How are the Dance offerings in the musical theater programs?

I have been looking at all the musical theater programs (courses of study) my daughter is interested in and I see that they all start with ballet 1, tap 1, jazz 1, etc… and the next year each class moves up. But what about someone who is a really strong dancer with years of training? Does she still stay with the group which probably has some lower level dancers? Or what about acting? Certainly some students come in with a number of years in acting training vs. my daughter who only acts in the plays she has been cast? How do the colleges sort this out? I don’t see a lot of options in their course guide. I know that the hot schools take very talented students but how can they all be at the same level in all three disciplines?

Does anyone have a comment on this? Was anyone disappointed with being held back in certain areas?

This really depends on each individual school. Some schools have their MT classes progress as a unit through their curriculum - so they all take the same dance, acting, and music classes at the same time. Other programs do what is called “leveling”. This is essentially an audition you do for placement purposes only. And you will be placed in a class based on the skill level you show during 'leveling".
I can only speak for my D’s school, OCU. The do level dance classes so, as long as space is available, and class you level into can be scheduled around your other required classes, you can take higher level classes from the start.
Conversely, we know someone at Baldwin Wallace who is a very accomplished dancer. She was more than willing to take a little easier dance classes in the first couple of years at BW since she was getting to be part of a terrific MT program that she loves. For her, the acting and music training is more important as she wants to bring them up to the level of her dance.
Sometimes people will take dance classes outside of school (depending on where you are located) or during school breaks to continue to challenge themselves in dance if they are not doing so at school.
If this is a big concern for you, talk to the programs in which you are interested as they will all handle this question differently.

I can speak to BW as well. My D had lots of dance training prior to arriving, and we were worried about the lack of leveling, but she has found that she has been challenged in every dance class in spite of that fact.

Most schools are going to place first year majors in the beginning acting and musical theatre performance classes. Some schools will also place all students together (regardless of incoming level) in the same dance and music classes. Some schools will level the dance and music classes based upon proficiency when entering the program. So, a student who is dancing at a high level may be in upper level dance classes, even as a first year student.

You need to ask each school directly what their policy is for class placement.

Sometimes a program offers the possibility of taking leveled classes for dance, or acting or ___________, but when it comes to there reality of scheduling around required classes it can get a little tricky. My S had extensive prior dance training and was able to take upper level dance classes at Wright State as a freshman. As a sophomore he is eligible to take dance classes with the dance majors, but the required MT classes and extra dance classes have made it impossible for him to schedule in his required core academic classes. Fortunately, he had some AP credit to give a little wiggle room. He has also found that at WSU, if you do the work and talk to the professors, you can get permission to take “Acting Major” acting classes - space permitting - rather than MT acting classes. Occasionally, the school’s “official party line” differs from what a student can make happen once he/she proves his/her work ethic and discusses options with faculty and advisors.

Montclair has many levels of dance, and they test you when you get there. Some even level into classes with the dance majors. Others start from square one.

CCPA has leveled dance but students take acting and MT performance classes together. Of course CCPA also has

Leveled dance at Utah. All MT dance is at 8 am M-F so you’re all in dance just in different classes :). You can also take classes with ballet or modern dance majors with permission and if it fits with the schedule. Core acting all taken at the same time. Additional acting classes are available with permission and schedule permitting. My D has found that the ATP and MTP programs are quite accommodating to the students crossing back and forth across the curriculums.

When my D attended NYU/Tisch for MT, for every year/grade, there were four levels for ballet, four levels for jazz, four for tap. So, all freshmen were divided into four different levels of class for each dance discipline (but just freshmen in the classroom). Then again, in sophomore year, four levels of each dance discipline again, etc…all based on placement. This mattered to my kid because she entered college with years of dance.

The only other thing that had placement in MT was the Music Theory courses. There was a test the first day and you could place out of it. Four semesters were required in the curriculum for the first two years, but my D placed out of ever taking it in college, though never took it in high school. The placement was purely based on the test they gave.

Thank you to everyone. All of this is useful to ask when we get to meet the schools a little more.

Are there any good MT schools you have found to offer underwhelming dance training? ( I’m thinking about the schools that may not be on the top 10 list.)

People are understandably hesitant here to say negative things about particular schools because it always offends someone, but I’ll just say that we were underwhelmed by some school’s dance training, even some that may have been in the so-called “top 10.” I would advise applying to schools that level dance. Then if you can, after acceptances come in, have your child take a freshman and an advanced dance class at any school you are seriously considering so you can better tell if s/he will continue to be challenged.

Thanks for that good advice!!

My D was automatically placed in Ballet III as a Freshman at Elon based on her dance resume and audition. Dance is taken with Dance majors.

AT Hartt they level (at least 2 levels for Ballet as a Freshman) the dance based on a placement evaluation and you can be placed higher for Tap and Jazz as well and I do think they allow taking dance with Dance majors for the very advanced, but that is based on info I read and I would check on that. They also offer leveled dance instruction through the Community Division, which is in addition to the dance classes offered as part of the standard curriculum. These are at a discounted rate of $6.50 per class (drop in) for Hartt students and are taught by the regular dance faculty. Lots of the students pick up extra classes that way. Those classes have 3 levels based on experience.

Looks like I didn’t finish my post yesterday! Anyway, CCPA also has the MT dance emphasis which ends up being more dance and less acting classes. All students (MT voice, MT dance and acting majors) can audition for all shows (musicals and plays and showcases).

I’ll go out on a limb and say that MT dance may be the weakest link (in a very strong chain) at Northwestern, though they do level dance training and offer a dance major. That said, there are great nearby dance studios where some NU MTs study and/or teach. There are many extremely strong dancers on campus (including principal dancers from major companies) and I know several recent grads dancing at the highest levels. As a former dancer I’m of the opinion that 4 years won’t make a dancer… especially not for females.

That is one school she is very interested in- thanks for the good news!

Mom Cares- no, you are right, but I’d hate to have her lose so much training. I find it odd that in many cases, only ballet is offered one semester, jazz another, tap the next year when of course all three each week is what they are used to.

I think kids at Northwestern can sign up for as much dance as they chose to, since the curriculum is very flexible. I also know the location gives kids access to outside dance and circus training as well, which many kids take advantage of. I know kids in other top programs who say much of what they learned about dance happened outside of classes, often during show rehearsals. In my experience, solid dance classes are the cheapest of the 3 MT disciplines to buy on the open market ($15/hour vesus $150/hour for voice lessons).

Sometimes it’s hard to know what the dance curriculum is just by looking at the name of the class. At Utah, they take “Core Dance” daily. It is actually Ballet, and is leveled into 3 groups. In MT Dance (2 levels), they are rotating thru different styles and types. This semester, they are spending a few weeks each on: Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Tap and something else. You won’t see Tap in the curriculum but they work on it every semester, all 4 years.