dance and business

<p>Hello All. I am not new to CC, just using a new name. My son and I spent many hours here during his college search a few years ago.</p>

<p>Now my daughter is a HS senior, and we are feeling the time crunch. We need some direction for our research.</p>

<p>She has been dancing most of her life, going to competitions and conventions the past 6 years. Her studio places a strong emphasis on ballet as a foundation. She has danced with some great choreographers at local master classes and conventions (the Pulse, NYCDA, but never a SI) and would love to find a college program that offers classes with the same rigor and technique in a BA program.</p>

<ul>
<li>from NC, but willing to look anywhere</li>
<li>big campus? small campus? weather? She doesn't really care. She seems to like more modern buildings and is not into the outdoors, so multiple quads are not important.</li>
<li>financial aid is a big factor. We qualify for need-based aid. She's ranked #1 in her class with a 3.95 UW GPA, so she may be in the running for merit aid at some schools.</li>
<li>she enjoys contemporary, ballet, jazz, lyrical- right now she's not as concerned about the school's emphasis</li>
<li>after undergrad, she may want to try dance alone for a little while before somehow combining it with business for a career</li>
</ul>

<p>She's looked at some videos of college classes, performances, and dance programs and wasn't excited about what she saw because of the "old school" style, lack of precision or lower technical levels. Maybe they weren't an indication of what the school really has to offer, so it's just made us more confused. We appreciate any ideas and help.</p>

<p>You have some very good schools right there in NC. We were seriously considering Elon for my daughter. How are your daughter’s SATs? If pretty high, she may have a very good chance at a merit scholarship at Goucher, Franklin and Marshall, Muhlenberg, etc. I don’t know much about ballet programs (modern was my daughters’ emphasis), but there are some good lists here on CC. Skidmore offers free master classes for prospective applicants in the fall, which would give your daughter a taste of a college level class.</p>

<p>When you say she may be in the running for merit scholarships, I guess it depend on the level of school you are looking (academically competetive level). Assuming your DD will have SATs or ACTs at a comparable level she would get merit aid to all the private colleges my DD applied - PPU, Otterbein, Shanendoah - and many of the publics - Iowa, Coastal Carolina (although not a strong dance school), UMKC.</p>

<p>D is currently at PPU and loves it. She says there is a interesting mix of competition kids and kids from classical ballet programs. She has opted for the BA rater than a BFA because she wants to minor in their sports and entertainment program. With your DD stats she would probably make the top academic award at PPU, then they can add artistic, and we have received a very grants, whihc makes it a little less than if we had sent her to our local public university.</p>

<p>I was also going to recommend Point Park and Muhlenberg. They are both in Pennsylvania. I have also heard really good things about East Carolina, from the research I have done they seem to have a really strong program as did UNC-Greensboro. I just was not able to get my dgt to go that far away to college. And as for PP, she was concerned with the weigh-in’s that they have before you even audition. She has been dancing since she was 3 and is all muscle. She does not have the lithe, little ballet body, hers is more athletic. She is going to be going to Slippery Rock in a few short weeks and will be a dance major. She loved their program, loved the chair of the department. They are modern and ballet based and less expensive than any of our in-state schools.</p>

<p>Hi. If your dd want good academics and dance there are a few good ones I can suggest. Muhlenberg is great because you can double major if you want and they still have good dance. They are well endowed and have good financial aid packages. My dd will be going to Shenandoah University in the fall for her BFA in dance. They are very generous with money and your dd should get a great scholarship. She could get her BA and minor or double major if she wants to. In the BFA you cant minor or double. Be careful with PP, UArts and such because the dance is awsome but the academics is not so good. At those schools you are not allowed to minor or double major. Nearly impossible. Good Luck Looking and PM if you have any questions about Shenandoah.</p>

