Mission Statement
The Performing Arts Department of Washington University, housed in the Division of the Humanities in Arts and Sciences, is dedicated to teaching the disciplines of theater and dance as a fundamental part of a liberal arts education based in a research university. We believe that the practice and study of theater, dance, and performance provide crucial interpretive windows into history and culture and that they deepen our understanding of diverse human experience across time and around the globe. We believe that both rigorous critical study of these cultural forms and disciplined aesthetic practice provide vital modes of inquiry that advance knowledge.





