Do dance programs look for a particular body type?

<p>My D has been auditioning this year for BFA programs. She is 5 foot 4 inches and athletic-muscular built. She does not look like a ballerina. My D had been wait-listed at Jacob's Pillow Summer Intensive program and has attended Boston Conservatory, so I believe is very talented. Yet, she has been rejected from schools such as Suny Purchase. Do the schools have a body type they are looking for? And yet, Please help me so I can help her.</p>

<p>You might want to post this question in the Dance Major forum. There are some folks over there who are pretty knowledgable.</p>

<p><a href=“Dance Major - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/dance-major/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Although most school do NOT have a body type that they will admit to looking for, there are certainly some that do. Particularly with those schools where ballet plays a larger part of the program than modern or other dance sub-genre’s, a student will face prejudice regarding body type. A hold over from the Balanchine machine, the taller willow-y dancer remains in vogue in most touring companies. There are are number of companies - Mark Morris & Bill T. Jones to name two - that do value differing body types.</p>

<p>Dance is a difficult career. Your daughter should not be discouraged if it’s what she wants, but she should be realistic about the large number of programs that may not consider her body type as something that they want. These programs are generally fairly competitive and many do not feel as if they have to compromise to fill their programs.</p>

<p>Has she also applied to regular, non-audition dance programs?
I wish her the best.</p>

<p>Thank you. She is now beginning to apply to non-audition schools. We are in a crunch with deadlines. This is hard as she has always wanted to be a dancer. </p>

<p>I know students who were admitted to SUNY Purchase for dance, and they were not the “ballerina” type. </p>

<p>I think that you may be underestimating the level of competition for entrance into many programs, and the level of prior training and experience that many of these dancers have. </p>

<p>Auditioning itself is something of an art – it’s not just a matter of talent, it also is the ability to stand out in a group. </p>

<p>I also know a student who were admitted to SUNY Purchase for dance during the last admission cycle. She is tall and on the muscular side, not thin and willowy. </p>

<p>By way of background, my daughter graduated recently from Tisch with a BFA in dance and now has a contract with a contemporary ballet company, so our family has been in this “scene” for a long time. From what I hear, there are some BFA programs where body type is a consideration, for example, SUNY Purchase, Arizona, and Ailey/Fordham. I think that Tisch is very open to different body types as is Boston Conservatory. I suggest you check out the Ballet Talk for Dancers chat boards and look at discussions on different college programs for other peoples’ experiences.</p>

<p>Thanks, you have given us some hope</p>

<p>I’ve seen all body types complete (the operative word) the Dance major at Columbia College Chicago. </p>