Course Brochure (.pdf 472kb)

MA programme in New York is based at: Moving Body Resources, 112 West 27th Street, 4th floor, New York, NY 10001

MA Dance & Somatic Wellbeing: Connections to the Living Body is a unique visionary and pioneering program offering a professional training in Dance & Somatic Movement Education. The program is on the cutting edge of contemporary international practice, exploring the creative skills required to practice with ingenuity, individuality, insight and sensitivity. All sessions are taught in the spirit of self-discovery, non-judgment and self-reflexivity.  The course is facilitated through open-ended processes of self-discovery and sensory-imaginal heart-centred educative models. MA graduates are qualified to a register as a Somatic Movement Educator.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

2010 places may still be available please contact our course enquiries team regarding entry requirements as these may differ from 2011.

Entry requirements for postgraduate courses vary and you are advised to check below for any specific requirements or with Enquiry Management. Normally the following general entry requirements apply:

Postgraduate Diplomas, Certificates and Conversion Courses:
A recognised British first degree or its equivalent, or a BTEC Higher Diploma/Certificate.

Taught Masters Courses:
A recognised British honours degree to a good standard, or its equivalent. Applications from all candidates will be considered on their merits and in the light of the nature and scope of the programme or work proposed. Informal enquiries are welcomed and will normally be followed by an initial advisory interview.

Students would be expected to have achieved a good lower second in a related area of practical study at BA (Hons) level. In exceptional circumstances and after audition/ interview, a place may be offered if it is felt that a candidate can evidence examples of meeting those learning outcomes through experiential learning. As this course is at postgraduate level of study, the interview panel must be convinced that the successful candidates are capable of engaging appropriately both physically and intellectually. Applications from people from a wide range of vocational backgrounds and subject specialists are welcome.

Course Content

The course covers the following within and across modular study: 

• Proprioceptive and interoceptive sensitivity and the imagination
• Non-judgemental methods of feedback and facilitation
• The quality of language and quality of presence
• Dialogical processes in relation to feeling, sensation, imagination, and functional movement description
• Explorations into the inner landscape of the body through interoceptive sensory awareness and meditative movement practice
• Skills of interoceptive and extroceptive listening supporting sensory homeostasis
• The wider contextual academic paradigm in relation to current international practice
• The sacred aspects of somatic movement

The field is based on the belief that we have the capacity and personal agency to direct and/or re-direct our lives through gentle self-reflexive processes; becoming active agents in our experience, sensually alive, and co-actively engaged with our world. The following are key areas covered within and across modular study:

• Experiential anatomy
• Moment-by-moment depth-connection to the body through movement and anatomical awareness
• Deep relaxation fostered through an awareness of the nervous system and meditative movement modalities
• Practices of Self-care
• Personal and social change fostered through "models of dance and human companionship"
• Moving within the sensory-imaginal
• Improvisations sourced through anatomical investigations
• Poetic, symbolic, metaphoric and various art modalities, which deepen reflection, supporting people in re-visioning their lives with more direction and clarity
• Inter-age and inclusive models of dance-health
• The study of sacred dance, the soma and contemporary spirituality in movement
• Somatic Research methods

Course at a Glance

Assessment:

Assessment takes place through a wide variety of modes: practical teaching and facilitation, embodied practice, essays, reflective journals and research praxis. The course is predominantly practice based - all learning is facilitated through experiential models exploring theory, and supported by contextual study.

Learning Environment:

MA Dance & Somatic Wellbeing: Connections to the Living Body is a unique visionary and pioneering program offering a professional training in Dance & Somatic Movement Education. The program is on the cutting edge of contemporary international practice, exploring the creative skills required to practice with ingenuity, individuality, insight and sensitivity. All sessions are taught in the spirit of self-discovery, non-judgment and self-reflexivity.  The course is facilitated through open-ended processes of self-discovery and sensory-imaginal heart-centred educative models. MA graduates are qualified to a register as a Somatic Movement Educator. 

Careers:

Validated by UCLan as a Masters of Arts level course of study and by the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA), this programme is both academic and a professional training ground for teachers and professionals of all kinds to enhance their personal and inter-personal work skills. 

Money Matters

Most graduates of this University are entitled to a 20% reduction on tuition fees for our postgraduate courses, if self-funding.

Details of current fees are available from Enquiry Management,
University of Central Lancashire,
Preston,
PR1 2HE,
United Kingdom,
01772 892400.

Gilbertson Excellence Scholarships
These scholarships are awarded to UCLan undergraduates in their final year of study in 2009-10 who want to continue their studies at postgraduate level, either on a full time or part time taught programme eg MA or MSc, or on a research programme such as an MPhil in the 2010-11 academic year. These awards worth £3,390 towards tuition fees are available to Home/EU students achieving a first class honours degree at UCLan in 2009-10 and are subject to specific terms and conditions.