Dance History
A Short and Possibly Inaccurate History of the Dance Program at SHSU
by Dr. Mary Ella Montague
- Prior to 1945, all dance courses were taught in the Department of Physical Education for Women, which amounted to a few folk dance classes.
- In 1945, Dr. Mary Ella Montague was hired to teach dance. Three classes in modern dance were “bootlegged,” and as the years passed, the program grew as subsequent course additions were made.
- By 1950, there were enough dance courses listed officially to create a “load” for a full-time teacher. Dr. Montague began to add theory courses as dance electives.
- In 1960, a second dance faculty position was added. Intermediate and advanced technique classes were then offered.
Later, Dr. Montague petitioned for graduate courses as an area of concentration within the Master of Arts in Physical Education degree.
This strengthened the undergraduate curriculum and encouraged some alumni to return to SHSU for further work at the graduate level. The dance faculty were then able to employ graduate fellows to teach some of the service classes. Two full-time staff began to concentrate on advanced technique and theory classes.
At first, Sam Houston State University dance graduates were employed by public schools primarily to handle drill teams, but later were permitted to teach pure dance units.
Soon, a third faculty member was added to the dance faculty to teach ballet and lab notation.
- About 1968, the dance faculty petitioned for and received permission to offer a dance minor that led to teaching certification.
- In the early 1970’s, dance became a separate department with a dance major and minor and was moved to the College of Fine Arts. Three degrees were petitioned - a BFA, BA and BAT, and the program continued to offer an area of dance concentration in Physical Education at the graduate level. The dance program also retained service classes that could meet either the Physical Education or Fine Arts graduation requirement.
- Upon Dr. Montague’s retirement in 1984, there were 3 full-time dance faculty and 8 graduate teaching fellows with about 50 undergraduate majors. There were technique classes at intermediate and advanced levels in ballet and modern dance. Folk dance, country western, and tap dance were a part of the service curriculum. Theory classes included history and philosophy, composition, notation, aesthetics and musical theatre.