The Department of Contemporary Dance has its origins in the hiring of Professor Elizabeth Langley as a Lecturer to teach a dance course in the Division of Performing Arts of the Faculty of Fine Arts in 1978.
1979-1980: Dance appears for the first time in the Division of Performing Arts in the Undergraduate Calendar.
May 29, 1979: The University Senate approves a B.F.A. Major in Modern Dance programme for 1980-1981. This was the first Canadian university dance programme geared to training choreographers.
April 1981: The Fine Arts Faculty Council approves that more funds should be made towards the appearance of the Major in Modern Dance in media publications since ‘the Dance area had no visibility within the proposed Faculty structure’.
March 25, 1988: Due to the growth in popularity of the program, the University Senate establishes Contemporary Dance as an Academic department within the Faculty of Fine Arts.
September 2009: The Contemporary Dance as well as Theatre department are moved from the Loyola Campus to their new facilities in the GM and MB buildings.