<p>I am new..so I am a little nervous. I tried to post earlier but it never went through so here is my second attempt.
My d is a jr. and hopes, wishes, wants to major in dance or double major (dance/math). She has been dancing for 6yrs at the local studio. This spring she auditioned for some ballet SI, during the auditions I noticed that her ballet technique was not as good at other girls. Perhaps the reason she was not accepted to any of the programs. She is more of a jazz/contemporary dancer. Due to a family situation, she has had to take the last few months off. She will begin in the summer.
Questions?? She is interesting in U of Michigan, UofTexas-Austin, U of Georgia,SMU,and Barnard. How hard are the auditions?. How hard is it to gain admissions into the program? Are most of the students pre professional level? She has not had any contact with the dance departments at the schools-again due to family issues. We plan on visiting during the summer even if the dance department are not open so she can see some college campuses. Should she be emailing the department expressing interest? I feel like a fish out of water regarding dance and college admission
Hope someone can help.</p>
<p>Welcome dancingdog. There are many, many colleges that offer dance which do not require an audition. Don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to those that do. I am not familiar with the schools you mention, except Barnard. I believe the skill levels vary greatly there, but it is hard to get into academically. If your daughter likes jazz, she might want to look into Mulenberg. I’m sure others here will chime in with other suggestions. (My daughters are strictly modern, so I don’t know much about the ballet or jazz schools. They go to Bennington and Bard.)</p>
<p>Definitely email the dance departments. My daughter got wonderfully informative responses to all her emails.</p>
<p>Hi. If she is lacking in Ballet, I hope she is going to an intensive this summer. Most colleges even those that dont have auditions will will really look at your ballet level.I agree with the other poster. Muhlenberg would be a good fit because you can double major. Though they dont offer alot of jazz. You might want to look into Desales, Slippery Rock, etc. Over the summer have her dance teachers talk with her and give her a realistic view on her talent and what might be a good fit for her. There is a place for everyone but you have to be at least on par with the other auditioners to make it. Also, look into Shenandoah. The have 2 tracks. BFA and Ba. When you audition you will be placed in one of those. BFA are for the more advanced dancer that are really well rounded and the BA students may have to work on certain things or are double majors. My dd is going to be a BFA student there in the fall. We have loved everything about it. But this summer have her really work on ballet. Its what most colleges look at. Good Luck.</p>
<p>I agree with dancerinpa. There is a place for everyone but your DD does need to get her basic ballet skills up to par so that she will at least feel comfortable when she gets to her college program.</p>
<p>That said, the college programs you have named off are all pretty competitive to get into as far as I know (with the exception of U of Texas Austin, I don’t know much about that one). Barnard in particular would be looking for good ballet technique.</p>
<p>Ok, so what can you do at this point? There is still time! You say your DD was rejected from the ballet intensives she auditioned for. Which ones you have not said but there are intensives that do not require an audition. If I were in your situation I would contact Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet ASAP and get her enrolled in their summer program. They do not reqire an audition, only photos and will level her according to her ability. They produce excellent results there in just a summer of instruction. </p>
<p>Then in the fall, find a ballet school where she can take as many classes as possible leading up to her college auditions and after. It will be a lot of work and commitment but you and your DD will be a lot happier when auditions come around.</p>
<p>If none of the above is possible there are other college avenues to take as dancerinpa suggests.</p>
<p>My D auditioned at Michigan. First off you must get into Michigan academically, we were told only about 80 are invited to audition. And about 15 are accepted. About 50 percent of the dancers at Michigan are double majors. Strong modern program, I’d say a conservatory atmosphere. We were told 10K is the largest possible scholarship they offer. Hope this helps</p>
<p>We live in the midwest and so my d auditioned at schools closer to home. University of Akron really surprised us, I really was impressed with their program. They did require an audition but it was for placement. You auditioned in jazz,tap,ballet and modern. Then you were placed in different levels. Even if she started out at the bottom level in ballet she could advance. The university is much different from what I anticipated, lots of improvements, really pretty now. My D did not choose the program but it was her second choice.</p>
<p>My dd is also a dance/math major. I agree with the other posters that giving your dd some time to work on her ballet technique will only help when it’s time to audition. I can say that acceptance to UGA’s dance program did not seem as competitive as some of the other schools she applied to. She auditioned in November of her senior year, and there were maybe 20-25 at her audition? Plus, you mentioned your dd has been mostly a jazz/contemporary dancer, and UGA is more focused on the contemporary side (rather than the ballet side) so it may be a good fit for her. Dance dept. acceptance letters were sent out a couple of weeks after the audition, before university acceptance.</p>
