A new undergraduate program in Performing Arts
The LAU Department of Communication Arts is expanding its offerings to include a new multidisciplinary degree with a focus on dance, music and theater.
Fall 2014 major music production “Pachamama”.
A scene from student production “A Matter of Husbands”.
As of next fall, the LAU Department of Communication Arts will be launching a new B.A. in Performing Arts, to be offered at both the Beirut and Byblos campuses.
The department has been offering programs in both theater and journalism since the 1960s, and introduced the Radio/TV/Film program in 1971. The establishment of the B.A. in Performing Arts is the culminating step in a long process of establishing separate, more specialized degrees.
The new B.A. will further strengthen the department’s reputation as a hub for artists and stage and screen performers who have gone on to launch successful careers. “Rima Khsheish and Ziad Ahmadieh are but two LAU graduates of many who have excelled in their field, making us very proud,” says Mona Knio, associate professor and acting chair of the Communication Arts department.
The degree in Performing Arts will cover the two artistic areas of dance and music through a plethora of classes that include, among others, Body in Performance, Creative Dramatics, Recording and Sound Reinforcement Techniques, and Introduction to Western Music Composition. “Our students will graduate as full performers, trained in areas across the artistic spectrum,” enthuses Knio.
The new program, says music professor Martín Sebastián Loyato, has no regional competition and stands out as a multidisciplinary degree taught in the English language. “While there are a number of drama programs as well as many conservatories offering music degrees, there are no programs that provide students with an overall understanding and appreciation of the performing arts and more focused knowledge of and expertise in one of the three areas - theatre, music or dance,” he explains.
The degree offers a rich blend of theoretical and practical courses and, says Knio, “excellent equipment and space to stage student productions and musical performances. They will not only gain knowledge of the area they choose to specialize in, but they will also become familiar with other aspects of the arts and schools of thought across cultures.”
With funding towards arts education suffering from major cuts not only in the region but all over the world, launching such a program is not without risk.
“We know that this B.A. will be a challenging task for LAU since we operate in a region that does not believe much in the arts as a vocation, but rather treats them as a hobby,” laments Loyato. “At LAU, though, we believe that a strong arts education gives individuals a distinctive means of expression, capturing their passions and emotions, and allowing them to explore new concepts, subject matters, and cultures.”
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