<p>LAgal, I agree with fosselover - try to find some kind of dance professional to take a quick look. It could be someone who runs a small studio, a college prof, even a dance coach from your HS. If you can connect with somebody willing to take a look at it, be sure to demand brutal honesty. A person's natural instinct will be to avoid saying overtly negative things, but you need simple feedback: "by all means, send it", or "it's very nice, but..."</p>
<p>Don't agonize over this too much. It's unlikely that an adcom is going to throw you in the reject pile because your EC dance tape didn't knock their socks off. It would be a different story if you were applying as a dance major, of course. In this case, even a negative review on the tape probably wouldn't be a deal-breaker if they wanted to admit you for your academics or other EC accomplishments. Good luck, LAgal!</p>
<p>if you live in a really small town, it's very reasonable that there wouldn't be a dance studio, and fosselover, he said he's self-taught, and there isn't anywhere in town where there's a studio or anything of the sort</p>
<p>celebrian25--Almost all towns, no matter how small, have a dance studio. Sometimes it is just a mom teaching out of her garage, but wherever there are small girls, there are people willing to teach dance (this isn't sexist, it is just that 98% of the classes for 10 and under are all girls). On average there is one dance studio for every 4000 inhabitants. Scary isn't it, but my HS daughter who loves to dance and teach should always be able to find work!!!</p>
<p>Yes, I did. I called her up about an hour ago, and she has agreed to look at the video tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your advice! It really helped! I will let y'all know after I talk to her tomorrow. And you can guide me further...<em>smile</em></p>
<p>Ok, good news and bad: I went to a professional dance teacher who specializes in ballet, jazz, tap, etc. and she had a very favorable opinion of the dance. However, I also called the college. The admissions officer said that there's no guarantee that supplemental materials will even be considered because of the great number of applications. How can I increase my chances of getting my video seen? All help is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Are you interested in pursuing dance as an EC in college? Does the college have a dance team or dance ensemble? Is their a multicultural program that is EC? If any of these situations apply, then contact the department or student group. There are scholarships offered for some of these type of EC and if there are scholarships, you can increase the chance of your video being seen.</p>
<p>Yes, fosselover...I definitely want to pursue dancing as an EC and, in fact, I think that this college is one of about only 10 (if even that many) that offers Indian dance--period. I like that idea and will try to call the student group as soon as I have an opportunity. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Had similar situation with D who's a senior. Her EC's include solo vocal, solo flute, show choir, soccer, gymnastics, etc. Majoring or minoring in none of them. Scratched my head--this dedication is worth SOMEthing, isn't it?</p>
<p>So, after determining that any video footage or audio we had was not going to HURT D's chances, I had my brother (who's a video editor) put together about a 4 minute VHS tape (not DVD--DVD players are not reliable) with a scrolling paragraph at the opening, saying that while D is not majoring in this, that this tape shows her dedication to excellence, etc. Told my brother not to make it look too slick, but not amateurish either. And the labelled tape, complete with running time, is going in the envelope with everything else to all 6 of the colleges to which D is applying.</p>
<p>This way the adcoms see what she can do apart from seeing it on a transcript or resume, and it's not so long that they rip it out of the machine & throw it out the window. Again, I figure it can't hurt and at the very least it might help from a name-remembering standpoint if D is on the fence for admission or a scholarship.</p>
<p>I advise you not to send it simply because only the BEST send in a supplement. Admissions really looks at the supplement for a true talent. Maybe you should use this as a topic for an essay or something...............</p>
<p>LAgal, contact the people who are involved in Indian dance at this college and ask if they would be willing to look at your video because you are seeking admission and really hope to attend and participate in their program. Send it to them along with a dance resume and/or personal statement about your commitment to this type of dance. They may offer up front to send a letter about you to the admissions office if they like it. If not, let them know that admissions said they would have no time to look at it, and if you are feeling courageous, mention that if they like it you hope they will contact admissions. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all! I plan on calling the school tomorrow to see if they've even got my application stuff. The deal, though: I do not have a dance resume because I have had no formal dance training (except like 2 weeks in 6th grade, and even that is sketchy). My EC part on the common app is about dancing. I don't know if that's worth anything. I will try to talk to the dance group, though. Thank you so much for the suggestion!</p>
<p>Ok, if my dancing is excellent, but the video is not of great quality (I am much less than an expert on putting together such media), will it hurt me?</p>