It absolutely varies from school to school. And then some schools have prescreening. And some auditions have cuts. You really have to do your research and do not be guided by past practices. One school my daughter applied to ( a friend accepted the year before) added a prescreen from one year to the next. You really have to start planning the year before and stay on top of each individual school.
Definitely try to do auditions in October/November where possible, even if that means prioritizing getting the application done. Not only do you cut down on the audition conflicts in Jan/Feb but some schools will let you reaudition in Jan/Feb if you don’t get in from the earlier auditions. That’s how my D ended up getting admitted after being waitlisted the first time around.
I would also add that my dd is completing a number of applications before the official academic deadline in order to meet audition deadlines., especially for places that send you an invitation to apply only after your application is complete. Or we noticed on Marymount Manhattan’s website that they say you need to get your audition request in before November 1 or you won’t get a slot…and you have to submit your academic application BEFORE you can request an audition.
I learned something yesterday! I don’t know when I got the wrong impression but you don’t actually find out if you were accepted to a dance program- you get a decision in Jan/Feb from admissions like everyone else and if you don’t get in you never know if it was dance or academics that kept you out. Reading on here for awhile I had the idea that they told you or cut you through auditions about the artistic part. Live and learn!
@milgymfam Perhaps you are speaking about a specific school and I missed it but we have received acceptances from the actual school separate from acceptance to the dance program. I have found most schools to be dual admit - you have to be admitted to the school AND the dance program of choice. (Most schools are happy to have the student regardless of whether they are a dancer and encourage them to make another major selection if they do not receive acceptance into the dance program.) We received results of acceptance directly from most dance programs last year. Some schools will also wait to give admission until they have the audition results as they are considered a “direct admit” meaning that is the only option the student is applying to and if there is no dance acceptance there is no need to further evaluate the admission application. We are seeing a couple of those this year but not as many of those that I have found. I went through this last year with my competitive dancer and now going through this year with my ballerina. Completely different school lists!
@milgymfam last year my daughter heard dance results within a few weeks from a couple of schools in the fall, but Utah didn’t send out dance Acceptances until auditions had concluded. She was accepted on the spot after her Towson audition. I think, as with most things related to college, it depends on the school as to how they do things.
I hope that some work that way! This was one school- and you never know if you aren’t admitted if it was the dancing or the academics- but I asked in a FB group I’m in and was told most people experienced similar- you don’t find out how you did at auditions, you just get a university acceptance eventually or not. I guess I’d thought (hoped) she would learn how the audition went prior to January. Ha. I guess we shall see what happens at the rest!
@milgymfam that is definitely not my daughter’s experience. The acceptances were all over the place. There were schools that needed prescreens, there were schools that cut during the audition. There were schools were she had her acceptance from the dance department first. Those were the majority. Then came the financial packages. She received very nice merit scholarships.
I think it is impossible to generalize based on 1 school.
Hi is anyone attending university of arizona jazz showcase audition next weekend? Or did anyone go last year? I’m wondering…do the dancers change clothes during the audition from ballet to jazz or just shoes? And if you are participating in the scholarship can you wear jazz clothes, hair ponytail? Looking at video from past showcase event no one is in tights and leo??
@NavigatingMom what was your competitive dancer’s school list if you don’t mind me asking and where did she end up? My DD is interested in programs that will allow her to continue to take a variety of styles, and I am wondering if there are schools we have missed.
@elmom25 did you see that ECU is auditioning at Dancewave after all? I thought I remembered your dd was interested in that program…
@elmom25 My daughter had very specific things she was looking for in her program and location but the places she auditioned were: U of AZ, Point Park, Dean College, Troy, Webster, FSU, OKCU, Slippery Rock, Ball State, Sam Houston State. She was accepted with merit and scholarship to all but FSU because after her audition she pulled her app and wanted nothing to do with it (we loved the school and campus and department options - she just truly dislike the dance so much she said she would quit if she had to go there:). and she was not invited to U of AZ dance initially although she qualified for an in-class audition which we just decided not to go do. She is at Sam Houston State in Huntsville Tx and really likes it. We truly compared every other program to what they had to offer and their facilities and program offerings really are above and beyond what many of the others offered. She also loves TX and feels that Houston and Dallas will have lots to offer her in her dance future and the connections in the contemporary arena and choreography at Sam Houston are just fantastic! I am happy to talk about any of the other programs and process if you are interested. I have lots of notes and a form I used for every school to be able to compare which was really helpful to remember once we sat down to try to remember who had what! I was very impressed with so many of the programs and how she ended up with that particular list is another story. There are a couple on that list that are truly hidden gems! Anyway, hope that helps.
@threegirlpileup yes, we were very happy to see that ECU is auditioning after all!
@NavigatingMom yes, this is very helpful! Thank you! So many of these are on dd’s list. For years she has talked about U of AZ but this summer when the reality of going that far away from home settled in she decided not to audition after all. She took classes at Troy a couple weeks ago and got positive feedback from the instructors. She plans to audition there. She got acceptance and academic scholarship from Ball State today and is auditioning there this Fall. She went to OKCU’s summer program this past summer and loved it, but it is the school furthest away from us. She does plan to audition, though. We also have Point Park on her list.
