and Special Assistant to the Provost on the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Walker’s work investigates African Caribbean dance as a lens for engaging environmental activism, social justice, and cultural preservation.
A Profound Investment
The department received endowed funding to make this program possible. “This endowment is a profound investment into the future leaders of the field,” said Yu, “and it’s timely.” The first cohort will arrive during the department’s 100th Anniversary. “It’s a perfect time to celebrate this program, which will be another great addition to our legacy.”
About the University of Wisconsin-Madison Dance Department
The UW–Madison Dance Department is a leader and innovator in the field of dance, with a diverse, world-class faculty and state-of-the-art dance facilities, including its own theatre, the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space. Located near Lake Mendota, the state capitol, and downtown Madison, historic Lathrop Hall includes four spacious dance studios and a multimedia and sound lab.
In 1926, under the leadership of dance pioneer Margaret H’Doubler, UW–Madison became the first in the United States to establish a dance degree program in higher education. It was here that dance became a rigorous academic discipline and the body became the route to scientific inquiry, self-discovery, creativity, and citizenship.
The Dance Department and its faculty and staff are committed to excellence through teaching and research, and we strive to impact the world within and outside of the university, through the Wisconsin Idea, to improve people’s lives through dance.
###