Change of Plans!!!

<p>Thank you lighting mom. I will definitely take a look. Pace, might not have enough modern though. Boy, this is difficult!</p>

<p>Thank you for the perspective saratoga parent!</p>

<p>Pace University. Their BFA in Commercial Dance is based on ballet and jazz techniques, but all of the dancers take classes in hip hop, tap, modern, and contemporary as well. With the BFA there are three different focuses that can be declared: Performance, Choreography, or Pedagogy. I’m currently a sophomore in their program and I LOVE it!!</p>

<p>Made a mistake - accidentally left Pace off the list. Also, my daughter’s dance company head suggested she eliminate SMU due to body type requirements. She believes SMU only accepts very tall, extremely thin, ballet body types (our daughter is just over 5’5" and a size 2-4 currently, although dieting to lose a few pounds before auditions and photos). Anyone know anything in particular about SMU?</p>

<p>Regarding SMU, I happen to know a dancer who’s a freshman at SMU. She’s about 5’4", size 2. So, I don’t think SMU has the body type requirement you stated.</p>

<p>I also need to chime in regarding possible misinformation regarding SMU…</p>

<p>My daughter absolutely loved the audition process, the school, the curriculum, the faculty and the students. Especially the students. Her audition was on campus, and it was her first experience in the South. She was dumbfounded when a male student about her age called her “ma’am” and held the door open for her. In the end, she was offered a merit scholarship of a near full ride plus many other perks (which kept increasing as that May 1st deadline approached). Sadly (at least for this full-pay parent), she turned SMU down for another program.</p>

<p>She was classically trained in Vaganova, had beautiful feet, but did not have the typical ballet body (long limbs, neck, etc.). And, she was all of 4’11"…</p>

<p>If your DD is looking for a traditional college campus I would rule out UArts, Pace, and Marymount. All are urban campuses and you won’t have that campus-y environment with trees etc. Ditto for Temple (if you have considered them).</p>

<p>As for the SUNY’s: Buffalo has a nice campus but huge. Good program. Brockport has a lovely campus, very modern focused. Purchase has the ugliest campus I have ever seen but a Purchase BFA yields many connections. However, I suggest a tour there first and ask MANY questions. My dd did not apply because we were told that if a dancer was going there they probably would not have had a shot at a professional ballet career to begin with, otherwise they would have gone straight to a company. Ouch.</p>

<p>Another thing about the SUNY’s, I do not believe any of the aforementioned offer talent scholarships for freshman dance majors. There are academic scholarships but they are very limited and at a school like UB (where you are up against all incoming freshman and there are many pre-med and engineering types coming in) competition is STEEP. When considering a SUNY as an OOS student that is something to definitely research.</p>

<p>And ITA with whoever said the dance audition process is complex and irrational!! We know of a student who was offered a full tuition scholarship at one school and $2000 at another lol. Talk about a big difference! (both were very expensive private schools)</p>

<p>My DD is at UArts. She was accepted at UB and SUNY Brockport as well but liked the UArts curriculum in that it has no large academic core like the SUNY’s. Also, with scholarships given by UArts the out of pocket costs are the same for us as a SUNY would have been. One thing at UArts she does not care for and has struggled with is the lack of a bigger, all inclusive campus with athletics, greek life, and students in many different majors. That said, she has been able to take all of the dance classes she wants and explore what interests her including Aerial, Pointe (which was not offered at some schools we looked at), Tap (again not at all schools), and hip hop. There is a great, well rounded dance education at UArts and while they do have a large acceptance rate it is the school of choice for a lot of amazing dancers and a lot of amazing dancers have come out of the school as well.</p>

<p>Thank you so much! My daughter has two teachers who are Alumni of UARTS so she is considering it. A lot of what she chooses will depend on money and who offers the best financial package! I am hoping something clicks for us during the auditions and when she visits!</p>

<p>Thanks Again Everyone for the feedback! This is such an exciting, yet stressful time for us!</p>