BFA at Dominican
AboutAlonzo King LINES Ballet | BFA at Dominican University
Our unique four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program combines the acclaimed training and philosophy of LINES Ballet with Dominican’s comprehensive liberal arts education and social values. We offer serious students an unequaled opportunity to discover themselves as artists and as human beings—and to gain an excellent artistic and academic education along the way.
Student dancers experience classes on both the beautiful Dominican campus in San Rafael, California, and in San Francisco at the spacious studios of Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Our dance curriculum emphasizes ballet (Western classical dance) as its foundational language, complemented by extensive training in modern and other dance forms. With our direct relationship to Alonzo King, we offer students special access to the process, environment, and philosophy of one of today’s foremost choreographers.
CONTACT
Marina Hotchkiss
[email protected]
Program Director
Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA at Dominican University
415.863.3040 x281
2025 SUBMISSION DATES
Accepting in-person as well as video auditions
LifeLINES Winter Intensive
December 14–15, 2024
Enliven your holiday season and submerge into our transformative approach of training during this two-day intensive. Work directly with LINES’ master teachers and guest artists through deep dives into movement exploration and dialogue. LifeLINES | Winter Intensive is also offered as a part of our 2025 Summer Program and BFA audition processes.LINES Day
January 12, 2025 at 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Experience LINES Ballet's transformative approach to training during this one-day intensive. Work directly with former or current LINES Ballet Company members. LINES Day is also offered as a part of our 2025 Summer Program and BFA audition processes.San Francisco BFA Audition
March 1, 2025 at 11:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Join us in San Francisco to audition for LINES Ballet's BFA Program at Dominican University of California!Dominican University of California
About Dominican University of California
Dominican educates and prepares students to be ethical leaders and socially responsible global citizens who incorporate the Dominican values of study, reflection, community and service into their lives. The University is committed to diversity, sustainability and the integration of the liberal arts, the sciences, and professional programs. For complete information on the university, please visit Dominican’s website.
The Dominican Experience
Every Dominican Student works with an integrative coach and a network of mentors all four years. Each individual engages with the community through service learning, internships, fieldwork, or community-based research. BFA students have the opportunity to engage in dance outreach initiatives through DU and our partner organization, JUNTOS Collective. Upon graduation, each student will have crafted a signature choreographic work and an accompanying digital portfolio.
One of the wonderful benefits of art study is that you develop intuition. Intuition is that knowing which doesn’t rely on inference and doesn’t need validation. It just knows.
Achievements of the BFA
We are very proud to see the achievements, awards, and milestones of students and alumni since the founding of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA at Dominican University of California.
Film
In the summer of 2020, the Class of 2020 participated in a 24-hour livestream event benefiting Doctors Without Borders called the NITE 24 Hour Global Art Carousel. They created a work expressing their experiences with the Black Lives Matter movement. Read interviews with alumni Alesandra Harper and Marie Finley on our blog.
READ
Scholarships
Princess Grace Foundation scholarship recipients have included Lani Dickinson (’16), Katie Scherman (’10), and Jeffrey Van Sciver (’13). Jeffrey Van Sciver was also awarded the Princess Grace Foundation’s Chris Hellman Award. Dizzy Feet Foundation scholarship recipients include: Tatiana Barber (’16), Charbel Rohayem (’16), William Couture (’15), Madeline Matuska (’15), Mary Kate O’Sullivan (’14), Rachel Furst (’13), and Jeffrey Van Sciver (’13).
Other Achievements
In 2020, Dominican University of California was named the nation’s most transformative four-year university by the American Council on Education (ACE). Learn more.
In 2015, LINES BFA at Dominican was listed in The Ten Best Colleges for Dance Performance in the US.
In 2014, BFA alum Casey Thorne (’10) was awarded a Fulbright Student Fellowship to research dance in Israel.
In 2013, BFA alum and current LINES company member, Michael Montgomery (’11), was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch”.
In 2011, our students were invited to attend the Tremplin Jeunes Ballets of the Monaco Dance Forum, a highly prestigious showcase attended by international directors of contemporary and classical ballet companies.
Our graduates have been offered positions in dance companies around the world, including:
- Alonzo King LINES Ballet
- Oakland Ballet
- AXIS Dance Company
- BodyTraffic
- Club Guy and Roni (Holland)
- Compagnia Zappala Danza (Italy)
- Donlon Dance (Germany)
- Flock
- Gibney Dance
- DanceWorks Chicago
- dawsondancesf
- Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
- Metropolitan Opera (Porgy and Bess)
- Northwest Dance Project
- ODC/Dance
- Philadanco 2
- Robert Moses’ KIN
- Sean Dorsey Dance
- SF Opera
- Staats Oper Saarbruchen
- State Street Ballet
- tinypistol
- TU Dance
- Visceral Dance Chicago
- Wonderbound
- Amongst Others
They have been accepted into prestigious education programs:
- Claremont Graduate University, Arts Management Program
- Mills College, MFA in Dance Program
- New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, MFA Concentration in Dance and New Media
- London Contemporary Dance School
- Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, MSc Dance Science Program
- University of California, Berkeley School of Law
- University of Oregon, MFA in Dance Program
And they have gone on to choreograph works for various organizations including:
- Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA at Dominican University of California
- Bridge Project Creative Residency at Velocity Dance Center
- Cornish Arts Incubator Residency
- DanceWorks Chicago
- Seattle International Dance Festival
- Seattle Art Museum
- Western Dance Project of Western Michigan University
I gravitated to the BFA Program at Dominican because the philosophies that they stood for were ones that I did too—the idea of endless service to our art and passion. I also loved that they believe in the sense of family—not just among classes, but as an entire organization. I wanted to be somewhere where I felt I could let my spirit soar and explore without limits.
Michael Montgomery
Class of 2011, LINES Ballet company dancer