The Theatre & Dance Department is proud to house CU Boulder’s interdisciplinary certificate in Hip-Hop Studies. This consolidated certificate program for matriculated undergraduate and graduate students is designed to expose students to the richness, complexity, and vitality of hip-hop as theory and practice.

The graduate and undergraduate certificates in Hip-Hop Studies are designed to be enriching, interdisciplinary supplements to other areas of study. They provide a broad base, which can serve as an entry point to more focused study and practice. While offering rich and rewarding experiences, these certificates are not a professional endorsement of the student’s skills. Rather, they develop students’ appreciation and respect for one of the most important American cultural forms to have emerged in the last half-century.

Undergraduate Certificate

The undergraduate certificate in Hip-Hop Studies is designed to emphasize both the theory and practice of hip-hop. Classes immerse students in the culture of hip-hop and develop the critical thinking skills and theoretical context required for understanding hip-hop's socio-historical development and political efficacy.

All currently matriculated undergraduate students at CU Boulder are eligible for admission to the certificate program. Students must submit a one-page statement of intent to formally enroll.

To earn this certificate, students must complete a total of 18 undergraduate credit hours comprised of both practice-based movement courses and writing/research-based theory courses. Students must complete a total of 8 credit hours in both the required core theory courses as well as a movement course option as listed below. Students select the remaining 10 credits from an array of pre-approved courses offered on a regular basis in the departments of Theatre & Dance, History, Sociology, Ethnic Studies and English. Additionally, nine of the certificate’s 18 credits must be awarded in upper-division courses and no more than nine can come from any one department. Students may petition to have special topics courses in these and other departments approved by their hip-hop studies advisor. To earn the certificate, students must earn above a grade of C- in each course and meet the undergraduate school’s overall GPA requirement.

Please find the list of course offerings and certificate requirements for undergraduate students in the CU Catalog.

Graduate Certificate

This consolidated certificate program for matriculated graduate students is designed to expose students to the richness, complexity and vitality of hip-hop in theory and practice. The certificate’s community-based practicum ensures the students in the certificate will know hip-hop as a lived culture, not merely an object to be consumed inside the halls of academia.

All currently matriculated graduate students at CU Boulder are eligible for admission to the certificate program. Students must submit a Statement of Interest which will be reviewed and approved by the Hip-Hop Studies Directors, Rennie Harris and Larry Southall.

To obtain this certificate, students will be required to complete eleven graduate-level credit hours:
  •     Two movement-based courses (4 credits)
  •     One community-based practicum (1 credit)
  •     Two elective courses that develop the critical thinking skills required for understanding Hip-hop's impact and socio-historical development (6 credits)

This broad menu of options, which upholds both theoretical engagement and embodied practice with equal importance, will equip students with the skills necessary to engage with hip-hop as praxis.

Courses will be offered on a regular basis in the departments of Theatre & Dance, Ethnic Studies and English. Additionally, other departments may offer courses that are relevant to the certificate. Students may petition to have these and other Special Topics courses approved by their Hip-Hop Studies advisor.

In order to earn the certificate, students must earn a grade of B in each course and meet the graduate school’s overall GPA requirement.

Please find the list of course offerings and certificate requirements for undergraduate students in the CU Catalog.

Forms

To obtain the undergraduate certificate in Hip-hop Studies, students must first submit a Statement of Interest Form which will be reviewed and approved by the Hip-hop Studies Directors, Rennie Harris and Larry Southall. The directors will notify students of acceptance.

To obtain the graduate certificate in Hip-hop Studies, students must first submit a Statement of Interest Form which will be reviewed and approved by the Hip-hop Studies Directors, Rennie Harris and Larry Southall. The directors will notify students of acceptance.

Students may petition their Hip-hop Studies advisor to have additional courses approved on a case-by-case basis. To request a course substitution, submit a Course Substitution Request Form for the upcoming semester by the last day of classes. Note: if this is a course you have taken already, you will need to submit the course syllabus.

Upon completion of the Hip-hop Studies Certificate coursework, please submit an Undergraduate Certificate Completion Form for review 

Upon completion of the Hip-hop Studies Certificate coursework, please submit a Graduate Certificate Completion Form for review.

