UCI undergraduate dance majors take three quarters of dance history, covering many kinds of dance, with two of them giving special emphasis to the concert forms of ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. Students are encouraged to understand not only the evolution of dance as an art form, but the place of dance in world events, in personal and communal identities, and in terms of personal and political empowerment. The courses prepare dancers to enter the world of dance scholarship, to become knowledgeable critics, teachers, performers, choreographers, artistic directors, dance patrons and audience members.
The first course, Dance 90A, Global Perspectives, includes discussions of issues such as ethnicity and identity, nationalism and state-supported dance companies, as well as focusing on specific forms from all over the world. Recent examples have been Indian classical and Native American dance, hula, African and Africanist influences, and dance from Spain, Korea, Latin America, the Middle East, and China.