I looked at the list too and you’re right, not many schools listed thus far and even fewer auditioning. Interesting. It’s hard to make plans if they wait too long to post a final list.
My daughter is a rising sophomore at Rutgers. I know that they had a much larger class matriculate last year than anticipated. Perhaps they don’t have as much control when accepting from the Dancewave event?
I know that there were 4 BFA students accepted in to the Honors College ( of 500 spread across the entire freshman class) My daughter was 1 and all of them auditioned directly with the school/program. These students also received large merit scholarships.
Dance wave looks like a great option, but I’m not certain if I would avoid auditioning with the actual programs. It is an interesting decision.
I completely agree with you, amom2girls. My daughter attended Dancewave, but it was no substitute for actual auditions at the campuses of colleges in which she was interested. As I stated in my older post, it was a great way to be exposed to the colleges, learn about the various programs, and participate in a college audition in preparation for future auditions. I would encourage all parents and dancers on this site to attend auditions held on the campuses of the schools in which they are interested or attend the satellite auditions held in other cities that are specifically run by those schools (if you can’t make it to the campus).
@shanniebannie We had meant to go during her junior year but rehearsals got in the way. Then, in her senior year, it was difficult to schedule along with audition weekends.
We would have used it as you described. I could see it being very informational.
OP, my D is a BA at Ohio University. She lives with 2 BFA’s. For modern/contemporary dance and choreography I think she finds it a good program. Less so for ballet. They offer courses but no pointe classes. She chose OU because of it’s strength in the field she wishes go into which is Physical Therapy. They have a training facility for all of the arts students (the SHAPe Clinic) where they can get the same kind of treatment other athletes get. My D has both used it and volunteered there. The university itself is a quintessential college campus with a lively college feel. Good luck.
So, My son is in the middle of the process of applying to schools. He is looking for a more contemporary and choreography based program, with the understanding that ballet will also be a part of the program. He’s also interest in school that allow for double major, or at the very least minor, in business. Goal is to one day open his own dance studio.
He is looking at the following schools but if there are others we should look into that meet what he is looking for please feel to let us know.
NYU
UCLA
UCI
Chapman
Fordham
UCSD (San Diego)
Indiana
USC
Uni. of Arizona
Oklahoma City University
Not sure that conservatories are the way to go but really need more information. Any ideas or help are greatly appreciated.
Is there anything like Dancewave out here on the left coast? Dancewave seems like an amazing opportunity to get exposure but for those of us who are already shelling out major money for our kids to compete for their different studios this added expense of flying across the country is a bit much!
@NevrMynd51 Do you mean UCSB rather than UCSD? The UCSB program is quite strong (perhaps not as strong as UCI though). Oklahoma is worth considering instead of or in addition to OCU, though like Utah (and I think Indiana) you have to choose either ballet or modern as the primary focus.
Also have a look at UT Austin if your S has the stats for UCLA, they may have some merit for academically strong fine arts students.
Michigan is another possibility if that would work with your budget. Though unless money is no object, I would find it hard to justify being full pay at a $60K-$70K school for dance, when there are many strong dance programs that are far cheaper (including the UCs if you are instate). We found many options for less than $40K per year (some much less than that). Boys in particular are likely to attract plenty of interest (and potentially merit money).
@Twoin18 Thanks for responding first of all! We had looked into UC San Diego as they had a pretty good dance program (definitely not as good as UCI). Hadn’t really heard too much about UCSB but will look into that for sure. OCU was a stretch school, meaning my S was looking at schools and kinda liked what they had going on (mind you no campus visit). Didn’t think Oklahoma had a good dance program but major college so why wouldn’t they! He ruled out Texas schools because he said it was way too hot!
@Twoin18 Have friends that go to Michigan and are in the Dance program there and have said that it is a good but not great program. Said that my S should focus on UCLA, UCI, NYU, Fordham and even suggested Indiana because of their contemporary focused program. He is a talented dancer but hasn’t been doing it for long, so the classical/traditional programs and conservatories would probably not be too interested in him. Julliard said that they wanted 6 years of classical ballet, which he doesn’t have that. I would post a link to youtube video of him but not sure that is allowed.
Oklahoma definitely has a good dance program. It’s very small so in part that adds to the selectivity, but it’s definitely a quality program as far as the ballet major is concerned. I don’t know much about the modern major there.
A question for the board… Has anyone heard any news, either good or bad, about the Dance program at Northwestern University or the Commercial Dance major offered at Pace? My DS was looking at these schools as well!
NYU and Fordham might be difficult to double major, but be certain to really ask at his audition. One school not on your list is VCU (Virginia Commonwealth). My daughter ruled it out because there was a concentration in choreography. Definitely contemporary, however, I cannot remember how much ballet is on the schedule.
I can’t find the page now, but there was a sample BFA schedule at one point for VCU that showed ballet and modern each 4x/week.
Thank you guys for replying. How are the kids liking their choices?
Does anyone have opinion about Peabody? My D is applying for NYU Tisch ED, but Peabody, UCI, Julliard deadlines for RD come before NYU ED decision. I have been researching dance programs and Peabody is the one that I don’t know much about.
D’s friend is a sophomore at Peabody and is enjoying it. This is only the second year of the dance program. She chose it over Fordham/Ailey, partly because it is a JHU degree and she wanted to double major. It has a mostly contemporary focus, plenty of performance opportunities and apparently even some merit aid (though supposedly not if you double major).
However note that the location is less than ideal since it is separated from the main campus, and it is quite tricky to double major (they are pretty explicit that you should expect to take 5 years, and you can’t simply do all the dance and then devote yourself to academic courses in the fifth year).
@Twoin18 Thank you for the helpful information! I was wondering the reasons for the lack of information about the program. Now it makes perfect sense.
My D also wants to double major in Dance and East Asian Studies ( that is the reason why we removed Fordham/Ailey and other dance programs from her list. Julliard is still in her list because IT IS Julliard and she likes the director of the program). I understand pursuing double major would add extra year+ for completion. In fact, NYU suggested not to start the second major until the first year is over, and prepare to spend an extra year(s) to complete the degree.
@dancemom2024 You might take a look at Utah, which I’d consider a stronger dance program than UCI (so long as you are prepared to choose either ballet or modern).
They have an Asian studies major (https://advising.utah.edu/majors/quick-look/asian-studies.php) and even a summer dance intensive in Korea (https://www.dance.utah.edu/ibsi) which you can couple with study abroad on their campus there (and even get Utah residency while studying there). It’s also more feasible to complete a double major in 4 years (see the discussion here http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/dance-major/2105606-double-majoring-with-a-dance-bfa.html)
Twoin18 Utah will be better fit than UCI! Thank you for suggesting Utah. My D wants to study Japanese culture, and Utah has BA in Japanese.