If you are a ballet dancer I’m sure you have heard of CPYB (Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet,) one of the most rigourous ballet schools in the country, but open to dancers of all levels. CPYB has drop-in classes for those who cannot commit to their full schedule. CPYB is literally on the edge of the Dickenson College campus…easy walking distance. I have no idea about Biomedical Engineering at Dickinson, though. It is very easy to get accurate information about CPYB by telephone (look on their website.)
I will amend my post, though, to say that there is next to no chance you could perform at CPYB (if performance is what you would like.) As is, their full-time students are vying for those spots. I know a 13-year-old there who is dancing 20-30 hours per week after school. Maybe Dickinson College itself has a performance group you could join, but any supplemental training you could get at CPYB would be of the highest caliber.
@cellomom2 thanks:)
I definitely will have some safety colleges, I just haven’t figured out which ones yet. About dance departments- I’m finding it quite hard to get any information on just how much non-majors can do, college websites don’t say much. Would the best option be to write to the places I am interested in, or maybe even visit?
@inthegarden, I have definitely heard of CPYB. But it never occurred to be me to look at Dickinson because of it’s proximity…sounds like a good option, though. I understand that performing at CPYB is basically not an option, but if Dickinson has a good performance group that should be alright. As long as I could take lessons at CPYB, it sounds good:)
Yes, absolutely! Send some emails to the heads of the dance departments and ask some questions. It’s not always easy to get that info from the website. Just as an example, I looked at the website for U Cincinnati and couldn’t find anything about non major participation. I had a friend who attended there a long time ago and was able to participate quite a bit as a non major. If you can visit that would be great, that would give you the best opportunity to see what the dance departments have to offer and would give you the opportunity to meet with someone to answer questions. Certainly start with emailing, you can get a lot of information and maybe focus your search.
@cellomom2, thanks, I will start emailing dance departments soon, then maybe shortlist some to visit:)
Something to check out when considering dance minors is the rigor of the program. Our D was in nearly your same situation except for her intended major. She visited Case Western and went to a dance class required for the minor. It was far too basic for her. She asked if they would audition so she could take more advanced classes and they said “no”. Though she liked the university it was a deal breaker for her and she never applied. I’m sure other schools handle it differently, however, don’t assume that you will be dancing at the level you’re accustomed to.
What is your goal with Biomedical Engineering? Is it to be a Biomedical Engineer? Is it to have an Engineering degree backup in case medical school doesn’t work out? I ask because the general consensus is that if you wish to be an engineer there may be other areas of engineering such as mechanical or electrical that will make you more employable after an undergraduate degree and would segue nicely into a masters or PHd in Biomedical Engineering. If it’s to have a backup to a medical degree then the same applies. Chemical Engineering requires most of the chemistry and physics required but you will need to pick up the biology, anatomy/physiology and psychology courses.
Good luck.
@lvvcsf, Thanks for the information on Case Western, and I did realize that I may not be able to dance at the level I am currently dancing at. As close to it as possible is ideal, of course.
About biomedical Engineering, my goal is exactly that- to be a biomedical engineer. I’m not looking at a premed-medical school track at all. But I will definitely think about pursuing a chemical/mechanical engineering degree instead. Is that generally thought to be a better option?
@biodancegirl Mom of a ballet dancer here. CPYB faculty have played an active role in designing and teaching Dickinson college’s dance curriculum. Check the Dickinson website for details. However, I don’t know if Dickinson offers engineering. Regarding Case Western, I have heard conflicting stories about the structure of the dance program. It might be worth a phone call or email before crossing it off your list as it seems like it would be a good fit academically for you.
I would ask that question in the engineering forum. From what I’ve read here on CC, most biomed positions require an advanced degree and the opportunities for biomed majors after their undergrad is not as good for the other engineering majors.
Our dancer ended up double majoring. She is intending to study physical therapy and chose exercise physiology as her second major and also is working towards a BA in Dance. She intended to minor as you are, however, she found a program that offers her additional scholarship money as a fine arts major. She still thinks the ballet is somewhat easier though part of that is that they do not offer pointe classes, that was not considered a negative for her. She attends Ohio University. They offer a BA and a BFA in dance as well as minors in Performance, History, and Somatics. They have an ABET accredited engineering program thoug it doe not offer a Biomedical undergraduate degree. They do offer a Masters and a PHd. in Biomedical Engineering I believe.
My older D is a Chem E. I think attempting a double major with one of them being engineering could be perilous. Our D attendees Purdue University and they offer a dance minor only. You would need to contact their dance dept. to accertain the level of dance they offer. They have no fine arts dept. though they have a fine arts major. Older D played viola and was able to continue in their orchestra while also doing a five term co-op and studying engineering. Great engineering school by the way.
thanks @lvvcsf, I will definitely consider other engineering majors.
Ohio University certainly sounds good. But I am currently doing pre-professional ballet courses, so would the ballet courses at Ohio University be much easier?
Dance is definitely the priority, and it currently seems like I would have to double major in dance and something else to be able to attend the level of dance classes I’d like. Also perhaps engineering is not the right choice, then?
Our D was also in a pre Professional company in HS. She finds the ballet courses as a BA dance major at OU to be not as rigorous as she had in HS (part of it is no en pointe) and she was moved up a level after the course started.
You might check and see which colleges have their own Dance Companies. Miami University (Ohio) does and it even draws people from places like the Cincinnati Ballet. Their company is by audition only and while they do have a dance minor that is primarily for newer students.
http://www.units.miamioh.edu/dancetheatre/the_company/dancers/
On the whole I think larger universities MAY have more opportunities for non dance majors than smaller universities. They will have a larger group of talented young people to draw from. Smaller universities may offer dance majors, however, they often limit their dance opportunities to those in the major.
As for changing your goals concerning engineering, I don’t know what to say. Engineering will give you opportunities career wise that dance won’t. If you want to be an engineer then I think you should look for the best situation for you and you may need to accept some compromises. There are a lot of talented dancers in this country and a lot of schools which offer dance programs of one sort or another so opportunities should not be scarce. You have just narrowed the field considerably by requiring a dance program you can do with engineering. There will still be a lot of schools to consider you just may have to dig deeper and take some time to make some e-mails or phone calls. Good luck.
I’m pretty sure UNC/Chapel Hill has some ballet opportunities, though I’m not sure how rigorous they are. There are also several pre-pro places to dance in the Chapel Hill/ Raleigh/Durham area as more of an EC …(not as serious as CPYB, though, but at least an outlet for your skills. ) Have no way to know how the scheduling would work with your required coursework in engineering. Also, University of Indiana and Florida State University (and I think University of Arizona or Arizona State?) have highly regarded dance programs including ballet, but don’t know if non-dance majors are allowed to do much. If you went to University of Pittsburgh or Carnegie Mellon, maybe yo could take ballet classes at Pointe Park University’s dance program or the school of the Pittsburgh Ballet Company. It would certainly take a lot of travelling and juggling, if it is at all possible!
At the U of Arizona, my understanding is that they will sometimes (not sure how often) allow people to minor in dance, but you go through the same audition process as the people who want to major. At IU/Bloomington, I believe the ballet majors and the dance minors are in completely separate programs in separate schools (the ballet program is through their School of Music).
I’m pretty sure IU does not have engineering.