 |
| As this banner from Hartt's website shows, the school is all about music, dance, and theatre. |
Music, dance, theatre. These three words are closely associated with Hartt, so much so that they appear together on virtually all of the school's promotional material. And yet, there seems to be very little interaction between these areas -- in fact, they are called the Music, Dance, and Theatre Divisions. While there is certainly music involved in the dance programs, and movement incorporated into staging a theatrical production, each division, for the most part, operates independently.
But there is some overlap. There is a course offered each fall in the composition department that is all about writing music for theatrical productions. But not only is it a study of the process, but each student (as I did last year when I took the course) writes the music for one of the Theatre Division's productions. Last year there was also a collaboration between music and dance, when Hartt composers wrote music for the senior dance recital that was performed live by Hartt musicians. But these are exceptions, which is strange because these collaborations are often (if not always) rewarding and successful.
