äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾

The Dance Program and dance courses at äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ are open to all äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ students regardless of experience level or course of study. We offer an individually designed minor in Dance with concentrations in dance education, performance, and/or choreography. The program offers technique classes in ballet, modern, jazz, and Spanish dance among other genres. Dance courses to fulfill the 30-credit hour Dance minor are customized to complement each student's goals, timeline and experience. The student performance group, Dance Performance Ensemble, performs faculty, student and guest artist choreography in student dance concerts offered in both the fall and spring semesters. While a major is Dance is not currently available, äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ offers two alternatives that can be utilized to design equivalent studies through our Nontraditional Degree and the University Without Walls programs. 

Please contact the University Without Walls/Nontraditional Degree Program at ndp@neiu.edu, or the Dance Program Facilitator Emma Draves at e-draves@neiu.edu. Student-led dance clubs and dance scholarships are also available to all äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ students. 

Through course work and internships, Northeastern dance students have the opportunity to work with the Ruth Page Dance Series and Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, providing them with valuable skills and work experience in the arts. Faculty members include Emma Draves, Dance Program Facilitator and Irma Suarez Ruiz, Artistic Director of Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater and instructor; and other guest faculty. Please see additional information regarding scholarships and other dance offerings by visiting the links in the left margin.

Dance Performance Ensemble

The Dance Performance Ensemble performs new dance works during the fall and spring semesters in Northeastern's Auditorium. Guest artists, faculty and students create choreographic works in a number of styles including jazz, modern, Spanish, hip-hop and other genres.

The ensemble is open to all students from the campus-at-large who have previous dance experience. Auditions are not required before registering for the course Dance Performance Ensemble (DANC 204). 

Please contact Dance Program Facilitator Emma Draves at e-draves@neiu.edu or (773) 442-5941 to inquire about dancing for college credit at äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾.

Dance Scholarship and Minor Auditions for 2026-2027

In person auditions for the 2026-2027 academic year will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2026 and Saturday, March 28, 2026 in the äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBÕ¾ Fine Arts Building, Room FA141. Please register for the audition in advance by emailing Emma Draves, Dance Program Facilitator, at e-draves@neiu.edu or to arrange an alternative audition time or method. Please direct all questions about the Dance Minor and Dance Scholarship Auditions to Emma Draves at e-draves@neiu.edu.

Teaching Institute: - Mexico in Movement: Footwork, Skirtwork & Culture (January 29, 2026)

This half-day Institute provides access points for K-12 teachers to investigate dance vocabulary from Mexican Folklorico; as well as to better understand its cultural roots - broadly - and specific to Chicago. This workshop will be led by Folkorico teaching artist Regina Camacho. Register directly . Tuition free! CPDU credits. Questions & Registration: E-Draves@neiu.edu.

Dance (PK-12) Endorsement (G545)

Add an Endorsement in Dance to your Teaching Licensure!

Dance Movement serves a necessary purpose for the Individual and the Community - as personal expression, to modulate socio-emotional states, and to strengthen community bonds.

• Application of this Endorsement can support

• Dance Movement Classes

• Classroom Dance ‘Breaks’

• Exploration of Culture(s) through Culturally-Sustaining Pedagogy

• Exploration of Chicago history

• Exploration of Concepts in Mathematics and Science

As well, combining dance-centered projects with body rhythms and music helps build cognitive development.

As Kenneth Walker Dance Project articulates: â€œWhy is dance important?  Dance is the physical manifestation of all that STEAM embodies.  Dance is physical geometry, it is problem-solving, spatial awareness, physical intelligence, and mathematics encompassed in one activity. “

Incorporating Dance into your program will deepen students’ abilities to learn, recover, and reinvest on every level, across disciplines.

Ensemble Español

Founded in 1975 and incorporated in 1976 by Dame Libby Komaiko, the , under the artistic leadership of Artistic Director Irma Suárez Ruiz and Executive Director Jorge Perez, is the premier Spanish Dance Company and Center in the United States in-residence at äçÐÄvlogÃâ·ÑBվ’s Department of Music and Dance. Ensemble Español's mission is the preservation, presentation and promotion of Spanish dance and culture, which includes the exploration of the country’s history and identifies its influence on Latin American art and dance. Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater exists to share the rich traditions of the dance, music, literature, and culture of Spain in the Escuela Bolera, Classical, Folkloric and Flamenco styles, both nationally and internationally, and to be a nucleus of new artistic creativity within the framework of the Ibero-Hispanic (Spain) experience.