May 15, 2017
By Jake Tribus
After an 8-hour-long flight, you could imagine how sore my body was, and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping either. The only thing keeping me positive was the thought of walking down the streets of the City of Love, and how I would soon be learning about the salon culture of Paris, in USC Kaufman’s first ever Maymester program.
May 8, 2017
By Jackie Schiffner
As part of a brand new program, we have the opportunity to develop brand new traditions on the USC campus. One of these traditions that began last year was Dance On! Week. With its purpose of promoting dance across campus, Dance On! Week involves all dance-enthusiasts from BFA majors, dance minors, elective students, dance clubs and crews, and all patrons of the arts.
May 1, 2017
At Kaufman, we function as a conservatory-based program within a major research university. Having that status–as a college student majoring in dance–can mean quite a heavy load. But do not be discouraged by busy college life. I am going to walk you through a typical day at Kaufman.
April 24, 2017
By Alyssa Allen
Since January of this year, we’ve been learning and rehearsing diverse repertory to present at our BFA Spring Dance Performance. Including an excerpt of Jiri Kylian’s Falling Angels and Sarabande (staged by Fiona Lummis), Victor Quijada’s Empirical Quotient, an excerpt of William Forsythe’s Enemy in The Figure (staged by Ayman Harper), and new works by Raphael Xavier, Vice Dean Jodie Gates, Christopher Scott and Jessica Lee Keller, our program is extremely diverse and covers such a range of artistry–I feel so fortunate to learn from these legendary choreographers.
April 10, 2017
By Kaylin Sturtevant
Time flies. One second, you’re starting your college applications, and the next thing you know, you’re walking into your first day of college classes, not quite sure about what the year will bring. Coming to USC Kaufman, I had some sense of how my life would be different–in a new environment, dancing with new people–but I did not realize how much I would learn and grow as an artist and person in my first year.
April 3, 2017
By Olivia Euritt
This semester, in our Introduction to Dance for the Camera: New Media and Editing (DANC 218) class with Professor Patrick Corbin, we were tasked with creating video projects in small groups, each formed by common interests and career goals. I was incredibly lucky to have worked in a group with two amazing, empowering, and independent young women, Helen and Madison.
March 27, 2017
She prefers the term “conflict engagement” to “conflict mediation.” Why? “I believe conflict is necessary,” Dana Caspersen told her audience on Wednesday night. “But we must approach it with curiosity, rather than violence. We must engage with it.”
March 20, 2017
By Rebecca Troyak
Coming to USC Kaufman was a totally unique experience for me. Previously, I attended a performing arts high school, and couldn’t even tell you what football was. Dance was my entire life. When it came time for me to choose a college program, all I wanted was to be somewhere rigorous, challenging, and intense. I thought that meant a conservatory program was my only choice. But Kaufman offers something that no other program in this nation does: the opportunity for an intense, challenging conservatory program paired with a regular college experience.
March 13, 2017
By Jake Tribus
This Friday, we were treated to a master class with Hope Boykin, a dancer and choreographer for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Hope joined the company in 2000 and has choreographed three different works for them throughout her career. This was my second time taking her class (I attended her class while touring campus last year, when she visited to teach the class of 2019), and she has yet to disappoint!
March 6, 2017
By Celine Kiner and Katya Richardson
Celine Kiner: Sophomore USC Kaufman BFA students are collaborating with sophomore USC Thornton composition students for a Choreographers & Composers concert this March 8 and 9 featuring the work of both departments, and facilitated by our wonderful professors Sean Friar, Thomas McManus, and Jennifer Lott.