Welcome Message

Welcome to the web site of the UNic Department of Music and Dance. Since its founding in 2005, our department has grown to an unparalleled position of leadership in the performing arts in Cyprus. Our ten full-time faculty members are complimented by more than twenty adjunct instructors, all of whom are among the leading musicians, dancers, and researchers in Cyprus.

Whatever career path our students choose, we understand that our graduates will enter a rapidly changing and unpredictable professional world that demands increasingly high standards of theoretical and practical training, artistic and professional adaptability, and above all, an entrepreneurial outlook. We have therefore designed our undergraduate programs to provide the next generation of artists, teachers, and scholars with a rich and diverse educational experience, founded upon the dynamic interaction of performance excellence and academic rigor. Our music and dance students enjoy numerous opportunities to perform, most notably in our biannual jazz and classical music concerts and our annual Bodyprints dance production. These activities are underpinned by a robust curriculum of academic coursework that assures that our students acquire fundamental professional competencies along with customization to satisfy their individual career goals.

The department currently offers the following two programs:

1. BMus in Music (4 years)

The heart of the BMus is the core courses that our students take during the first two years of study. All learning during these two years revolves around the student’s
Primary Study (or principle instrument), which includes 4 hours of weekly instruction: 1 hour individual instruction, 1 hour group instruction, and 2 hours of ensemble rehearsal. Parallel to this intensive study on their primary instrument, our students receive professional training in keyboard and aural skills, harmony and theory, and music history. During the last two years, our students choose to follow one of the four following concentrations:

Classical Performance: this consists of two more years of Advanced Primary Study, as well as courses in performance practice, analysis, and composition.
Jazz Performance: this also consists of two more years of Advance Primary Study, along with courses in applied jazz harmony, improvisation, and jazz composition.
Music Education: students in this course gain practical and theoretical knowledge of various methodologies for teaching music to children in schools.
Creative Music Technology: this concentration trains students to compose and create new musical works with the aid of the latest advances in computers and music technology.
In addition to seven courses in their concentration, music students also take an additional five courses in any area of music they wish, making the program highly adaptive to each student’s individual needs and interests.

2. BA in Dance (4 years)

This course offers students an opportunity to gain a well-balanced education in dance practice, performance, and theory. The students develop technical skills, choreographic experience, and critical thinking through a range of studio and theoretical courses. Additionally, the programme encourages students to develop an individualized focus area, with a view to being prepared for professional careers in dance performance, choreography, dance studies, and dance pedagogy. Students may choose from a variety of practical dance technique courses including Graham, release, improvisation, ballet, and world dance forms to acquire a well-rounded dance experience, corresponding to the expectations of the current global dance scene. The Dance Programme also coordinates several performance opportunities, including student-led and faculty-choreographed performances, as well as numerous collaborations with guest artists.