A Critical Analysis of Attitudes of Tanzanian Students towards Dance Courses
Daines Nicodem Sanga

Abstract
This study explores the attitudes of students towards dance courses. The study was carried out with 25 students from the Department of Creative Arts, University of Dar es Salaam. Out of 25, 7 were foreign students.1 The major criterion for selecting foreign students was that of being a student in the dance class. Tanzanian students pursuing a bachelor degree in theatre, music, film and television studies, whether or not studying dance, were involved as informants. Students pursuing a Bachelor in Art and Design were not selected to take part in the study except for those who took dance courses.2 To triangulate the information provided by the students, conversations took place with a small number of theatre/film professionals at the University of Dar es Salaam.3 The study is mainly qualitative in nature, employing focus group discussion, observation and in-depth interviews to collect data. In this study I argue that students being or not being in favour of dance courses is expedited by a multiplicity of factors, ranging from students’ evaluation of themselves toward the course, the influence of significant others, colonial influences and theatrical infrastructure to the manner by which the course was structured.

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