Viewbook - Colorado College

At CC, we believe in the power of art to transform and transcend; we believe in the potential of art to educate; and
we believe in the ability of art to speak beyond boundaries of language and social restrictions. Perhaps the drama and dance department mission statement says it best: "Creativity comes from a broadened mind, and we suggest that a more educated and enlightened student makes a better artist. We believe that creativity is a noble enterprise."

For this reason, Colorado College offers an enormously diverse range of opportunities in the fine arts, from Cuban music classes on campus to theater programs in London. More than 80 percent of students engage in the arts at some point during their four years here, and we invite students from all majors to enroll in fine arts courses – drama, dance, music, and art.

Music

Attend master classes, learn about African drumming, or simply take a piano lesson – you can do all these things and more in the music department. Music education at CC combines performance taught by first-rate musicians and compelling, topic-driven classes that mix music with subjects like religion and history. Computers and state-of-the-art composition software are also integrated into daily music instruction, and the department also offers opportunities for recital blocks and performance.

Great Performers and Ideas

The Great Performers and Ideas Committee, organized and led by students, promotes a greater awareness of classical, contemporary, and cross-cultural concerts by selecting and sponsoring a wide variety of renowned artists. The committee presents musicians, dance companies, lectures, and theatrical groups and plays an important role in providing students with a diverse and varied cultural experience. Guest artists in the last season included the Los Angeles Baritones; George Crumb, a modern composer and musician; Arlo Guthrie; and the Brazilian Classical Guitar Quartet.

Great Performers and Ideas also gives students the opportunity to learn production and planning skills. Liz Stanton '88, a theater producer in New York City, says that what prepared her most for her career was working with the campus’s Great Performers and Ideas Committee. "I really learned how to take an idea and make it happen," she says, "how to find the money, find the space, print the program, organize the calendar — all of those things that are skills I use everyday in my life, in my career."

Drama and Dance

Click to see what associate dance professor YunYu Wang-Chen has to say

"Drama and dance are inherently connected by their dependence upon the live theatrical event, and we encourage all our classes — technical, literary, studio, and performance — not to lose sight of this imperative." That’s the foundational theory of this cross-disciplinary major. Performing everything from "The Threepenny Opera" to a tableau vivant version of Beckett, theater and dance productions are staged across campus — from a dining hall to a 300-seat performance hall. Each year, the department puts on four major theatrical productions, a faculty choreographed dance concert, and various collaborative productions, and brings in guest artists from across the country to entertain and enlighten CC audiences.