Pennsylvania associate degree program

Ballet and science will combine in an unusual pas de deux at California University of Pennsylvania (CUP) beginning in September 2002. The university, located on a ninety-acre campus one hour south of Pittsburgh, is introducing a new bachelor of arts degree in dance that includes an associate of arts degree in physical therapy assistant. Of the 128 credits required to complete the four-year dance degree, instituted by the Department of Theatre and Dance, 67 credits are earmarked for the PTA degree, offered through the Health Science and Sports Studies Department. Graduates will be awarded two diplomas.

The university first launched its dance program in 1990 as a 21-credit concentration within the theater curriculum. The Health Science Department initiated PTA courses in 1999. The new BA in dance aims to provide dance students with both a traditional liberal arts degree and an academically based program that prepares them for optional or post-performing employment. Dancers who complete this program will be better informed about dance injury prevention and treatment, and they'll be equipped to move into a second dance-related career. The new BA program will be the only four-year dance degree available at CUP. The school continues to offer a dance concentration for students who major in other disciplines.

Instructor Kenneth Nickel, former director of performing arts at La Roche College, initially suggested the dance/PTA concept to Richard Helldobler, CUP's interim dean of liberal arts. Rebecca Hess, an assistant professor on the Health Science faculty, co-coordinated the double-faceted program. Helldobler says the two programs "dovetail beautifully." Dancers should be "studying anatomy, physiology, and nutrition anyway," he says, for an understanding of how the musculoskeletal system functions and for help with weight management and good health.

THE COLLEGES OF LIBERAL ARTS (which oversees the Department of Theatre and Dance) and Health Sciences will coordinate class schedules permitting students to take required courses in kinesiology and various rehabilitation classes. Such classes provide an understanding of physical action, movement analysis, body types, turnout, range of motion, and strength measurement that relate to use of a dancer's body and recovery from injuries.

Studio offerings in ballet, jazz, theatrical, and modern dance are taught by Helldobler, a former Toledo Ballet principal dancer; Donna Marovic-Anthony; and Nickel, a former Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre principal dancer. Students may also choose courses in stagecraft, lighting, scenic design, and costume construction.

A performance practicum affords students the opportunity to dance with the Mon Valley Ballet Theatre, the university's dance troupe. Qualified juniors and seniors may acquire dance-teaching experience in Pittsburgh-area public schools through the Resource Education in Art Development for Youths program, which Nickel directs.

Admission to the dance program is through audition. CUP, established in 1852, is one of fourteen universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. For information on the Department of Theatre and Dance, call 724/938-4220; for admissions, call 724/938-4404 or visit www.cup.edu.