Dance auditions and decisions 2017/18

College Majors Dance Major
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I’d be interested to hear more about where people auditioned, what they liked or didn’t like, and where they are planning to attend since we haven’t had a thread on that this year and it would be good to see if some kids will end up at the same place.

D18 wants to do a BFA (likely with a double major) and prefers ballet. She auditioned for Oklahoma (twice), UT Austin, Utah (twice), Butler, Fordham/Ailey, UCSB, UC Irvine, Chapman and Julliard and still has Indiana left to do. She didn’t get an audition after the pre-screen at USC. So far she’s been admitted to Oklahoma (for modern, but not for ballet), UT Austin, Utah and UCSB (but for BA initially not directly into the BFA). She didn’t get into Butler (for ballet, she was admitted academically and they are still sending lots of emails even after rejecting her for ballet!) or Julliard (no surprise there, she was pleased just to pass the first cut). Not heard from Fordham, Chapman or UCI yet.

She really liked Oklahoma, Utah and Chapman, both for the programs and locations. UT Austin felt like too big a city for her (New York is low on the list for the same reason), while UCSB is a beautiful location but not the ideal program for dance (UCI seemed like a better program in comparison). She did the summer intensive at Indiana last year (its worth noting this allows you to bypass the video pre-screen) and loves the place, but they discourage double majors which makes it a less attractive choice (if she gets a place, which probably won’t happen given how competitive it is).

Looks like Utah is top of the list for now, as the best ballet focused program. And she got the full OOS tuition scholarship for 4 years which is a big draw too, along with the Honors College (beautiful new dorms!) and the relatively convenient location for us here in CA. Even without that, Utah is pretty cheap compared to most of the other OOS places we considered because of how easy it is to get residency.

She has been pretty successful with (academic based) merit elsewhere too, notably UT Austin (OOS tuition waiver) and UCSB (Regents scholarship), but I don’t think those will tip the balance, because neither dance program seems to focus on training students for a professional career (and neither is particularly ballet focused). In terms of aid elsewhere, it looks like Butler gives lots of applicants a reasonable discount (up to $20K/year) without distinguishing too heavily on academics, while we haven’t seen anything other than the standard academic merit aid from Oklahoma yet (it appears you have to say you are accepting the place before they consider dance merit aid on top). Fordham and Chapman are supposed to be fairly generous with merit aid (they had better be given the high COA!) but we’ll see.

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My daughter auditioned to: SUNY Purchase, Pointe Park, Marymount, Dominican/Alonzo Lines company, Univ of Michigan, univ nc school of arts; she received acceptance to SUNY, acceptance to uncsa, received a large scholarship acceptance from Point Park, waiting to hear back from Dominican; she decided to withdraw her application from univ of Michigan after getting feedback from friends who had auditioned and a friend attending the school (not for dance) who took some dance classes there. This is such a difficult process. When I watch videos from SUNY I’m VERY impressed with the talent but the school was somewhat of a downer and I just read they’ve received a college safety rating of F! DD first choice is dominican/lunes and it was her last audition. This is such a difficult decision!!! My gut is saying choose the school offering a scholarship because they are proving how interested they are in you. Anyone have opinions on these school?

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I forgot to mention Marymount. This was a bizarre audition. The audition lead spent 45 min of the audition time talking about the program. She said it was important that they accept students who demonstrated interest by asking questions. Needless to say, most of the room started asking questions and that took up a lot of time. I believe there was only 45 min left. After those 45 min there was a cut. Out of approx 40 students, they wanted to see solos of 9. It was surprising DD did not receive a callback as she has been on the high end of talent in ballet and contemporary and has never been “cut” at any auditions. Then we saw the solos of some of the callbacks and were once again curious about their selection process after seeing the solos.

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Thank you very much for opening this thread @Twoin18 . I’ve only seen audition thread for music, theater and acting this year. Congrats on your daughter and yours @pinkribbonmom on acceptance to the great programs. My son is a ballet/modern dancer and as you both know has a much better opportunities as a male dancer. He has strong academics and wants to double major in dance BFA and biology (for PT school later). He applied for USC, NYU, SUNY Purchase and Dominican dance BFA, UCLA, UCI and a few Ivy/private schools with good dance programs (non major) for biology major. He only auditioned for USC and NYU because he had a conflict with Purchase audition (we live in SoCal) and I don’t know what happened with Dominican. So far he’s accepted at Purchase Biology and UCI Biology.

USC is the reason he decided to pursue BFA after he attended a discovery session in his junior year. He loves the new facilities and knows a couple of kids in the program. This year 600+ applicants and about 110 were invited to audition. The program will accept 24-26 dancers this year. There were 4 audition dates and 26 dancers on his day, about 10 males. He loved the audition process. He didn’t want me to distract him so he went by himself. It was 7:30a - 8p day for him. 3 hours of audition classes ballet, contemporary, improv and hip hop. No cuts. A panel faculty judges of 8. They know the dancers’ names. Lunch break after the classes and then solo audition and interview by the judges. We are in SoCal so he was scheduled toward the end to let OOS dancers leave early. It was an exhausting day and nerve racking to perform solo in front of the 8-panel judges, but he loved every bit of it. USC also encourages dancers to pursue double major or a concurrent master’s degree. It would be paradise for him if he got accepted. He said the dancers at the audition were all amazing and it would’ve been miracle for him to get in.

