<p>Junior D is wondering what schools she should consider and which to not bother with. Confident she has the singing and acting chops to get into any school, but dancing is her achilles heel. Not that she isn't a good dancer, it's just that she lacks experience. She took ballet & jazz from age 3 through 7th grade, then stopped. Her only dancing experience now comes through her high school musicals. She does fine, but since she's usually the female lead they're not really asking much of her from a dance standpoint. </p>
<p>She has enrolled in dance instruction at a local studio, but considering the cost of travel to auditions, we're wondering if there are some schools we should immediately cross off the list, or if the strength of her 2 abilities (singing/acting) would be enough to carry her through an audition if they see teachability. We live in Ohio if that matters. ALso, are there any schools we should add to the list based on her strengths/abilities</p>
<p>Her preliminary list includes ELon, CMU and Penn State. Also CMU since we are Pittsburgh ex-pats.</p>
<p>You have really great schools on your list. Of course, any and all schools want the triple threat student - in your case, if you truly shine in acting and singing and show good attitude and “teachability” in dance - you would have a good shot at being accepted. So what to do? Keep up (maybe re-double) your studio dance courses. I hope we have at least one ballet course in there - it is a core element in developing balance and posture. You have the summer - use it to take more dance. I wish you well.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if she wants to stay instate or not but there is Otterbein. They have a fantastic and well known musical theatre program. They do not have a dance major, just a minor. They have guest artists in all the time, at least from the literature I receive. A friend attends Elon and loves it, she is on their dance team there. I have heard their MT program is also really good.</p>
<p>Actually, we live about 3 miles from Otterbein. That alone is killing any interest she might have in that great school - she wants to spread her wings without having an aerial view of Mom & Dad’s house! CCM is about as close as she wants to be (2 hours to Cincy). We visited Elon last summer and is seems great.</p>
<p>CCPA/Roosevelt realizes that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and will look past a less than perfect dance call if they can see someone has potential. I’m a junior MT now, and I would not consider myself a dancer first. However, my dance ability has grown leaps and bounds from when I auditioned 3 years ago!</p>
<p>Hi K8tsdad. My philosophy is to not rule anything out based on what we think we know about our kids, or assume what an outcome might be. It sounds as though your daughter has a nice foundation in dance and may be in better standing as far as dance than you think. In the BFA MT school search, if the child is indeed competitive on that level, is that there is no way to determine which schools will or wont need/want what our kid has to offer. There is no way to figure it out. Help her make a long list of schools, including one or two non-audition academically safe selections. Go for it! P.S. My D is a senior at PSU and there are a few “movers” (not dancers) in the program.</p>
<p>Something that many schools look for is exactly what you are describing, two out of three of the core skills of a Musical Theatre major. I am a freshman at Ball State University, and I have learned that no one looks for a master of anything, “teachability” is what they are definitely looking for the most, because everyone goes to school to learn these things! I suggest that you look into my school, it is not too far away from you, but healthily close.</p>
<p>Our impression from D’s auditions last year was that Elon and CCM love a great dancer. Elon’s audition was heavy on dance. I do agree though that if you are great at 2 out of the 3 components you should be fine. And Elon is a great school!</p>