Hip-Hop Studies Certificate Faculty & Staff

Larry

Larry Southall was born in the Bronx, NY where he began dancing hip-hop forms in the early eighties. He received an MFA from the University of Colorado Boulder. He has worked with many companies including Boulder Ballet, Harambee African Dance Ensemble, Blue Moon, Motion Underground, Longmont Symphony and Dance Theatre, and Steamboat Springs Dance Theatre. Larry has worked as a master teacher at Dance Place in Washington, D.C., at Slippery Rock University and for the American College Dance Festival. He has choreographed for the Native Tongue Dance Theatre, Skeleton Dance Project, the Black College Dance Exchange and the “Legacies” concert of the American College Dance Festival in Boulder. Larry teaches traditional hip-hop and is an established and well respected teacher. He currently teaches hip-hop at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Longmont Dance Theatre, and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School.

Rennie

Lorenzo (Rennie) Harris, Artistic Director and Choreographer, celebrates hip-hop culture on his own terms by using some of the world’s most influential forms of movement, music, and storytelling to revolutionize contemporary concert dance. Born and raised in North Philadelphia, Harris has been teaching workshops and classes at universities around the country and is a powerful spokesperson for the significance of “street” origins in any dance style. The mark of Harris’ career began as a performer and choreographer through performing for crowds at clubs, parties and within his community with his first company, the Scanner Boys in the 1980s (a hip hop performance group of which Harris was a founding member). According to Harris, he didn’t become a part of the “legitimate” dance community until 1992, when he was invited to participate in the Susan Hess Choreographer’s Project. In 1992 Harris founded Rennie Harris Puremovement, a hip-hop dance company dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop culture through workshops, classes, hip-hop history lecture demonstrations, long term residencies, mentoring programs and public performances. Harris founded his company based on the belief that hip hop is the most important original expression of a new generation. With its roots in the inner-city African-American and Latino communities, hip hop can be characterized as a contemporary indigenous form, one that expresses universal themes that extend beyond racial, religious, and economic boundaries, and one that (because of its pan-racial and transnational popularity) can help bridge these divisions. Harris’ work encompasses the diverse and rich African-American traditions of the past, while simultaneously presenting the voice of a new generation through its ever-evolving interpretations of dance. Harris is committed to providing audiences with a sincere view of the essence and spirit of hip hop rather than the commercially exploited stereotypes portrayed by the media. As Harris develops as a choreographer, he continues to profoundly influence the field of contemporary dance. Harris shows us the integral connections between body movements through the philosophy inherent in the company’s name, “Puremovement of mind, body, and soul.” Since establishing the company 15 years ago, Rennie Harris has continually demonstrated his outstanding talent for utilizing his distinctive and compelling contributions to dance vocabulary based on his personal choreographic vision. At the age of 43 Mr. Harris is at the top of the hip hop heap.

Pep

Patricia Paige (a.k.a. "pep") has worked at CU since 2002 and prefers she/they pronouns. Because of her initials, penchant for "pep talks" and laziness for typing her own name, she has accrued the nickname "pep". You can call her Patricia or pep, whichever feels more comfortable. Patricia started at CU as the Administrative Assistant/Receptionist for the Department of Spanish & Portuguese, then became an Accounting Technician for the Old Main Financial Service Center, followed by the Program Assistant for the Department of Comparative Literature and Humanities. When those two disciplines split into separate programs in 2009 she became the Program Assistant for the Comparative Literature Graduate Program. pep transferred to the Department of Theatre & Dance in 2015 and is thrilled to continue working with graduate students and this amazing faculty. pep loves theatre, she loves dance, she loves creative folx, she couldn't be happier in this awesome community of schol-ar-tists. She also loves animals, books, music, washi tape and colored pens, rain and snow. pep has a BA in Literature from Yale University (but you would never guess).

Ondine

Originally from Memphis, TN, Ondine Geary has been part of the CU Boulder community as student, staff and lecturer since 2013. She has her MFA in Dance from CU Boulder and has taught a range of courses for the University. She is currently the Production, Outreach & Engagement Liaison for Theatre & Dance, as well as the Executive Director for ATLAS’ B2 Center for Media, Art & Performance. Ondine is also an active artist and performer who eagerly collaborates across disciplines.

Need more answers or information?

Please contact the Theatre & Dance department's Graduate Program Assistant.