Top Online Resources for Pursuing A Performing Arts Degree

The term "performing arts" describes art forms including music, dance, and drama. Performing artists differ from artists, like painters or sculptors in terms of the medium of expression. Performing artists rely on their face, voice or body to communicate their art to the audience. The clothes and props on the stage may add to the experience, but the performers themselves are the most important element of the presentation.

Though the history of performing arts goes back to the time of Sophocles and the ancient Egyptian passion plays, the term "performing arts" was only introduced in the English language in 1711. The performing arts have inspired young performers for centuries and has created a shared experience from which the viewers and performers can learn and grow. Whether exploring the classic performing arts of drama in the middle ages, the Victorian era, or contemporary performing arts, performers and their audience can share in the unique experience and take away with them their own interpretation of a performance art piece. The following is resources are available for students to expand their knowledge of the preforming arts.

Music

Music is a popular segment of the performing arts. Music can be broadly categorized into three career paths, music education, musicology, and music performance. Music performance includes orchestra, band, and choir; and encompasses many genres including opera. Musicology covers music theories and the history of music. Music education is related to music training and music teachers. The students who enroll into the music segment of performing arts are introduced to the major theories of music, the history of music, music composition, and musicology. Other skills such as concentration and listening are also taught to aspiring musicians.

Drama

Drama is the genre of performing art that deals with histrionics. The actors and actresses are required to act out a certain story in front of an audience. Drama students are taught the intricacies of using speech, gestures, dance, and music in order to enact a particular story or sequence. A subcategory of dram, theatre can be in the form of opera, ballets, mime, illusion, classical dance, pantomime or even stand-up comedy. Other than the actors, drama also requires scriptwriters, sound engineers, light engineers, directors, and producers.

Dance

Dance is an art form that uses human movements for expression. It is usually accompanied with music and it is presented in a spiritual, social or performance setting. The art in which a dance performance is conceptualized and implemented is called choreography. There are various dance forms around the world. Some popular dance forms include folk dances, ballets, modern dances, and classical dance forms. Certain sports such as figure skating and synchronized swimming are sometimes considered dance forms.