Dance · Illinois

Dance colleges in Illinois

CampusPin lists 116 U.S. colleges in Illinois that offer Dance programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Dance is the study and practice of moving the body as an expressive art form, suited to students who want to perform, choreograph, or teach across styles like ballet, modern, and jazz.

Schools in Illinois that offer Dance

Dance programs in Illinois: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 116 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

116

Public / private

21 / 29

Universities / 2-year

32 / 18

Cities represented

33

In-state tuition range

$3,180–$55,704

Median in-state tuition

$18,807

Lowest published in-state tuition

Elgin Community College

$3,180

Most selective

Chicago State University

41% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

Chamberlain University-Illinois

28,871 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Dance program

  • Ballet technique through barre and center work
  • Modern and contemporary movement vocabulary
  • Jazz alongside cultural and folk dance forms
  • Choreography and composition for solo and group work
  • Improvisation and partnering technique
  • Kinesiology, anatomy, and injury prevention for dancers
  • Dance history, theory, and performance criticism
  • Laban movement notation and movement analysis
  • Stagecraft, lighting, and concert production for live performance

Where a Dance degree can lead

  • Dancer
  • Choreographer
  • Dance Educator
  • Company Member
  • Dance Studio Director
  • Movement Coach

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 choreographers median $55,600).

A Dance major trains students to communicate ideas and emotion through trained, intentional movement while studying dance as both an art and a cultural practice. Students spend most of their time in the studio building technique across styles such as ballet, modern, jazz, and various folk and cultural forms, while also creating original work through choreography. Beyond the physical training, coursework covers dance history and criticism, kinesiology and injury prevention, music for dancers, and methods of recording movement on paper, including Laban notation. Many programs also teach the practical craft behind staged work, from lighting and stagecraft to rehearsal direction and production planning.

The credential is usually a bachelor's degree, offered either as a fine-arts degree weighted toward studio performance or as a more liberal-arts degree that blends dance with academic study; some students later pursue a master's for teaching at the college level. Programs are built around hands-on studio courses, faculty-directed rehearsals, and a culminating capstone such as a choreographed concert, a senior showcase, or a fully staged performance. Unlike performing-arts fields centered on acting or instrumental music, Dance is grounded specifically in the moving body as its medium and instrument. Graduates work as company members and freelance performers, choreographers, rehearsal directors, studio teachers, and movement coaches in settings such as professional companies, schools and conservatories, community studios, theaters, and arts organizations; teaching in public elementary and secondary schools generally requires a state teaching credential, which should be verified locally.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of choreographers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $55,600 and projects employment to grow about 6.1% from 2024 to 2034; a high school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Dance in other states

Other majors in Illinois

Find more Dance schools

Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 116+ Dance programs in Illinois by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

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