<p>The only other programs on your list I know anything about were Barnard (dd opted not to apply in the end) and SMU (1 friend attends, another auditioned this year… auditions were pretty competitive with only a handful at the Dallas audition asked to stay for interview and solo)</p>
<p>There is NO AUDITION for Barnard’s dance program. The way it works is that there are 6 levels of ballet technique classes and 6 levels of modern offered each semester (plus other dance classes). ANY student can “shop” any class during the first two weeks of the semester. The instructor may step in and tell particular students that they need to level up or down, or the student may decide the class is not for them. </p>
<p>My daughter also wanted to possibly major in dance but at a program with strong academics. She did a summer intensive at Michigan and then auditioned for their dance program and was admitted. Barnard was her eventual choice, though, and it was a perfect fit for her. She ended up majoring in Neuroscience but danced (a lot) all the way through college…</p>
<p>There are many schools without auditions, and some dancers even begin dancing for the first time in college.</p>
<p>There is a book entitled “Creative Colleges” that details dance, theater, art and music programs in colleges. Also, Dance magazine has a great college guide, very thorough. As I remember, Point Park and U. of Arts are good for jazz, Dean in MA, many others. If she is interested in Barnard, she could also look at Marymount Manhattan, Sarah Lawrence, Connecticut College, Vassar, Bard, Skidmore (offers a BS),Bennington, maybe Hobard William-Smith. These are all in the northeast.</p>
<p>You don’t give a lot of information on your child’s academic interests, or whether she is looking at BFA or BA as her preferred degree, so it is hard to pinpoint other schools, particularly colleges or universities (versus conservatories), but those college guides should help you, in other areas of the country.</p>
<p>While ballet is always referrred to as the “foundation” for other dance forms, it is possible to do a modern dance program without stellar ballet technique, or even any ballet at all. (And some students put away their pointe shoes for good at college: even at Juilliard, we were told that most students are not that interested in pointe by the end of the 4 years.)</p>
<p>For example, a school like Bennington has a first year dance intensive that is taken by very experienced dancers as well as students who have never danced at all, and has little to no ballet. At conservatories, of course, the auditions are rigorous and include ballet. Some college dance programs have auditions (Goucher just started having auditions for the dance performance majors) and some don’t. Some have ballet, others don’t. Some have jazz, others don’t. At some schools, dance is not available as a major but is extracurricular or through PE (Tufts, BU, Harvard in my area). </p>
<p>There is a wide variety, in other words, and I’m sure that with research and questions, your daughter will find a good fit, and the most suitable way to follow her passion for dance. </p>
<p>If she wants to do a summer intensive, great, but it certainly may not be necessary, depending on what she wants to do and where she wants to go.</p>
<p>compmom, we are on exactly the same wavelength in regard to college dance. There is much more to dance than appearing on stage with a major ballet company. As wonderful as that outcome would be, its not for everyone.</p>
<p>[Overview</a> of the Skidmore College Dance Department](<a href=“http://www.skidmore.edu/dance/faqs.htm]Overview”>http://www.skidmore.edu/dance/faqs.htm)</p>
<p>Skidmore College (NY)</p>
<p>Skidmore has a wonderful open house for anyone interested in their program-2 master classes, a reception with food, and a performance followed by a question and answer session. I think its in October, but you should check.</p>
<p>James Madison University has a strong dance/theater/musical theater department in a spectacular new facility. (I just visited the other day with my own D.) It requires incoming majors to audition, but those not accepted by audition can reapply in their freshman year–and even if rejected for the dance major, can minor in dance or simply take lots of classes. The program is a BA with strong academic core requirements–a must from my point of view–but seems more solidly preprofessional than some of the “hobby” dance programs we’ve looked at. It’s apparently easy to double major at JMU and a lot of the dance majors do so.</p>
<p>It seems as if this thread is revived, so I will add Connecticut College,and Hobard William Smith, in addition to those mentioned here, but there are many, many others.</p>
<p>My D auditioned at SMU and Arizona - both top notch dance schools and will be going to SMU in Fall and will have a double major (I insisted). TCU also is good. My advice is to definitely work on ballet skills but keep up with contemporary too. Then, audition early at favorite colleges as you can go back but unfortunately Ariz and SMU are tough. Not sure about TCU but there you pick a track - ballet or Modern. Good luck!</p>
<p>Those interested in combining intensive contemporary dance with a liberal arts core curriculum should consider Fordham-Lincoln Center, where they offer training with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Where do you live? How much can you spend? How far can she drive?<br>
Take a deep breath.
the most important thing is for her to get back in a good class. Maybe she can find a work study arrangement/ demonstrating for classes at a local studio.
Deep breath.</p>
<p>Sometimes (!) the best dance training is not at a college at all. But if she WANTS to go to college (or is counting on Pell grant/ whatever), it depends so so much on whether she just wants to take class for her own enjoyment or in a pre-professional program.</p>
<p>There are many programs in college that are not for aspiring professionals, and do not require auditions, or if they do, they’re not crucial parts of the admission process.</p>