Dance as a discipline of study in the new millennium of liberal arts education: Searching for a larger purpose

This study was designed to describe dance both as a discrete area of study and as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry within the context of National Arts (Dance) Standards as influenced by National Education Reform. It considers dance's potential mission and goals as well as its contemporary relevance as a discipline of study within Liberal Arts education. Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania was used as a case study to situate past and current programmatic and instructional strategies for dance as a discipline within the new millennium context of Liberal Arts education.;A review of the literature within Liberal Arts Education and National Education Reform agendas as related to the arts in general and National Arts Standards in particular was used to gather information pertinent to the topic of study. The study was further informed by literature that traced the historical development of dance in higher education and by a review of literature published by a number of Liberal Arts colleges about their specific dance programs.;In order to context Liberal Arts Education, National Education Reform agendas and National Arts Standards in relation to the development of the Dance Major at Cedar Crest College, the study was further informed by documentation gathered from the archives of the Cressman Library at Cedar Crest College. Further data emerged from the voices of Cedar Crest College administrators, past and current dance instructors, and students who participated in dance courses at Cedar Crest College.;The study reveals that the historical legacy of dance at Cedar Crest College reflects a slow awakening of administrative and educational leadership to the acceptance of dance as a discipline of study beyond the realm of performance. Shifting trends within education reform and national arts agendas influenced the College's response toward advocacy in support of a vision for dance within Liberal Arts education. As a result of these agendas, the traditional boundaries of knowledge about the theoretical and practical implications for dance within Liberal Arts education were expanded and dance as a discipline of study was generally integrated within the core of the college curriculum. The study concludes that acceptance and advancement of dance as a discipline of study within Liberal Arts education is dependent upon the articulation of a vision for dance that reflects the mission and goals established for Liberal Arts education in general and school-specific education in particular.