Department of Visual and Performing Arts

Art history is a program of study in the humanities that teaches the essential skills of critical analysis, research and communication by examining the social context in which art was historically — and continues to be — created.

At SLU-Madrid, our art history faculty specialize in a variety of areas of expertise, ranging from ancient Greece to modern and contemporary art in Europe and the Americas. The department offers the full range and diversity of courses for students to complete Saint Louis University's major or minor in art history.

Madrid, of course, is an unparalleled resource for studying Spanish and Western art. As Madrid is one of the art capitals of Europe, our courses place students before the masterpieces they are studying in class.

Other features of our program include:

• Courses integrating museum visits and all that Madrid offers including outside-class activities, guest lectures, events, visits and exhibitions.
• Small classes allow faculty to have a lot of contact with students.
• Visits to private collections that are inaccessible to the general public.
• Internship opportunities in museums both in Spain and the United States.

For more information about art history at SLU-Madrid, contact Fabiola Martínez, Ph.D., program coordinator, at fabiola.martinez.1@slu.edu. 

Students celebrate the body and its movement, learning and performing the rich Latin and Spanish dance genres at SLU-Madrid. The Latin dance and Flamenco classes we offer focus on basic movement, choreography and performance.

Latin dance is the collective name given to all the dances that come from the Caribbean: salsa cubana, salsa en línea, bachata, merengue, cha cha chá, cumbia and bolero. SLU-Madrid also offers Argentine tango, even though it is generally considered more of a ballroom style than a Latin dance.

Flamenco is a centuries-old expression of Spanish popular culture that came from blending Andalusian folk dancing with choreographic elements from the Roma community that settled in the south of Spain. It is characterized by the rhythmic integration of the dancer as a member of the ensemble — think a sort of a percussionist — with the music.

Like other cultural and artistic expressions, Flamenco has been transformed and revitalized by the influences of jazz and pop music. It has also renewed its means of expression by adopting elements from contemporary dance styles.

For more information about dance at SLU-Madrid, contact Fabiola Martínez, Ph.D., program director, at fabiola.martinez.1@slu.edu. 

Our music program offers music history and theory courses for majors and non-majors, as well as instrumental lessons in guitar, piano and voice for credit. Instrumental and voice lessons are offered at all levels, from complete beginners to aspiring professional musicians.

Saint Louis University offers a B.A. in Music that prepares students to enter graduate programs in music history or performance. Graduates have also gone directly into the job market in music management, arts education and church music.

At SLU-Madrid, you'll have the chance to join our concert choir, which performs music from a variety of time periods, countries and styles, with a special emphasis on Spanish choral music. No previous musical study or choral experience is required.

Every semester, the department invites guest speakers to lecture and perform for its music students, who have the unique opportunity of listening to and meeting professional musicians. Some people who have performed in recent semesters include classical guitarist Adam Levin, composer Agustín Castilla-Ávila, and theorbo player Jorgen Skogmo. Music faculty members also perform frequently for different music classes and at venues in Madrid and beyond.

For more information about music at SLU-Madrid, contact Alberto Bosco, Ph.D., music coordinator, at alberto.bosco@slu.edu.

As a studio art student at SLU-Madrid, you will explore the world around you through the visual arts within the context of a liberal arts education. Our students express their natural creativity via various artistic media in the newly renovated art studio in San Ignacio Hall. Each semester, we offer classes in drawing, design, painting, color theory and sculpture. Options for independent study are also available.

Like their counterparts in St. Louis, our studio art faculty provide a link for students to the exciting art community of Madrid. Faculty exhibit their work in galleries and museums, share their artistic endeavors in the classroom, and provide connections to other professional European artists.

For more information about studio art at SLU-Madrid, contact Fabiola Martínez, Ph.D., program director, at fabiola.martinez.1@slu.edu. 

In theatre, students work together as a theatrical company, fostering commitment to the group while strengthening individual abilities in performance, design, direction and management.

Each semester, SLU-Madrid's theatre program produces a live drama, with students involved both on-stage and backstage. These productions will challenge you to consider diverse values, viewpoints and expressions of the creative imagination while allowing you to learn and practice theatre protocol and craft in a collaborative atmosphere.

Apart from production, our acting courses impart skills that are also useful in non-theatrical settings such as law, training, sales, promotion, marketing and other fields where presentation skills are paramount. Our playscript analysis course teaches you how to read a play and see all its theatrical possibilities on the stage of your imagination.

For more information about SLU-Madrid productions and theatre courses, contact Eloy Gómez at eloy.gomez@slu.edu.

SLU-Madrid Theatre Productions

Students in SLU-Madrid's theatre program produce a live drama each semester, managing all aspects of production including acting, directing, design and management. 

Past Productions

• Sonnets For An Old Century, Fall 2023
• Silent Sky, Spring 2023
• The Women of Lockerbie, Fall 2022
• The Servant of Two Masters, Spring 2022
• My Name Is Rachel Corrie, Fall 2021
• Spoon River, Spring 2021
  Audio Production during COVID-19 restrictions
• With Friends Like These, Fall 2020
  Video Production during COVID-19 restrictions (student-written Zoom production)
• It's the Weird Sisters Show, Fall 2020
  Audio Production during COVID-19 restrictions
• Antigone, Fall 2019
• The Misanthrope, Spring 2019
• Love, Loss and What I Wore, Fall 2018
• Love and Information, Spring 2018
• Taming of the Shrew, Fall 2017
• Max, Spring 2017
• Proof, Fall 2016
• Love me(e), Spring 2016
• Lance and Lana, Fall 2015
• Dead Man's Cell Phone, Spring 2015
• Wings, Fall 2014
• The Art of Dining, Spring 2014
• The Winter's Tale, Fall 2013
• Everyman/Everyone, Spring 2013
• Tartuffe, Fall 2012
• El lugar donde mueren los mamíferos, Spring 2012
• The Cherry Orchard, Fall 2011
• The Millennials, Spring 2011
• The Dining Room, Fall 2010
• Spoon River, Spring 2010
• Quintet, Fall 2009
• Picnic + Guernica, Spring 2009
• Rumors, Fall 2008
• Star Quality, Spring 2008
• Twelfth Night, Fall 2007
• La Prima Fernanda, Spring 2007
• Goodnight Desdemona, Fall 2006
• Lysistrata, Fall 2005
• Bodas de Sangre, Spring 2005
• Hedda Gabler, Fall 2003