Dance/Arts Management options?

College Majors Dance Major
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<p>Hi all! Just jumping in to my initial college research for my daughter (junior). At this point, while she does want to perform and choreograph, she is thinking of incorporating Arts Management into her degree. This could be double major, minor, certificate, etc. </p>

<p>Some of our criteria to go along with this are:</p>

<p>1) She's an Honors/AP student and wants a college that has at least some academic weight as well as a well-respected dance program (she hasn't taken her ACT yet, so I'm not sure quite how much this will factor in or not).</p>

<p>2) She's much more into contemporary/modern than ballet, but has good training in both, as well as jazz. Hasn't done much tap or musical theater. We want to avoid ballet-focused programs.</p>

<p>3) She is interested in BA rather than BFA. Definitely wants Dance as a major, along with something related to arts management.</p>

<p>4) We also don't want a school that has the height/weight standards, as she does not at all have the stereotypical dancer body. She's only 5'1" with a solid build. From what I've read here, Point Park and OCU might fall into that category even though they both have management-related programs.</p>

<p>5) We live in Colorado. Even though we'll consider east coast, it would be nice to have her west of the Mississippi! </p>

<p>Currently, I'm compiling a list of schools to consider visiting, and the University of Iowa with its 'performing arts entrepreneurship certificate' seems like a great option. Some of the other schools that I've come across that <em>might</em> meet our criteria are -- SUNY Purchase, Butler, Goucher, Columbia College Chicago. Also, Chapman...but not sure about the arts management piece.</p>

<p>I would love any other suggestions/input! We're at such an early stage, but need to get movin! ;-) Thanks!!</p>

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<p>I’m east coast so, not sure how much I can help you, but I’ve done a bunch of research the past four years and I just did some more and here are some suggestions and what I found. I know SUNY Purchase and Butler are very ballet focused. After seeing your list I immediately thought of Muhlenberg, a lot of people think this school is similar to Goucher. You might want to look into Roger Williams also. SMU and TCU in Texas may be interesting options as well, they’re BFA programs, but it’s possible to double major and/or minor and both offer minors in Arts Management. Now your D may be interested in creating her own sort of arts management major/minor by majoring/minoring in business, marketing, or something in that field, that’s something I personally might do. If she is then look at University of Colorado-Boulder and Loyola Marymount University. I wouldn’t cross out Point Park and OCU entirely, I’ve heard there’s been exceptions in the past. If I can think of any other schools, I’ll let you know. I can also offer some audition info for a couple of these schools as well!</p>

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<p>Wow, JDancer…what an awesome response :slight_smile: I really appreciate the info…I’ll definitely follow up on some of your suggestions. </p>

<p>**Just looked at Muhlenberg…it fits all criteria perfectly, but it’s SOOOOO far away :wink: Sad mama!</p>

<p>I’m curious about what you’ve heard about CU-Boulder in terms of dance reputation? I hadn’t really been considering it, since I hadn’t heard much about it being very well-known in the dance world. Could be a good back-up school for her as well if she doesn’t find others, or doesn’t get accepted.</p>

<p>Also - I’m curious about any suggestions for how to find out what ‘focus’ different schools have in terms of dance style. So far, I’m taking notes based on what I’ve seen here and then have looked at a few school websites, but didn’t know if there was a more concise resource for this type of info? I do have the Dance College Guide already, and have just downloaded the Creative Colleges book.</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p>No problem! It seems like college research is what I do best! Ha. I haven’t heard much about Boulder honestly, but I’m also east coast. I wouldn’t worry about them being known in the dance world rather than them being a good fit for you. Look at alumni to see where they went. One thing I can suggest is to have a safety, non-audition school, that is a fit financially and academically that your D would be happy to attend. </p>

<p>As far as finding what the focus of each school is, I wish there was a concise way to find the information. The Dance College Guide will definitely help you as I believe they have what type of dance is available at each school or something like that. What I did and what I really suggest doing is looking at each school’s website in depth, looking at the curriculum, what they offer, the audition process, etc. This will also help figure out what your D does and doesn’t like. Look at Ballet Talk for Dancers as well, it’s a website and by looking on there I was able to see which programs were extremely Ballet based. Google will also help you, with some information, but I suggest looking through old forums on here for more information. They’re pretty helpful. Take all personal experiences with a grain of salt, you never know the whole story or people’s experiences with certain programs. You and your daughter are about to embark on a very long and involved process with a lot of ups and downs. Best of luck. Let me know if you have any more questions, I’ll try my best to help you.</p>

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<p>Hi erinonline D is a senior and we just went through the dance major audition process. She wanted to stay in the west and avoid the ballet only emphasis as well. Some schools with good modern/contemporary and good academics I would recommend to check out would be LMU, Chapman, UCLA, UC Irvine, SMU. and not as challenging academically, U of Utah U of Arizona. Not sure of academics but great dance U of Oklahoma, U of M Kansas City. UC Boulder is a non audition program so probably not as strong as the others, but is modern based I think. USC (LA) is starting a fantastic program fall 2015 and looks to be a program that is well rounded. </p>

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<p>also check out TCU. </p>

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<p>Thanks cmemama! VERY helpful :slight_smile: Just to clarify…LMU =Loyola Marymount?</p>

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<p>In addition to cmemama’s suggestions, you might also want to check out the Lines program at Dominican University of CA. Son’s GF is a senior there now, graduating in May. It’s a tough program to get into but excellent. The school is just north of San Francisco, in Marin County/San Rafael, and the students go in to the city for classes at Lines. </p>

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<p>yes Loyola. I agree Lines at Dominican is a great option and a wonderful company!! it is a contemporary ballet program and might not work for your D. Congrats to LongRangePlan on your son’s graduation! </p>

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<p>If you decide to visit Goucher, I suggest driving few hours south to check out James Madison University. I teach in theatre and musical theatre at JMU, and I think the dance program may have much of what your daughter is looking for in a program… Please message me if you have any questions. :)</p>