Academics + Dance (Ballet)

College Majors Dance Major
1

<p>I said I would post our findings from my daughter's college search , in case it might be useful to others. So, while I remember, here goes.</p>

<p>She wanted a B.A. program, a liberal arts curriculum highly regarded for academics. But she also wanted (relatively) plentiful dance offerings, particularly ballet. Preferably with the possibility of a dance major or minor; some of these may just have courses, no major though. She previously decided against a BFA program.</p>

<p>She found that the desire for an excellent dance program, particularly with adequate ballet offerings, filtered out the vast majority of academically competitive colleges and universities.</p>

<p>These are the schools she ultimately planned to apply to:
Barnard
Skidmore
Connecticut College
George Washington U
Vassar </p>

<p>Others that might have qualified as well, but she did not investigate closely for other reasons (mostly location):
Duke
Muhlenberg
Smith
Mount Holyoke
SUNY Buffalo
U Michigan</p>

<p>The last two not sure how much can be taken outside of BFA.</p>

<p>Other schools she at least glanced at, may have been OK:</p>

<p>Cornell
Williams
Emory
Wake Forest
UC San Diego
Goucher
Hamilton
Northwestern
Trinity College (CT)</p>

<p>Columbia has dance offerings just like Barnard's. Because it IS Barnard’s.; Columbia doesn’t have a department itself.</p>

<p>The Claremont College consortium has some dance offerings, but not ballet so much.</p>

<p>Some CC posters have claimed, variously, that :Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown – had strong dance programs. We couldn’t find evidence of same, except maybe as extracurricular offerings. Princeton recently received a large donation for the arts, so maybe something good will happen there going forward. I made inquiry about this but got no response.</p>

2

<p>I understood that at Princeton, students take class at the Princeton Ballet.

[quote]
In addition to the daily classes offered by the Program in Theater and Dance, serious ballet students may choose to attend the Princeton Ballet School. This school, and its associated company, American Repertory Ballet, provides excellent professional instruction, is located close by and welcomes our students. Over the years, a few Princeton students have auditioned for and joined ARB's pre-professional track, which includes some public performances. Because the Princeton Ballet School and ARB Apprentice Company are separate entities form the Princeton Dance Program, please contact them directly for further information.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Princeton has mostly a modern/contemporary bent.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/%7Evisarts/danceinforev.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/~visarts/danceinforev.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>And I understood this to be extracurricular, not for credit. And certainly with no major.</p>

<p>It was not clear to me how this differed from going to any college and then attending some unrelated local ballet school after hours. It seemed like they were trying to imply some linkage with Princeton Ballet, but in fact she could attend Princeton Ballet after hours no matter where she went to college.</p>

<p>I may have missed something. But D looked independently of me and rejected.</p>

4

<p>You may well be correct; just adding the link in case someone else was interested. We didn't do that close of an examination into Princeton, since my d wanted to have jazz available, with no modern requirement. That left even fewer schools on her list, some of which are on your d's list as well.</p>

<p>Good luck to her, and you!</p>

5

<p>Likewise, FWIW mine is done, ED Barnard.</p>

6

<p>Congrats to you and your D! Mine refused to apply to Barnard - didn't do ED anywhere, so we're still waiting.</p>

7

<p>Hello, I'm a student at Wellesley College but I am in the Harvard Dance Program. I'd say that even though it is considered an extra ciricular (ie. no credit) it is very strong and they draw many teachers from Boston Ballet etc. Althought there is a nominal fee for students it's definately a lot cheaper than trying to take classes after hours and any dance school (ie. $70 per semester). I didn't end up applying to Barnard because I didn't like the city but I've heard their dance program is also awesome. Boston area schools are mostly pretty good for dance since ballet is very popular in Boston, most schools have on campus troups which may or may not be below your daughter's level of dancing. Unfortunately mine does not and that's why I dance at Harvard. Even if there's a school she likes that doesn't have great dance she may want to investigate acess to programs at other schools before spending cashe on a regular dance school.</p>

8

<p>Monydad, I am so glad your d is going to Barnard. She sounds a great deal like mine and I am sure she will be very happy there.</p>

<p>My d is now a nueroscience major and dance minor and loves it!</p>