<p>I recently auditioned for CCPA’s BFA MT Dance Emphasis program at Chicago Unifieds and I loved the vibe I got from the school, faculty, and current students. I think it would be a great fit for me, provided I get in, but I have a question about the curriculum for the Dance Emphasis majors.</p>
<p>What is the difference between the Dance Emphasis and Voice Emphasis curriculums as far as vocal training? I want a strong dance program, which is why I auditioned for the dance emphasis, but I don’t want to compromise my vocal training, since singing isn’t my strong suit. I especially wanted a program with private voice lessons for all MT students. Do Dance Emphasis majors get that?</p>
<p>I’m a current senior at CCPA and was working last weekend at auditions, so I most likely met you! So glad you had a good audition and got a good vibe. We try to be as friendly as possible. It’s definitely one of my favorite things about my school.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think the names of the “Dance” and “Voice” Emphasis can be misleading to what each program sets out to accomplish. The awesome thing about the Dance Emphasis program is that you will still be taking just as much private voice as the Voice emphasis program. The program is set to train dancers first, but dancers who can hold their own when asked to sing and act an audition. The biggest difference between curriculums is going to be in upper level acting vs upper level dance (choreography, pedagogy, injury prevention, etc) courses. “Voice” emphasis will spend more time in those upper level acting classes and “Dance” emphasis will spend more time in upper level dance classes. </p>
<p>Also, since this dance emphasis program is brand new, things are NOT set in stone yet. I think students in this new program, especially in the first few years, will get a lot of input on how the program is structured. </p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any other questions! I’d love to help!</p>
<p>Ah, okay, that sounds great! Thank you very much!</p>
<p>I assume that we continue to take acting courses in the later years as well, just not as many. I have one more question, also, if you don’t mind. I understand that the Dance Emphasis program isn’t set in stone yet since it is new, but in general, have classes been pretty set with few, if any, arts electives, or is there any room to explore? For instance, if I take a playwriting class my Freshman year and enjoy it, are there any elective credits throughout my time at CCPA with which I can further explore playwriting, directing, etc…?</p>
<p>I understand this isn’t as exploratory as Cornish or NYU Tisch, especially since it’s a conservatory, but I’d just like an idea as to how concrete the schedules are.</p>
<p>As far as electives go, our schedules are pretty set in stone. The only classes we really get to “pick” are our general education classes, which cannot be theatre classes. Since we are a conservatory, we take one general education class each semester. If you were interested in playwriting, you could perhaps take creative writing or something along those lines.</p>
<p>If playwriting is something you are interested in, we do have a student written “play festival” type show each year. Additionally, if directing is something you want more experience in, students can assistant director and stage manage as their tech assignment. </p>
<p>Not sure if that really helped to answer your question. Let me know if you need any more info!</p>
<p>Nice, so there’s opportunities to participate in other aspects of theatre. Are there any courses in those aspects such as tech, playwriting, directing, etc… set into the curriculum at all or is it mostly performance based? Just curious, as most schools do require at least basic courses in all the various aspects of theatre, but different schools have different requirements.</p>
<p>Thanks for answering all these questions! I couldn’t find much info about the curriculum on the website, so just trying to clear up all the details (:</p>
<p>Yes, you are correct. Though it’s a conservatory program, I feel like I have become a very well rounded “theatre artist” with skills and knowledge about many different aspects of theatre. We are required to do a tech assignment each semester as well as perform in a show each semester. :-)</p>