<p>I am looking for anyone familiar with the program who is willing to answer questions.</p>
<p>I am willing to answer any question about UB’s music theater program! I am currently a sophomore MT.</p>
<p>I had questions a few months ago, but I can’t think of any right now. My Daughter decided on UB and she will be a Freshman Theatre Major in the Fall. I was unsure about the training she will receive because it was hard to find information. We researched as much as we could and found some information and I believe that UB is a hidden gem. I hope I am right and she loves it there.</p>
<p>I was interested in the current MT rogram from a student’s perspective. My daughter is considering this program because of the strength of the Dance Program. She has been a dancer all her life and does not want to give up this high level of dance she has acheived in a MT program.</p>
<p>How many freshman did UB accept this year? What are the strengths and weakness? How are the vocal classes? Do they have a Senior Showcase?</p>
<p>Hi sorry I got your message so late. Dance is very strong as a BFA Music Theatre Major you can audition for the BA in dance if you are a very strong dancer. We have many students doing both. Even without the double major you get training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Social Dance, Music Theatre Dance, and can take class in Modern when it’s offered for non majors. This year I don’t know the acceptance but we had 3 transfers, and 4 others in the freshman class accept. So this years class was 7 students (6 boys, 1 girl). It’s hard to really determine strengths and weaknesses. Overall it’s a very well rounded program and a hidden gem of sorts. The voice classes are nice. We get 30 minutes a week with faculty specifically teaching for those in our major. We do not currently have a senior showcase.</p>
<p>I’ve been wondering the same things myself. I’m curious though do they take part in unifieds I don’t recall seeing them on the list?</p>
<p>As of right now we do not participate in Unifieds. This year auditions are </p>
<p>a. New York City: Saturday January 26th 2013 at 9:30am at Pearl Studios
b. Buffalo: Friday February 8 2013 at 9:00am
c. Buffalo: Friday February 15 2013 at 9:00am</p>
<p>(all info can be found at [Department</a> of Theatre and Dance](<a href=“Department of Theatre and Dance - University at Buffalo”>Department of Theatre and Dance - University at Buffalo))</p>
<p>I’m going to jump in with a few questions as well, if you don’t mind. I have a HS Junior daughter that is looking for a well rounded dance program, with MT performance opportunities for dancers. She is a very strong dancer that would like to get experience in voice and drama, with the ultimate goal of working on Broadway. Do the dance majors participate in the MT shows? How many shows are done per year? Can the dance majors take the same voice and drama classes that the MT students do? Or should she be investigating the possibility of a MT major, with the opposite questions for dance classes - are MT majors able to take the higher level dance classes? And how selective is the MT program for acceptance?<br>
And to throw another wrench in, how difficult would it be to get a dual degree in Exercise Science along with either Dance or MT? She will probably have 6 AP credits going in, and would take extra classes in the summers, etc., to make this happen. She would probably qualify for Honors College, so that may make things easier.</p>
<p>Sorry just saw your post! Hi there I’m not as versed on the Dance Programs but I know a good amount so I’ll try to answer as best I can. For MT wise anyone can audition for our productions but typically the trend is that Musical Theatre majors dominate simply to do that being their specialty/strength over others, although some BFA Theatre Performance, and recently some dance majors (for dance roles) have been cast. Shows vary per semester but a standard semester includes (1 musical, 1 play, 1 dance company show, 1 dance ensemble/emerging choreographer show, and poor theatre & student directed productions). Dance majors can only take MT voice lessons by audition and with permission from the MT head if spots are available. Usually only a few non-MT’s get a spot. Acting classes can be taken and I believe dance majors have to take Basic Acting 1 as a requirement. However as MT and Theatre Performance majors are required to take certain acting courses they will most likely have priority in registration so there is no definite yes or no on whether it is possible to enter those classes. MT performance classes like rep 1 and 2, workshop and scene study are typically closed to non-MT’s with a rare exception. Honestly it depends on your daughter’s strengths and her passions. You should look at what her strengths vs. weaknesses are in acting/singing/dancing, and what she really wants to do, and nothing says she can’t do both. At UB you can double major in some setups. There are several BFA MT/BA Dance (we have a BA and BFA in Dance: both require auditions) or you could be BA Dance/BA in Exercise Science or BFA Dance/BA Exercise Science, arrangements can be made (the only difficulty is that in dual majoring due to class overlaps/scheduling/etc. it sometimes requires more than 4 years). TBC…</p>
