Dance PhD

Why choose this course

Surrey provides postgraduate researchers in dance with a supportive and collegiate research experience within our conservatoire, the Guildford School of Acting (GSA).

Our staff are internationally known for the quality and significance of their research, which includes undertaking leading roles within national and international research organisations. All of our potential PhD supervisors regularly publish and present challenging work – an ethos that we would encourage you, as a prospective postgraduate researcher, to share with us.

We have research strengths in a range of diverse areas including, kinaesthetic empathy, screen dance, dance scenography, and dance and movement philosophies.

You will benefit from first-class conservatoire facilities including a 200-seat theatre, 15 rehearsal-studios, six performance-studios, an art gallery, a design studio, digital media labs, and high-quality recording facilities. The University Library also hosts the long-standing and internationally renowned National Resource Centre for Dance.

We’re part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s TECHNE doctoral training partnership, which offers funding and a fully-formed training programme for academic, professional and early-career development.

What you will study

The research activity in GSA at Surrey includes access to our two research centres hosted within the school: Centre for Performance Philosophy and the Surrey Shakespeare Centre.

PhD researchers on all programmes in GSA can expect three levels of research training and support:

• University-level training provided by the Researcher Development Programme and the University Library, including a PhD induction, workshops on writing skills and preparation for the confirmation and viva. There is also an annual student-led University Postgraduate conference.
• School-level training is offered in the form of interdisciplinary seminars, visiting speaker events and conferences. This includes events supporting the Centre for Performance Philosophy and the Surrey Shakespeare Centre.
• PhD researchers also receive subject-specific feedback our biannual GSA PGR Symposium that allow you to share and develop ideas in a supportive environment.

Research themes

Selected areas of current staff research are outlined below, but supervision of other subjects may be accommodated – please enquire with the Director of Postgraduate Research:

• Contemporary dance and dance theatre
• Costume and costuming
• Dance on screen and new media
• Dance scenography
• Choreography
• Kinaesthesia, proprioception and kinaesthetic empathy
• Performance Philosophy, especially Deleuzian and phenomenological approaches
• Theories of space, place and performance.