<p>I'm hoping to pursue a degree majoring in dance...can anyone recommend any colleges/universities? Also, can somebody tell me what colleges in US are like? I live in Singapore, you see...</p>
<p>Pebz:</p>
<p>Here are two lists to get you started:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.artslynx.org/dance/univ.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.artslynx.org/dance/univ.htm</a></p>
<p>What style of dance do you want to study? And what do you want to do after you graduate?</p>
<p>Well I want to do ballet and modern dance and maybe after graduation I'll join a professional dance company...if I can, that is. There are just so many programs...I don't know which one's better for me...</p>
<p>Pebz, it's dejavu all over! I just met a theatrical agent who deals with dancers and singers. He started in the "business" with Britany. I asked him about schools for dance. His answer was that many schools that do have dance as majors have different subspecialties. I never knew this. Thus, some specialize in jazz dancing and some in modern dancing etc. I guess you need to know what types of dance instruction each school specializes in.</p>
<p>University of Michigan has a wonderful program, but you need to apply ASAP and you must audition.</p>
<p>I'm also a dancer interested in ballet and modern dance. You'll have to decide whether or not you want to take a conservatory or university approach. If you want to double major or also want strong academics you'll need to pick a good college that happens to have a good dance program. The top conservatories include Julliard, North Carolina School of the Arts, Boston Conservatory, Cincinatti, CalArts, SUNY Purchase, and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. There are many more as well. Universities with dance programs vary. Some good liberal arts colleges with strong dance programs include Vassar(good dance but doesnt offer a dance major, Connecticut College(stronger in modern), Skidmore, Mt Holyoke(all girls), Barnard(also all girls), Sarah Lawrence, and Goucher. Some good universities...Harvard and Princeton have good dance programs but i'm not sure if you can major in dance at either school, Duke, George Washington(good program but may not be right for someone who is pre-professional), Indiana University at Bloomington(phenomenal ballet dept.), Temple University and many more but these should give you a good start. I've been researching dance departments all year so if you have any questions feel free to ask. By the way, what types of dance have you studied? Do you focus more on ballet or modern and what styles of modern? Most of the schools I listed are strongest in modern although a few are very strong in ballet(Harvard, Vassar, Indiana, Goucher). A few of them offer the Graham technique of modern dance, others focus on Horton and others have their own techniques altogether. Hope this helps and good luck!</p>
<p>Oh I forgot to mention that Hampshire, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Smith, and Mt. Holyoke all have a 5 colleges dance program where if you attend on of the schools you can take dance classes at any of these schools and there is a bus that will bring you to the other school.</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all these replies. I really appreciate it. So if I do want to apply to any college/university, what are the basic requirements?</p>
<p>Well actually I didn't really study dance...I just took classes and had ballet training for about four years, and now I'm taking modern dance classes. i'm taking up ballet again in March and I'll be doing a part-time dance course in July. The course lasts for only a year and we study both modern dance and ballet...after the course I'm thinking of studying more dance in the US...except that I don't really understand how the colleges and universities work...am I right in saying that in the US, people graduate from high school at 18, start college at 19, then start the university at about 21?</p>
<p>In the U.S. most students finish high school at about age 18. Traditionally, 3 months after high school graduation students begin their studies at a college or university. Both colleges and universities offer bachelors degrees. The major difference between a college and a university is size. Colleges are smaller. Universities usually have many component colleges, for example, a college of arts and sciences, a college of fine arts, a college of medicine, a college of law, etc. American students typically spend four years (though I hear the average is getting closer to 5 years nowadays) as undergraduates. Therefore, they graduate from college at about age 22. If they choose to go directly into a graduate degree program, that would occur 3 months after earning a bachelors degree.</p>
<p>I assume when you said you didn't really study dance, you mean you have not taken courses in dance history or choreography, or dance notation. Most American high school students would not have had these courses either. The typical American teenager who aspires to major in dance in college or wants to apprentice with a dance company has had years of dance classes (performance classes). </p>
<p>If you want to major in dance in the U.S. you will need to send in application forms, recommendation forms from your high school counselor, academic teachers, and dance teachers, and a dance training resume. You will also be expected to audition for most dance degree programs. Frankly, I wouldn't waste my time on non-audition dance programs if, as you say, you want to major in dance. If what you really want is to continue to take dance classes without being a dance major, that is a different story.</p>
<p>Some other posters have given you some school names to look into. I'm going to toss out a few more. Ohio State and Florida State Universities and the University of Utah have very well regarded dance programs. Suzanne Farrell, choreographer George Balanchine's great muse, is on the faculty at Florida State. If you have an interest in jazz, tap, or American theatre dance styles, take a look at Oklahoma City University. They, Point Park University in Pittsburgh, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia are among the few schools in the country to offer a full range of jazz and tap courses in addition to ballet and modern. Fordham University in New york has partnered with the Alvin Ailey dance company to offer a new degree in dance. I've heard good things about their program. I agree with other posters that the University of Michigan and Indiana University also have well regarded programs.</p>
<p>I and the other posters could probably be of more help if we had a better idea of your skill level. What have your teachers in Singapore advised you?</p>
<p>Yeah I didn't take any courses in dance history and such...so if I want to major in dance at either a college or a university, do I have to take any other subjects as well? i'm not sure how it's like over in the US...and Singapore colleges and universities don't offer any dance courses...I'm only 17 this year and I'll probably use the rest of the year taking alot of dance classes, since I've already graduated from secondary school. I just want to know...colleges/universities in the US require the SAT, ACT and stuff right? So what do they actually test you on?
Oh, and I didn't discuss this with any of my dance teachers...In fact, I didn't really discuss this with anybody (yet)..I've heard that the Alvin Ailey dance program is indeed really good, and I've also read somewhere that the dance program at Bennington College is pretty good. I went to their website the other day and I quite like the sound of it. What do you guys think of it?
Well, and my skill level...I was previously a member of my school's dance society, and had training(mostly ballet) for four years. And while I was in it, i also took an extra ballet class outside of school for a year. This dance school claimed that it taught us the syllabus of Grade 5, but I suspect it's not really proper training. Because for one thing, they didn't have any examination and stuff like that. I started dance relatively late (at the age 13), but I really want to pursue a career in dance.</p>
<p>if your training has been in royal classical ballet, and you wish to continue with it, the best school for you is actually the Royal Academy of Dance in London. however, you mention that you have not completed examinations for each level, so it might be considered a stretch school.</p>