About

From Alan MacVey 

Director, Division of Performing Arts

The Division of Performing Arts brings together students and faculty who have chosen to grow as artists, scholars and human beings, and it presents their work on stage to share with audiences.

What makes an artist? There are many answers, of course, but here's one: The ability to experience this particular  moment, that particular sight, these particular sounds, as if for the first time; the skill to transform those experiences so they can be shared by others, as a surprise, as if for the first time; the willingness to feel deeply, but not just feel, to understand that feeling in others; delight in the process of creating a new something; talent, hard work, patience, belief in yourself, and luck.

A large and vibrant component of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Division is composed of the School of Music and the departments of Theatre Arts and Dance. It is also the home of the Performing Arts Production Unit, which produces our public events, and ArtsShare, which brings our artists to schools and communities across the state of Iowa. It sponsors the Performing Arts Entrepreneurship Program, which involves students from all three arts disciplines, and is home to the Maia String Quartet.

Each year the Division presents more than 400 public performances. The Premier Season is composed of Symphony concerts and operas, Main Stage plays and musicals, and Dance Gala and Dancers in Company concerts. These productions are complemented by hundreds of events offered free of charge to University of Iowa students, and inexpensively to all patrons. We also present the Iowa Summer Repertory Theatre, Summer Dance, and Summer Opera.

The hallmark of the Division is the creation of new works of art. In Dance, some of America's finest choreographers, together with faculty and students, offer world premiers at every concert. Composers in the Center for New Music and throughout the School of Music perform cutting edge compositions for audiences. And for nearly two decades Theatre's Partnership in the Arts program has brought the country's most innovative theatre artists to campus to create new multi-disciplinary works.

If you're looking for a performance to see today, tonight or next week, click on our calendar for a list of wonderful events. If you're thinking of studying theatre, dance or music, follow the link to the department or school of your choice.