Having just gone through the process with our daughter, have lots of experience from the process to share should anyone be interested. Lots of other parents on this board with stories to share as well. Feel free to reach out with any questions - from academic applications to dance applications, audition planning & scheduling, you name it.
Thank you @corrigg! My daughter is a rising senior. She was classically trained at the Rock school, but a year and a half ago switched to Koresh after a modern class. Now I have to switch gears and research BFA programs with a modern/contemporary program that will value a strong classical background. We are working on headhot/ dance photos this summer. One area where we are struggling is preparing a dance resume. Is there any chance you would feel comfortable sharing yours or pointing me to a good example?
Right now we are looking at a wide range of schools. Elon and James Madison because they offer a BFA with a more balanced program that will allow a dual major. Ailey, NYU and U of Arizona for a more conservatory focus. Wake Forest if she suddenly decides she wants to minor in dance but still have a great program. Temple and UARTs because we are in Philly and would like a back up plan, though she does not want to stay in Philadelphia. Hopefully she will have a range of programs and choices. Maybe University of South Florida. Do you think I’ve missed anything obvious?
Would love to hear how you planned to make all of the auditions and any tips, if you’d like to share.
Thanks in advance.
Sorry for the delay, just saw this post. I just sent you a message to your mail box on this site, let me know if you don’t get it.
I would love any tips you have my daughter will be applying this year for bfa dance programs trying to figure out where to start also any suggestions
Consider the Hartt School for a modern/contemporary program with strong ballet. It’s small and the dancers get a lot of attention from outstanding faculty. I would liken it to being close to the Juilliard style of program as far as dance schedule & level of training. Not at all a factory like NYU or Marymount. My DD has blossomed there. We particularly like that she has a conservatory program while living on a traditional college campus.
My daughter is a junior and wants to pursue a dance in college. She is looking to major and minor or double major depending on the dance commitment. She wants to perform and that’s really all she thinks about. She is strong in modern and has a classical ballet background, but I think she’d prefer contemporary ballet because pointe is not her strong suite. She also loves lyrical and tap and I just have no idea where to start. I want her to have a strong dance program because her goal is to dance for a company. What are some colleges that offer a excellent modern program, but also a strong ballet program? She will need a scholarship or financial assistance. I think she’d thrive in a smaller setting, but she spent 5 weeks at Ailey this summer and fell in love.
You should look into University of Utah. They have an amazing dance program. Their facilities are stunning, too!
what about Fordham for their Ailey program? Check out the site Ballet Talk for Dancers and they have an entire forum for Colleges with Dance Programs, though they tend towards classical. University of Arizona has a triple threat program.
What BFA programs have you looked at for your daughter? My junior daughter is also looking for a modern-contemporary dance college. Curious to see what others have looked at or visited.
In my opinion only, a dance minor is great if you just want to enjoy dance in college but it probably will not get you in to a company. Does your daughter want a conservatory like Point Park and UArts or a BFA in a larger college/university setting? If she doesn’t know then I’d suggest making some visits during her junior year to narrow down her interests. That is what we did and my daughter decided she did NOT want a conservatory program. That helped us focus, plus I had other parents at her dance school and on here share schools.
There are a lot of great contemporary programs out there, each with its own unique specialty/emphasis. My daughter is in her first semester at Ailey/Fordham and absolutely loves it so far. She has a friend at Marymount Manhattan who is very happy there, and a friend at SUNY Purchase, who maybe is only just OK with her decision. Everyone has different needs. Happy to share my application and audition experience with anyone who is interested. Schools I highly recommend from our process include: Oklahoma (great Ballet and Modern programs), Rutgers, Towson, George Mason, Ohio State, SMU, and Ailey/Fordham. A lot of your decision it turns out will hinge on the academic side. Schools like Fordham, NYU, SMU and Oklahoma have some rigorous academic standards to go with the dance requirements. Those expectations continue once you become a student, so be ready.
Curious why your friend is feeling just OK with SUNY Purchase?
I’m the mom of a dancer who will be applying next year. Interested in modern/contemporary BFA programs. Just starting to look but so far USC Kaufman, Dominican, SUNY Purchase, Ailey/Fordham are in the mix.
I generally make it a point not to interject my personal opinion when it comes to specific programs, or try to represent someone else’s, however I will give you my personal observations regarding SUNY Purchase. First, while the campus is in the northern suburbs of NYC (an hour train ride into the city), the campus feels very isolated. There is not much in the way of school spirit, and the dorms were tragically poor. Academics came off to me as very weak, if that is important to you. ut again, just my opinion, obviously you need to visit and make your own assessment.
Thanks for all these insights. My dd really wants a program with a choreography focus/opportunities that also has quality academics. Our list is what you would expect, but it’s hard to narrow our visits/auditions!
She is likely to want to stay on the east coast, which at least narrows the field somewhat.
My son has strong academics and wants to double major, so Kaufman #1 and NYU #2 choices. He also applied for a few ivy schools that have strong dance programs.
Would you have any insights on U of Georgia and their program? My DD is a sophomore, she’s strongly interested in UGA, because she’s interested in a big university setting with strong academics, preferably in the south, with the opportunity to double major.
If you are looking at SUNY Purchase, consider SUNY Fredonia. It has a dance BFA. I am not a dance person, so I am giving you the link to the 4 year degree program to see if it suits your D. I will say that the performance facilities are very nice as they were recently completely redone. I saw the dance studios when I took a backstage tour and they seemed very functional.
http://home.fredonia.edu/degreemaps/dance
My son (theater tech BFA) is at Fred and also applied to Purchase. He is very happy where he is, even though it’s fairly remote. He has friends both in and out of his major and is happy with his classes.
Thanks techmom99 - unfortunately, I think it’s a bit too remote for my kid.
No specific insights on Georgia, it never really hit our radar. The SEC Dance programs that did stand out were University of South Carolina and U of Florida. Both came highly recommended. Florida State is another that had a great reputation.
By the way, for what it’s worth, I’ve had several people ask me about a Dance minor instead of a major. I can tell you that it’s REALLY hard to do. Studio times are generally fixed on the schedule, and working academics around the studio time is a serious challenge. Dance majors on the other hand, at most schools, get to register first because of the studio time limitation, so they have more flexibility in scheduling.