We had Slippery Rock on it too, but I was wondering if the program is more modern based with less jazz and other styles?
Funny you say that about FSU. I am an alum (theatre degree) and it was on her list until this week when she said she really thinks she wouldn’t like their style of dancing. Sounds like that may be true.
Any insight you have into these programs would be greatly appreciated. Sam Houston has not been on our radar, but it would probably be ruled out due to distance. Again thank you for the info and any specifics you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.
@NavigatingMom My daughter is auditioning at three of the schools on your list (OKCU, Ball State and Webster). Any insight from the process last year is appreciated.
anyone hear anything from dancewave this past weekend yet?
or anyone receive an email to schedule auditions for pace and/or fordham yet?
Hi @NavigatingMom . I noticed that your daughter is attending Sam Houston in the dance program. I would like to know more. My daughter is very interested in that program. Are the classes small enough to get individual attention? Do freshman get to perform? How are the faculty? I see that the website says they do contemporary but we are wondering if that means “lyrical type contemporary” or more “modern contemporary.”
What is the campus life like? Anything you can share will be helpful. Thanks.
@crashboat Absolutely! My daughter loves it at Sam Houston! We actually used the things they offer to compare every other program we auditioned/visited. They definitely get individual attention - total program has about 101-110 including the graduate students (they offer an MFA in dance as well!). They do not have a “number” that they accept like most schools do as they are interested in quality dancers that bring something unique to the table. Generally, they have about 20-25 freshman. I just sent a message to my D to ask how many this year and will let you know. I do know that there are dancers who have transferred in from Point Park, Boston Conservatory, and a few other schools.
The facilities are absolutely amazing and I haven’t seen many places that can even compare. They have 4 very large dance studios with all glass on wall looking out to the campus and sprung marley floors, high end sound systems. Amazing locker room and green room area. The dance department OWNS their own theater and the stage and seating was designed by a dancer so it is just perfect for anything they want to do. They also have access to it and do not share it with any other department. They have their own costume shop which the students take class at least one semester, their own prop shop, and learn to tech all their own shows. They start choreographing and perform in the greek dance honor society showcase within a few of weeks of arrival if they want. They audition for semester pieces the first week of classes and then select which pieces they want to (or have time to) rehearse and perform. There are 3 main stage shows per semester (each with 3 performances) plus the student choreography showcase performance. As a senior, they audition, choreograph, stage, produce, tech, and costume a performance that is anywhere from 8-20 minutes long as their Senior project. (There were amazing pieces that I saw this semester!)
Several of the instructors have their own contemporary companies in Houston, and others are still out there choreographing for companies and presenting pieces so they are well connected and still relevant. They definitely do modern (my D is a huge contemporary dancer!) but it is not jus tone style strictly and the movement and quality of instruction has definitely helped my D see improvement this semester she says. The freshmen take ballet and modern 4 days per week and then have rehearsal many more hours per week depending on what they are selected for and what they can fit in their schedule. I know my D turned down one piece as she was afraid to be overwhelmed but still rehearsed M 8-10, T 6-10, Th 6-10 Sat 4-6 & Sun 4-8 (so 16 hrs).
There ia dorm that is available to all arts students (theater, music, dance) which has really great amenities. There is a dance floor, a theater that they can request movies for screening, practice rooms, sound booth, places to practice lighting and sound, recording studio, art showroom, and more. It is close to the dining hall and the dance building (GPAC), as well as central to other places on campus for academics.
They take jazz and choreography starting the second year, and also have pilates certification available in the program. There is a physical therapist that works with the dancers only that is there 2-3 days per week. They also have reformer machines just for the dance department. Their ability to choreograph as soon as they get there and to take classes in that was a big factor for my D and two of the instructors are known for their ability to teach how to choreograph and host an international conference on it every summer which has been held at Sam for the past couple of years.
They do have dance scholarships in varying amounts, but at the $1000 level, it is an out of state tuition waiver. I don’t think they give that many of those but it is a lot of money plus the $1000 and every bit helps of course! We did not know that was part of the deal when we accepted so it was a surprise as we came to the end of summer to find out!
If you can think of other questions, please let me know - and if you dancer will be auditioning definitely let me know and my D would be happy to connect with you or them or both to answer questions or whatever! I know she is helping with auditions this week and also the January ones for sure. Hope that helps some!
Oh my gosh. This is amazing information. It sounds like the dance program is “everything.” What about the campus… does one get the “college experience?” My daughter seems to placing some importance on that. Meanwhile, I’m concerned that it is out in the middle of someplace where there is not a lot going on. Being unfamiliar with Texas, it is such a big unknown. We will go visit. My D has already been accepted to the dance program through an off-campus audition. So an on-campus visit is the next step. Do they bring in one or more guest choreographers a year? I’ll check in with my D to see if she has some questions too. Thank you!
@ua1992 , did your daughter audition at Ball State in Nov.? My daughter attended that audition and got an acceptance today.
She did and got her acceptance yesterday 
Congrats to your daughter