<p>there is also a voice performance minor, and also a major I believe that are options if not MT however the focus would be classical and in the Dept. of Music not in THD so it’s another option for voice lessons but not quite the same. As far as handling dual majors there are plenty of people who do it but it depends on the amount of work you can/are willing to put in and sometimes if you’re willing to stay an extra semester or year/take summer classes/ etc. UB is selective as all programs other than the BA in Theatre are audition or portfolio based. Also MT’s can take non-dancer major sections from levels 1-3 in modern, ballet, tap, jazz, as well as classes in social dance, mt dance 1/2, and others if they are allowed (men are usually allowed into pas de deux due to a need for partners), but we don’t take the same levels as dance majors except for those of us who are ba. dance in addition to BFA MT. The classes are seperate and on different levels. If your daughter is a dancer solely who may have an interest in MT it is an work heavy/very specific degree track focusing on triple threat performance so if she’s not really a singer/actor it might be better to focus on the dance, but if she has at least good potential or good ability in multiple areas, and her passion lies in MT, I would recommend thinking about auditioning for Both BFA MT and BA Dance as that a track that many pursue (that way you get the MT training in all three, and the higher level dance classes) it just might take a bit longer. I came in with 24 AP credits and they will help with Gen-eds as will good SAT scores if she gets them, however I was also accepted to the honors college (it doesn’t get you out of any gen-eds except a freshman seminar, requires 19 credits of work your first semester, requires extra seminars/classes, doesn’t give any money, requires outside volunteering/community work, and is a lot of outside work) also they say you can register a bit earlier for classes (but in a major where there are so few people it isn’t really needed to grab spots early) and that’s the only perk the honors college has. some mt’s have done it but I decided not to and am glad I didn’t as it’s a lot to add on top of the demanding scheduling of our department (potential rehearsals/tech and crew duties/ushering/seeing shows/studying/practicing leave few weekends/evening open for much once the semester is in full swing).</p>
<p>also sorry lots of information… as far as competitive for MT my class (sophomore) is currently at 4 girls and 7 men so (11) and then this years freshman class is at 2 girls and 5 men so (7). Our junior class is a bit larger, and our senior class is very small. Lots of personal attention. They typically accept I believe roughly 20 hoping to take 10 (hopefully an even amount of each) but it varies by year as with any program. We don’t have a cut program as of right now but we do have meeting with faculty at the end of the year and voice juries each semester, and it can be recommended that you explore your options if you’re not working to the best of your abilities/showing potential/progress. However it’s almost never a surprise in those situations, there would be trends so as long as you do your work and show progress and commitment you should be fine. 
Feel free to shoot me more questions. Sorry this was all so late!</p>
<p>ebtheatregirl - Thank you so much for this information! We will definitely put some thought into auditioning for both MT and Dance. I was just on a cruise this weekend and got to talk to a couple that are currently in Saturday Night Fever on the ship - both UB grads, her in dance and him in MT. They were very informative as well.
I am curious, though - you said that the Honors College did not give you any scholarship money. From what I’m seeing on the UB website, there is opportunity for full ride. What am I missing?</p>
<p>yes my academics were strong enough for the honors college but not for a full ride, however my provost scholarship was gained/retained despite not enrolling in the honors college, so it isn’t necessary to my knowledge to join the honors college to gain scholarships, although it can help. The Provost scholarship requires no application and is simply awarded based on sat score & gpa when you are accepted and requires no Honors College membership. The Presidential scholarship (full ride) is one of two awards offered only through the Honors College and by separate application.</p>
Is this program pretty affordable? The website is really hard to navigate…