NYU audition was also one day event 8a-4p. 2 faculty members came to SoCal, alternating teaching and judging. There was cut after the ballet class. I don’t remember the numbers except for 6 males attended the audition and 3 made through to the solo audition. Solo was in front of the whole class and interview was private. Again all the dancers were really good. My son asked about double majoring and was told about 3% of students pursue double majors. Dance BFA is 3 year plus 2 summers and it takes another year for the double major students to finish. He’s never visited NYU but so far the program sounds great.

My son didn’t apply for Julliard because of no double major opportunities, He said even if he did apply he wouldn’t be able to get in. If he is lucky enough to get in either USC or NYU, we still have to see if they are financially doable for us.

Talent wise my son is far behind girls. I applaud both your daughters to face rejections and pursue their passion. Good luck and hope more good news coming in March!

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My daughter loved Butler but didn’t get in for ballet (and yes, she too gets tons of communications from them which just rubs salt in the wound). OU was a long shot for her but she wanted to try - didn’t get in there either. I thought she should consider auditioning again at both of those schools, but she decided not to. She has been accepted to the BFA at Utah (ballet) and Towson, was accepted at Goucher and Kansas (no audition) and is waiting to hear from CSU Long Beach. She didn’t want a program that was more modern-based, and she didn’t want a more “triple threat” program, so it ruled some schools out. She also didn’t want to look at schools n Texas, and for some reason, none of the PA schools struck her fancy. She thought IU would be too competitive for her liking, though she really doesn’t have any firsthand experience on which to draw that conclusion. Right now Utah is her current top choice, and hopefully, she will be able to make a final decision soon.

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@mom2adancer Good to hear of someone else for whom Utah is a top choice. It was a bit disconcerting to find there isn’t even a set of threads on CC discussing the U. Did you sign up for housing already or are you waiting to decide (it’s not clear to me how much the priority deadline will affect available choices)?

Hopefully our daughters will both end up there. We’re off for a brief visit next week as I haven’t been before (my wife went to the first audition back in November) and D18 has an interview for an Eccles scholarship. Would be good if this weekend’s snow has melted a bit by then.

First she’s off to Indiana tomorrow for her final audition (consensus when she was there last summer is that IU is more selective than Oklahoma which is more selective than Utah, so she’s not expecting to get in). She also got admitted to UCI ballet last week with Regents scholarship, but likes Utah more. Still waiting on Chapman and Fordham.

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@Twoin18 I, too, was surprised by the lack of a Utah thread on this site. My husband and I agreed to risk the housing application fee, so yes, our daughter did register and will hear back in early April as far as when her actual housing registration date will be. I have no idea if signing up early will result in a better selection for her or not.

I visited in the fall with my daughter, and I think my husband will go back out with her over spring break so she can observe a class or two, tour the dorms, etc.

Congrats on the scholarship offers your daughter has received! Another dancer at our studio was also accepted recently to Irvine, but my daughter had no desire to live in that part of California and so she didn’t even apply or audition.

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My daughter auditioned for NYU, Fordham/Ailey, Rutgers Mason/Gross, Temple, Elon, Towson and JMU. So far she has been accepted to Towson (with scholarship), JMU (which is only a BA), Temple (with scholarship), Rutgers Mason/Gross (scholarship) and Elon (waiting on financials). Waiting to hear back from NYU and Fordham.

Her training from 6-15 was strictly classical ballet in Philadelphia. In 9th grade she was introduced to modern and contemporary and her whole focus shifted. She is at a performing arts high school and majoring in classical ballet but she is now training at a contemporary company in Philly and added modern, jazz and contemporary.

She no longer wanted a BFA in ballet, only, but a modern program that offers strong daily ballet as a foundation for the other genres. It is really, really hard to wait to hear from NYU and Fordham.

She loved the NYU audition. Really enjoyed the teachers and the program structure and it’s NYC! She did the only classical variation for solo and the interviewer remarked on the strength of her classical training. He said they don’t perform classical ballets but do perform contemporary ballet and she would be able to do that on pointe. So they have the best combination that she would like to continue to train and perform in. But, it’s NYU so there are no expectations! Fordham was interesting. They stated that they had over 800 applications and offered 300 auditions and will take 30 dancers. She loved Mason Gross. They are a bit more modern/contemporary focused but she loved the teachers and the strength of the dancers and their performance, which we stayed to see.

Can’t wait to hear where everyone chooses to go!!

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@amom2girls Congrats on the multiple acceptance with scholarships! Good luck with NYU and Fordham! The waiting is so hard!

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Thank you @SCMHAALUM . Sounds like your son is also waiting on NYU? Did he enjoy the audition? My daughter thought the overall level of dancers was very good. She was so nervous about the cut. All of the parents were waiting in the lounge area that connects the studios. There were dancers from California and Oregon and India! We had a nice tour of the building. We have not toured the University. Waiting on that if she gets in. It is very expensive, too. It’s going to be difficult for any program to come in under Rutgers.

