Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts at University of Limerick

About You

If you are a musician, singer and/or dancer and wish to develop your performance skills and knowledge of your practice as well as widen both to include other forms of musical and artistic expression, this is the course for you. Applicants will be proficient performers but do not necessarily have to have a formal music and dance educational background (ie. Leaving Certificate Music or grade examinations such as those from the Associated Board, Royal Irish Academy, Royal Academy of Dance, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance etc.). Applicants will have a performance background in one or more of the following streams of the programme;

• Traditional Irish music
• Traditional Irish dance
• Contemporary dance
• Voice
• World Music

For the world music stream of the programme applicants will have an interest in developing their skills and knowledge of world music practices. Applicants will be required to show proficiency in relevant performance practices or in the case of the World Music stream, any music practice at audition.

Why study Performing Arts at UL?

This programme will allow you to develop your performance skills in one of five in areas (traditional Irish music, traditional Irish dance, contemporary dance, voice and world music). You will also be able to develop your scholarly knowledge and enquiry around your own disciplines. However, and very importantly, you will be introduced to other performance practices and scholarly traditions in order to gain new insights into the worlds of music and dance, enhancing your creative potential. You will also study a number of vocationally focused modules aimed at allowing you to translate your artistic and scholarly creativity into a fulfilling career.

As a student, you will be based at the world class, facilities of the Irish World Academy building, equipped to the highest standards with cutting edge performance and rehearsal spaces and technological infrastructure. The co-operative education period allows you to construct your own work-experience, giving you invaluable experience of the opportunities open to you when you graduate.

The programme prepares you for many different career paths including professional performance; further study; work in cultural institutions; media related posts; archival work; performance production; portfolio careers combining the preceding and others in entrepreneurial ways.

What you will study

In the first year, you will focus and develop your own performance practice and be introduced to the critical academic engagement with classical, popular, traditional and world music and dance through a performative lens.

From second year, you will follow a stream that will reflect your main performance interest.

Irish traditional music - students will undertake additional specialist modules in Irish Music and dance studies and ethnomusicology

Irish traditional dance - students will undertake additional specialist modules in Irish Music and dance studies, dance studies, experiential anatomy and movement analysis, dance pedagogy

Contemporary Dance - students will undertake additional specialist modules in dance studies, experiential anatomy and movement analysis, dance pedagogy

Voice - students will undertake additional specialist modules in Vocal pedagogy and Voice studies

World Music - students will undertake additional specialist modules in Global Pop Music, ethnomusicology

From second year, core modules will be undertaken by all students in areas like music and dance education, ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology, professional skills, research and arts and health. You will explore areas related to your genre of performance such as music theory, keyboard skills, vocal technique, yoga, pilates, ballet technique, contemporary dance technique, movement awareness, traditional dance technique, etc. You will also be required to engage performance practices outside of your own main performance interest. You will also have the opportunity to study modules as electives taken from a broad of range of options in languages, history, sociology, performance practice, choreography, composition etc.

Career

• Professional Performance
• Further Study (MA, PhD)
• Music/Dance Therapy
• Community Music/Dance
• Music/Dance teacher
• Arts administration
• Performance management and promotion
• Backstage work in performance theatre e.g. sound engineer
• Music Technology, e.g. recording studio producer/technician
• Media (TV, Radio etc.)
• Work in cultural institutions and archives

Follow On Study

• Master of Arts Irish Traditional Dance Performance

• Master of Arts Irish Traditional Music Performance
• Master of Arts Contemporary Dance Performance
• Master of Arts Irish Music Studies
• Master of Arts Irish Dance Studies
• Master of Arts Ethnochoreology
• Master of Arts Ethnomusicology
• Master of Arts Ritual Chant and Song
• Master of Arts Community Music
• Master of Arts Music Therapy
• Master of Arts Festive Arts
• Master of Arts Classical String
• Performance in association with the Irish Chamber Orchestra
• Master of Education Music
• Professional Master of Education Music
• PhD Arts Practice
• PhD Research