Grad Profiles - Sarah Lawrence College-Dance

Overview
Founded in 1926, Sarah Lawrence is a small, liberal arts college for men and women. It is a lively community of students, scholars, and artists, nationally renowned for its distinctive academic structure that combines small classes with individual student-faculty conferences.

Sarah Lawrence attracts students who seek a creative education and are eager to take responsibility for it. The College draws its students from forty-nine states and thirty-one countries. Graduate programs are deliberately kept small. There are approximately 300 graduate students.

The Community
The College is situated in the suburban community of Bronxville in southern Westchester County, just 15 miles north of midtown Manhattan in New York City. Highways and a commuter railroad make it possible to reach the city in about 30 minutes, enabling students to take advantage of its social and cultural riches and its internship possibilities.

Programs of study and degree requirements
Sarah Lawrence College offers advanced dance, theater, and writing students the opportunity to study with an outstanding faculty as they pursue the Master of Fine Arts degree at one of the nation's most selective liberal arts colleges. These programs follow the College's philosophy, which stresses a high degree of individual development that is essentially exploratory and noncompetitive in nature. Small seminar classes with individual student-faculty conferences allow close collaboration with faculty members in all three programs, and the opportunity for fieldwork is extensive and varied.

Most graduate programs are for two years of full-time study and require 36 course credits. A part-time program may be arranged.

The program in dance is based on the premise that dance is a unique art form, calling for the integration of body, mind, and spirit. Daily modern and ballet technique classes are required of all graduate students. Basic physical skills, strength, and control are required for the central focus of the program—the creative use of the dance medium. The student is exposed to vital aspects of the art as a performer, creator, and observer, with music as an integral part. The curriculum centers on choreography, dance improvisation, music improvisation, composition, and the teaching of dance. Course work is offered with undergraduate dancers, and the dance program offers students an opportunity to grow under the guidance of an excellent faculty of dancers and dance scholars with professional experience in the New York area and abroad.

The theater program is based on the principle that learning comes through practical application, personal experience, and intensive workshops. Working with a faculty of New York City theater professionals, students explore playwriting, acting, directing, design, and technical work in small seminars, private tutorials, and collaborative projects.

The writing program offers an uncommon opportunity for students to develop as poets, creative nonfiction writers, or fiction writers under the close supervision of an internationally renowned faculty. At the center of the course of study are four successive seminars that students take during their two years in the program. In addition to the lively exchanges in these seminars, students participate in individual conferences with faculty members every two weeks. This distinctive aspect of the Sarah Lawrence program provides further intensive scrutiny of students' writing and helps them create the substantial body of work needed to fulfill the program's requirements.

Facilities & Resources
The College's facilities include classrooms, laboratories, a computer center, and a state-of-the-art sports center; a library with 288,000 books and 1,135 periodicals, which is linked by computer to more than 6,000 other libraries; the Performing Arts Center, which consists of four theaters, a dance studio, and a concert hall; a music building, including a music library; and the Center for Graduate Studies.

Expenses and Aid
In 2005-–06, tuition in M.F.A. programs is $959 per course credit.

Financial Aid: All graduate grants and loans are given based on financial need as determined by information provided on PROFILE and FAFSA forms. Applicants with financial need are considered for Sarah Lawrence College gift aid, Federal Perkins Loans, and Federal Stafford Student Loans. Sarah Lawrence College is unable to offer federal financial aid to students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. However, international students may apply for Sarah Lawrence gift aid by filling out the PROFILE form. International students are also advised to investigate other financing opportunities offered by their governments or private institutions.

Housing/Living Expenses: ROff-campus single rooms in local homes are available for $300 to $500 per month; a shared apartment ranges from $500 to $700 per month per person. The minimum cost for an apartment in the area is $500 per month. Housing information is available from the Student Affairs Office. Meals at reasonable rates are available at the College's dining halls.

How to Apply
Applicants for graduate studies must have received a Bachelor of Arts or an equivalent degree from an accredited college or university. Applicants should write to the address below to request information on a specific program.

Applicants are asked to complete the application form and to furnish transcripts of all undergraduate work and two letters of recommendation, preferably from former teachers. Personal interviews may be arranged with the program directors and with the director of graduate studies. The creative writing and the performing arts programs require demonstration of the candidate's ability. Application deadlines vary according to the program. GRE scores are not required. The deadline for first consideration is February 1.

Who to Contact
Susan Guma
Director of Graduate Studies
Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York 10708
Telephone: 914-395-2371
E-mail: grad@sarahlawrence.edu
http://www.slc.edu

THE FACULTY

Dance

Sara Rudner, Director; M.F.A., Bennington.
Wally Cardona.
Penelope Dannenberg, M.F.A., UCLA.
Emmy Devine, B.A., Connecticut.
Andrew Hill.
Joanne Robinson-Hill.
Karen Levey, B.A., Adelphi.
Max Luna III.
Cassandra Phifer.
Rose Anne Thom, B.A., McGill.
Lance Westergard, B.F.A., Julliard.
Jessica Wolf, B.A., NYU.
John Yannelli, M.F.A., Sarah Lawrence.

Theater

Shirley Kaplan, Director; A.A., Briarcliff, Academie de la Grande Chaumiere, Paris.
William D. McRee, Assistant Director; M.F.A., Sarah Lawrence.
Ernst Abuba.
Paul Austin, B.S., Emerson.
Edward Allen Baker, B.A., Rhode Island.
Kevin Confoy, B.A., Rutgers.
June Ekman, B.A., Goddard, Illinois; A.C.A.T. certification, Alexander Technique.
Christine Farrell, M.F.A., Columbia.
Edward Gianfrancesco.
Dan Hurlin, B.A., Sarah Lawrence.
Rosette LaMont, Ph.D., Yale.
Greg MacPherson, B.A., Vermont.
John McCormack, B.A., Hamilton.
Cassandra Medley, Michigan.
Carol Ann Pelletier, B.A., Brandeis.
Arthur Sainer, M.A., Columbia.
Fanchon Miller Scheier, M.F.A., Sarah Lawrence.
James Shearwood, M.A., Smith.
Stuart Spencer.
Sterling Swan, B.A., Vassar.
Writing/Creative Nonfiction
Mary Morris, Director; M.Phil., Columbia.
Barbara Probst Solomon, B.S., Columbia.
Lawrence Weschler, B.A., California, Santa Cruz.

Writing/Fiction

Mary La Chapelle, Director; M.F.A., Vermont.
Linsey Abrams, M.A., CUNY Graduate Center.
Melvin Jules Bukiet, M.F.A., Columbia.
Peter Cameron.
Carolyn Ferrell, M.A., CUNY, City College
Myra Goldberg, M.A., CUNY Graduate Center.
Joshua Henkin, M.F.A., Michigan.
Kathleen Hill, Ph.D., Wisconsin.
William Melvin Kelley, Harvard.
Mary Morris, M.Phil., Columbia.
Brian Morton, B.A., Sarah Lawrence.
George Packer.
Victoria Redel, M.F.A., Columbia.
Lucy Rosenthal, M.S., Columbia; M.F.A., Yale.
Joan Silber, M.A., NYU.
Barbara Probst Solomon, B.S., Columbia.

Writing/Poetry