The School of Music and Dance evolved from the Department of Dance, which was established in 2009. In December 2012, the Department of Dance's General Party Branch Committee was formed at Chengdu College of Sichuan Normal University, comprising three Party branches. Following institutional restructuring in March 2013, the department was reorganized into the School of Dance. Following the university's transformation in May 2015, the department was renamed the School of Music and Dance. In September 2025, the department adopted its current name.
The School comprises the following sections: the Office; the Teaching and Research Sections (International Standard Dance; Dance Performance; and Choreography Theory and Musicology); the Counselling Office; the Teaching Supervision Office; the Experimental and Practical Training Centre; the Party Committee (with one faculty Party branch and two student Party branches); the Trade Union Branch; and the Youth League Committee Branch. The college maintains 26 high-quality, high-standard laboratories and training facilities totalling 92 rooms and covering an area of 17,907 square metres. These include five basic laboratories, four specialised laboratories and 17 training venues. The facilities house 557 pieces of laboratory equipment, valued at 11,028,900 yuan. The college operates a library and resource centre, and all theoretical teaching is conducted in dedicated classrooms equipped with advanced information technology.
It offers three undergraduate programs: Dance Performance, Dance Studies and Music Studies. The faculty comprises 154 members, including 95 full-time instructors, 37 adjunct faculty members and four senior educators. Of these, 33 hold senior professional titles (33.3%) and 64 have master's or doctoral degrees (67.4%). 65 faculty members have both professional and teaching qualifications, accounting for 58% of the full-time faculty. The college currently has 3,153 students enrolled and has graduated a total of 7,037 students to date.
We promote the organic integration of teaching, research, and creative work. The school applied for the national 'Dance Hearts Toward the Party' model branch designation and submitted an application for the national model Party branch designation for its Party building work. We have established one provincial-level applied brand course and undertaken eight horizontal and 32 vertical research projects. We have also secured 11 patents and software authorizations, and published 189 academic papers and 21 monographs. We have received three third-prize awards for outstanding research achievements at university level.
We promote learning and reform through the medium of competitions. Representatives from our faculty and student body participated in the "International Culture and Arts Festival - Sydney Opera House Showcase." The collaborative production "Snowy Latin," a co-creation between our faculty, students, and Sichuan Normal University's ballroom dance program, was awarded the festival's top prize. Additionally, five original works received third prize in the Sichuan Provincial Education Department's professional competition, the 9th Sichuan School Student Art Performance Festival. The faculty work Distant Mountains Not Far won the Contemporary Dance Award (Gold Prize) at the 12th China Dance Lotus Awards. The modern dance ensemble piece Martial Way secured First Prize in the Group Dance Finals at the 98th Blackpool International Dance Festival in 2024.In 2025, the school garnered over 1,000 provincial and municipal-level awards in academic competitions, including First Prize at the Third Western Schools Music Week Exhibition and First Prize in the Sichuan Provincial Basic Skills Showcase for Music Education Faculty.
