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Trinity Laban

Undergraduate

BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance with Foundation Year

Course details

Introduction 

Studying a foundation year in Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban will develop your overall dance skills. You’ll experience an intensive practice-based programme, helping you prepare for undergraduate study. 

You’ll develop technical skills by participating in a range of dance techniques including Release, Hip-Hop, Ballet for contemporary dancers, Dynamic Floorwork and Cunningham. Alongside this you will gain an understanding of how to use your body, learn the building blocks of dance creation and study the relevance of dance from a historical and social context. Towards the end of the year, you will develop performance skills by creating and performing two new works. 

Key Features 

You’ll develop strong technical, creative and choreographic skills, while learning about the diverse historical and socio-cultural contexts within the contemporary dance field. 

During the year, you’ll learn about current methodologies relating to fitness, safe practice and dancer health and wellbeing. 

The learning environment at Trinity Laban nurtures creativity, innovation, reflection, and collaborative approaches. This will develop your confidence to communicate ideas and contribute to critical discussion and creative enquiry. Through the Performance Platform Module you will have the chance to create and perform your work in an end of year sharing. 

Those who successfully pass the foundation year can automatically progress to the BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance course. If you choose to continue your undergraduate studies at Trinity Laban, the BACD course will continue to give you the opportunity to work directly with professional dance artists to research, create, and present commissioned pieces of work. By the end of the 4 years of study you will have created and performed a wide range of challenging dance, acquiring the dance skills at the highest level to set you up for your future career. 

Apply on UCAS Conservatoires

Key Facts

UCAS
203F
Duration
1 year (full-time)
Location
Laban Building
Start Date
September 2025

Fees

Audition fees

Please note that there is no audition fee for this course. You will only need to pay the UCAS Conservatoires administration fee of £28.50 for the 2025 entry cycle.

2024-25

Dance audition fee 24/25
No Charge
BA Contemporary Dance Foundation Entry (Full-time)
Home £9,250 International £21,860
Info 24/25
Fees represent 2024/25 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year

2025-26

Dance audition fee 25/26
No charge
BA Contemporary Dance (Full-time)
Home £9,535 International £22,520
Info 25/26
Fees represent 2025/26 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
Find out more about discounts/waivers

Key Dates

  • Submission deadline

  • Welcome Week

  • Term 1 (Autumn)

  • Term 2 (Spring)

  • CoLab

  • Term 3 (Summer)


Detailed Information

Trinity Laban’s Foundation Dance course provides you with an integrated learning experience across modules, assessments and themes. Over the year you’ll cover four modules, Technical Practice, Creating Dance, Exploring Dance through Time and Location and Performance Platform.

You’ll study through a blend of taught classes, workshops, lectures, seminars and tutorials. You are encouraged to be active learners in contributing to discussion, peer observation and feedback, and group work.

The course consists of 1200 learning hours, this includes your contact hours in class, self-directed learning hours and preparation for assessments.


Entry Requirements

To study with us you’ll need:

Practical dance experience of one dance form

5 GCSEs 9-4 (A*-C) or a combination of 2/3 GCSEs, including English Language, 9-4 plus a BTEC First Diploma (Level 2)

Advanced GCE (A-level) or an AS GCE (AS-level) or equivalent, including level 3 Graded and Vocational Graded qualifications in Dance on the NQF/RQF e.g. level 3 qualifications of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD); Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) or BTEC National Diploma: Dance or a named Dance or Performing Arts pathway or combinations of the above level 3 qualifications.

Equivalent qualifications and/or relevant prior experience will be considered.

English Language Requirements (if applicable)

Normally the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) B2 (IELTS 5.5 min in all areas).

Auditions

To get a place on the course you’ll take part in an audition day, where we look for the commitment and potential to study dance at a professional level.

We will look for you to have the technical expertise, potential, and imaginative responses to creative tasks. You’ll have an enthusiasm for the physical demands of intensive dance training.

Auditions usually consist of: Contemporary Technique Class, Classical Ballet Class, Hip Hop Class, Creative Class and an individual interview.

Overseas applicants who cannot attend auditions in person may submit recordings of themselves in technique class and in performances. The recordings are auditioned in the same way as live auditions. For more information see Dance Applications (LINK OUT TO)

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