Dance
Become part of the future of Australian dance. Prepare for a creatively and technically challenging career. Learn skills in contemporary and classical dance, across performance and choreography.
Victorian College of the Arts (VCA)
Director's welcome
At the Victorian College of the Arts, we are committed to providing a deep and transformative learning experience in pursuit of artistic excellence and innovation. As part of the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, we offer an absorbing, atelier-based education that fosters critical confidence and creative risk-taking.
In choosing to study with us, you will be welcomed by a community of practicing artists and writers, choreographers, musicians, designers, performers, actors, filmmakers, dancers and many more, all committed to the production of new work and the belief in the power of the artistic mind to effect change.
Director, Victorian College of the Arts
Whether you are primarily studying visual art, film and television, the performing arts, or one of the many specialisations within those areas, we encourage you to explore and experiment with other disciplines. For all of our undergraduate, graduate or short-course programs, we place a premium on the development of skill and facility.
The VCA is situated in the heart of Melbourne's Arts Precinct alongside a wealth of leading arts organisations. We are co-located on the University of Melbourne's Southbank campus with our valued colleagues and peers from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, on land occupied by more than 1,000 generations of Australia’s first peoples.
We encourage an atmosphere of trust and respect and a curiosity-driven approach to learning – one that values achievement, learns from failure and builds resilience for future challenges.
Wominjeka
Welcome to the traditional lands of the Kulin Nations, where we draw on the strength of more than 1,000 generations of arts practice.
We respectfully acknowledge the people of the Boonwurrung and the Woi Wurrung, who have danced their dances, sung their songs and lived their culture on this land for tens of thousands of years.
Our heritage
The Faculty was created in 2009 following the amalgamation of the University's Faculty of Music and Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts. It was renamed the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music in 2018 to reflect the primary undergraduate degree structures offered by the Faculty: the Bachelor of Fine Arts and the Bachelor of Music.
The Faculty is also home to the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development, which works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to identify, recruit and support potential and practicing Indigenous Artists to study and refine their academic and artistic skills.
The VCA was established in 1972 with the School of Art, which continued the lineage of the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, founded in 1867. This was followed by the creation of the School of Music in 1974, the School of Drama in 1976, the School of Dance in 1978 and Film and Television in 1992.
The VCA Today
The VCA brings together an extensive range of creative disciplines, including Dance, Film and Television, Music Theatre, Production, Theatre, Visual Art and Writing. It offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate study and research opportunities as well as short-course programs. The VCA is co-located with the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music on the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus in the heart of Melbourne’s Arts Precinct.
Our Discipline Areas
Design and Production
Train to become a world-class production designer, technician or manager by specialisng in technical production or design fields. Prepare for work in live performance, events, or film and television.
Film and Television
Explore animation, screenwriting, direction and editing. Collaborate on an industry-standard short film. Develop critical analysis and apply it to your work as a cinematographer, director or editor. Engage with the broader history of screen culture.
Indigenous Arts and Culture
Study with the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development. Through independent research, develop advanced skills in Indigenous arts and culture. Explore performance, writing, film, video or multimedia.
Music Theatre
Build on your talent to become an industry-ready, professional performer. Train in singing, acting and dancing, both individually and in combination. Develop your sense of individual expression through public performance.
Theatre
Strengthen your performance and devising skills. Explore acting, devising, writing, dramaturgy and staging, with intensive, project-based learning. Enjoy and be challenged by collaborative practice on national and international productions.
Visual Art
Immerse yourself in studio-based practice. Experiment with concepts, materials, techniques and processes. Prepare for a career as a visual artist, or in a related field, like art curation, preserving artwork or design.
Writing
Adopt an audience-driven perspective. Write for formats including film, television, gaming and online. Learn to interpret and apply critical analysis. Collaborate with peers to bring productions to life.