Adhering to the educational philosophy of "industry-education integration and collaborative talent development", the school has established off-campus practice platforms, diversified social service initiatives, and deepened industry-academia partnerships to advance its transformation into an applied-oriented institution. Over a thousand students have participated in dozens of social performances organized by provincial, municipal and district governments, as well as by enterprises.Notably, over 300 students performed alongside renowned figures such as Jackie Chan and Tan Weiwei at the opening ceremony of the 18th World Police and Fire Games. They have participated in over 20 stage productions, including the Chengdu Spring Festival Gala, Zhangjiajie's "Dayong Ancient City,"(《大庸古城》) Sanya Songcheng Performances, and Wang Chao's "Again, Dream of the Red Chamber" in Langfang, Hebei.They have also participated in over 10 major events, including the opening ceremony of the Chengdu International Horticultural Exposition, the opening and closing ceremonies of the 31st World University Games in Chengdu, and the opening ceremony of the 14th Sichuan Provincial Games. We are pleased to announce that faculty members have been selected to perform at a number of prestigious events. These include the CCTV Qixi Festival Gala, the large-scale historical epic "Great Journey" (《伟大征程》)celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China, and "The Moment of Return."(《回归时刻》)
The development of the Dance Performance, Dance Studies, and Musicology programs is focused on cultivating high-calibre applied talents. The school's disciplinary structure aligns with regional socioeconomic development. The institution has implemented a "Party and administrative leadership accountability system" for talent cultivation. It has also established separate teaching and research offices for each discipline, and formed seven specialized teams covering teaching, research, creation, master's programme application, practice, doctoral studies, and student affairs. The development of the three distinctive classes has been achieved through the implementation of a tiered and categorized approach. Teaching is a catalyst for reform, while research enhances teaching practices and creation drives innovation.We have established artistic practice platforms tailored to the unique characteristics of each discipline. Through regional market research and alignment with the school's talent development objectives, a feasible professional training system has been formulated.
The Dance Performance programme is firmly rooted in the rich cultural traditions of Sichuan and Chongqing. It caters to the national cultural tourism and performing arts market, as well as to the needs of professional troupes. It closely aligns with the cultural service needs of core public cultural service regions and the development demands of the dance industry. Utilizing the "Tibetan, Qiang, and Yi Cultural IP Performance Movement Library" as its primary asset, it delivers standardized talent solutions for large-scale immersive live performances.Through collaborative "project-based workshops" with leading performance groups, it nurtures "core cultural tourism performers" who can swiftly assimilate into production teams, master specialized repertoire, and undertake grassroots management. These graduates develop personal artistic styles while participating in creative production, precisely matching Sichuan-Chongqing's demand for versatile applied talents capable of delivering high-quality performances that blend "distinctive ethnic heritage with modern aesthetics."
This program establishes a four-pronged training pathway integrating classroom practice, stage performance, digital empowerment, and competition enhancement. The objectives of this project are threefold: firstly, to establish a core training base for Sichuan-Chongqing cultural tourism performance talent; secondly, to set the standard for digital preservation of Southwest ethnic dance; and thirdly, to serve as a national-level incubator for high-skilled cultural tourism performance professionals.
The Dance Studies program serves Sichuan and extends its reach across Southwest China, precisely addressing regional gaps in arts education faculty, public cultural enhancement, and cultural tourism IP innovation. The program focuses on the practical transmission of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) dances within arts education and cultural tourism markets, establishing an "ICH Dance Educational Resource Transformation Platform." The use of the Bashu ICH Digital Resource Database and collaborative training platforms between universities and local governments accelerates the conversion of ICH dances into standardized curricula and consumer-grade cultural tourism products.
The program's practical curriculum, divided into three stages—"case study research—solution design—project implementation", fosters the development of versatile applied talents. These talents are capable of transforming intangible cultural heritage dances into school-based curricula, community aesthetic education activities, and cultural tourism IP experience projects. It aims to become a pivotal bridge connecting regional intangible cultural heritage dance transmission from "resources" to "classrooms" and "markets."
The Musicology program is headquartered in Sichuan and has a presence across Southwest China. The focus here is on the digital preservation and revitalization of musical intangible cultural heritage, with a particular emphasis on "digital collection techniques" and "immersive sound storytelling."The establishment of the "Music Intangible Heritage Digital Laboratory" is a key element of this strategy, aiming to nurture versatile applied talents proficient in digital music pedagogy. These talents will be capable of employing cutting-edge audio technology for field recording and database construction, and skilled in creating digital music experiences for cultural institutions and media organizations through "digital music curation."
The program is structured into three stages of progressive training: technical training, fieldwork, and creative dissemination. It collaborates with cultural heritage, education, and media institutions to implement project-based teaching. It is dedicated to filling the significant gap in digitally skilled professionals within music heritage preservation, positioning itself as a distinctive program serving the national strategy of cultural digitization.