<p>I don’t know what type of business program your dd is interested in, but I do know that South Carolina has a top-ranked international business program, and a dance major that is getting better and more competitive every year. My dd is a Capstone scholar there, and if you listed international business as your intended major on your application and were accepted to the Capstone program, you are automatically accepted to the IB program. Of course, the combination of majors outside the College of Arts and Sciences (which includes the dance major) is a little tricky. But a minor should certainly be possible.</p>

<p>Thank you for all the suggestions. Please keep them coming.
We do have some well-known college dance programs in NC, but dd would like to explore a little beyond what she’s known all her life.
ECU- most of the graduates from her HS that go to college go there and it’s less than 2 hours away. I looked at Elon, thinking it was maybe different enough from where we live, but I believe it only offers a BFA.</p>

<p>DD loved College of Charleston which was adding dance as a major, when we were there visiting. It was academically the most challenging school she was accepted to. I don’t know if NC and SC have any tuition agreements taht might help. We found the out of state publics to offer the least aid and as much as we all loved College of Charleston financially it was a no go. But you might check it out.</p>

<p>Elon does offer a BA as well as a BFA. My daughter got a lovely long response from the head of the department went she wrote to inquire about the program.</p>

<p>danceclass- was that recently? I just looked at their website again and only noticed BFA.</p>

<p>1down3togo, This was last summer. I can’t remember exactly what the response said, but it was something along the lines that one could minor in dance for a BA or major in dance for a BFA. My daughter asked about starting out as a minor and changing to a major later, if she felt strongly about it. (She was told it would be difficult to get on the BFA track unless she started that way.)</p>

<p>James Madison University in VA is an intensive BA program with a pre-professional dance company that upperclassmen may audition for, and an associate company as well. The program is more modern focused, but there are technical classes in ballet, jazz, tap, etc… as well as modern. If your D was interested in double majoring it would be possible. Man of the dance students do double major.</p>

<p>SMU in Texas has a highly ranked business school as well as an extremely highly ranked dance program and they offer a double major option. Through Columbia College you can also double major in Dance through Barnard College and they have a nice dance program and its in in NYC.</p>

<p>Barnard, Duke, Williams, Stanford, Princeton all have good dance programs. Both of our girls are classical ballet dancers. Between 2 of them, they have taken trial classes at those schools, except Duke, and they were quite impressed. Barnard has a very good dance program, and of course, it is affiliated with Columbia. With your daughter’s ranking in class, she would be a viable candidate for those schools. Some of those top tier schools are looking for performance arts students.</p>

<p>Duke favors NC residents.</p>

<p>update: she really likes Univ of South Carolina so far. It is definitely on her list. Duke is, as well, thanks in large part to her brother who is a sophomore there.</p>

<p>She is still looking at other schools and trying to complete her list.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your suggestions.</p>

<p>Is she wanting to commit to dance as a major? A great way to combine business with dance/arts is arts administration which is often a strong program at schools with excellent dance departments like Butler which offers a BA and BFA . However, if she is looking to double major, she may find this will be discouraged or not possible within the strongest dance departments as they spend so much time in rehearsal and performing that only a minor is feasible. So, start with what her goals are truly as dance is a huge commitment and extremely competitive. Visit some of the strongest departments online and watch videos to see where your daughter stands in terms of her technique. The strongest departments require auditions (in ballet and modern class generally) and so it is important to consider this in terms of her ability to be accepted as a dance major. If she wants to just take dance classes while she majors in business, this is possible at most every school these days - to varying levels and degrees. Auditions at some schools for majors have already begun so be sure to get online and sign up for those schools of interest asap. Some will require that you apply to the school first before being allowed to auditions but others do not. Some close out auditions due to demand in January, so be sure to look after this right away-you may always cancel the audition later!</p>

<p>DD had an audition at Univ of South Carolina a few weeks ago. She loved the campus- especially the honor’s dorm and dance facilities. It is her first choice at this point, for a major in Dance Performance (concentration in Contemporary) and a minor in Business.</p>

<p>If not too late, consider SMU in Dallas Texas. Amazing dance program and academics too. Top ranked business school. D is in the dance program and double major in General Business - loves it!</p>