As parents, we loved the Rutgers program. They put a lot of time and money in to their dance program. They have a full time dedicated PT. A pilates room. They have advisers. They have an arts dorm. A lovely theater. If they get hurt or are ill the dance dept. coordinates their care directly. Just a lot of things in place for their dancers.

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@amom2girls Amazing achievement to be batting 100% on auditions so far. Hope it continues! Your daughter must be very talented. My D18’s best friend got cut during the day in the NYU auditions and was very disappointed after going to their summer intensive last year.

D18 didn’t apply to NYU as it’s so expensive, and isn’t that keen on Fordham (despite the potential for great academic merit aid) as she’s not particularly interested in NYC. Everything else being equal she’d probably quite like SoCal, hence Chapman is still a possibility if she gets in, but my wife and I are resigned to her going somewhere cold (at least Utah comes with skiing, unlike Indiana!). They are planning to shop for winter coats in Indiana as they have some spare time that had been set aside for a Butler visit before they rejected her.

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@Twoin18 Love this thread! We are in Philadelphia. I share that because this time last year she had 3 programs on her list from California and U. of Arizona. We had a long conversation about school locations and she decided she did not want to be that far away. So, while those programs are wonderful and may have been great fits she took them off of her list. She has been in love with NYC since she was a little girl and is used to a city. I think the fact that Rutgers is so close to NYC she would be ok with their location. We were surprised at how much she liked Elon. They are in N. Carolina and there is not much town there, but for some reason it really works for her. Fordham’s program is very different from NYU and from Rutgers. It is interesting that once you start to dig in to these programs that there really are differences. Some will matter and some won’t.

The programs like NYU and Marymount that cut along the way are difficult. In some ways, I almost prefer the prescreening done at Fordham. But these kids get up and dance and put themselves out there and I have the utmost admiration for them. It is hard to understand to understand unless you have a child in dance or theater.

I think Indiana and Utah both have wonderful programs but she did not like the fact that they were separated from each other. She wants strong ballet and strong modern and strong contemporary. I think that those programs work if you have a clear favorite…ballet or modern!

Love to hear about the process for everyone!

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@amom2girls Yes we are waiting on NYU and USC. As observed by @Twoin18 your daughter must be very talented. At NYU LA audition there were only 6 male dancers and my son commented “how are they going to pick the girls - they are all so good!”. My son loves to dance and works hard, but he is not that talented, so to me if he is not offered scholarship his chance of making a living as a dancer is not that promising. It’s hard to tell your kid this but I am a very realistic person and will find a way to explain that to him. He was a physically weak child, which is the reason we put him in dance and soccer when he was young. He has natural understanding of physics and science so if dance doesn’t work out he’ll have to go with plan B, study science and dance on the side. He understands this and has applied to colleges with Plan A and Plan B, but doesn’t want to think about Plan B for now. At least he’s got into UCI biology honors program for Plan B. Best of luck to everyone!

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@Twoin18 Side note…we go skiing in Mammoth quite a bit and I met a girl from UCSD who told me she was with the school ski team that were competing there (but she wasn’t good enough thus on the same lift as me :)) so if your daughter is into skiing, you could check to see if the school has a team…

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@SCMHAALUM I’m more concerned about us :slight_smile: My youngest son will be much happier taking a trip to watch his sister’s dance performance if he gets a day or two of skiing along with it.

Having said that, the dorm at Utah apparently has its own ski room so I’m sure lots of people go. She won’t be able to keep up with people who grew up in SLC though!

@amom2girls D18 isn’t into big cities and she wants a more self contained campus if possible. So Austin was too much in the city, whereas she loved OU (and IU). UCSB is a beautiful location too. Utah is OK though not completely out of the city. OTOH Chapman (which she liked) is in the middle of a huge built up area, but it’s all low rise suburbia as she is used to at home, so feels a bit different.

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@Twoin18 it is so interesting to see what they end up liking. To see what criteria they use to make a decision. Your daughter would have enjoyed Elon. It is a very self contained campus and the town is 4 square blocks, lol. We thought that our daughter would hate it but it has a great vibe. I’m not certain if they would have enough ballet thought it is certainly a strength. I’ve heard such nice things about Utah. It seems to be very beautiful!

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@amom2girls We love Utah and have been to most of the National Parks there. Just not SLC before. However, after watching Book of Mormon, we keep telling my daughter “Sal Tlay Ka Siti isn’t an actual place! It’s a metaphor!”

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My daughter loves Zion and is excited to possibly at least live in the same state! She and my husband are going back out for another visit. She’s leaning heavily toward Utah these days.

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My family have been to Zion 3 times! Arches and Bryce twice. Envious of you guys already :slight_smile:

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I’m laughing so hard at the skiing! My daughter has never been able to fit in skiing. There were always 2 nutcrackers and then SI auditions and she would never take the chance of an injury. She does ice skate, though. At one point she had to choose between training to figure skate or ballet and she chose ballet. But, she still loves ice skating. So, skiing is going to have to wait for her. (let’s be honest, skiing on the ice in the Poconos is very different to skiing out West;)