D (junior) is an accomplished singer / actor. Is behind in dancing. She is currently taking classes but it is clearly her weak spot. Her dance coach recently told her the goal is to get to be “efficient” before auditions, meaning she doesn’t have to be great, but just show she’s capable. With that as a backdrop, what programs place less value, at least in the audition process, on dance?
Honestly, many, many programs accept students who are not strong dancers, or who really can’t dance at all. They need all types so I wouldn’t spend a lot of time worrying about this. Instead, follow the dance coach’s advice, work hard at prep, cast a wide net in terms of schools, and let the chips fall. Best of luck!
@rickle1 if you follow the thread on dance-heavy MT programs you will figure out the (short) list your D probably doesn’t want to apply to! As mentioned above, many programs admit all levels of dancers. CMU took dance out of their auditions entirely. Don’t sweat too much over what she can’t do, have her work on polishing the disciplines in which she shines and her basic dance prep will be fine.
Thanks for the advice. She’s freaking out because of lower dance skills relative to singing / acting and her peers, Hard to reason with a 17 yr old thespian!
My son is a singer first and actually looked at Rider, Point Park and BoCo because dance is his weak area. He was a surprise acceptance at 2 of these 3 “dance heavy” schools. My impression is that a mover will have an easy time at many school dance auditions and that at “dance heavy” schools if your kid is a great singer, decent actor, and a mover he or she stands a chance. Just breathe and tell her to smile and do her best. The really intense dance calls are horrid for movers. But smiling, confidence, ability to move, and effort go a long way.
She’s at ballet class right now, working on getting “efficient”. Doesn’t like it but she’ll enjoy the rest of her Saturday :-*
My son is worried about dance as well. He’s been taking tap and modern for 2 years but having a hard time with ballet. We are just going to “go for it” and letting the chips fall!
My D had limited dance training, but was a good mover and clearly had potential. It definitely hurt her in some places and was not a factor at all in others. She is a senior at Hartt and they definitely accept students with limited dance who they think have potential to improve. My D has improved IMMENSELY in dance, especially tap. She has also worked her tooshie off to get better.
Any school that does not require a dance call as part of their audition process is a good option to consider: Northern Colorado, Arizona State, Univ of Oklahoma, Molloy/CAP 21 and University of Utah did not have a dance call last year.
LIU- Post also did not have a dance call, and asked for the song to be acapella. I think U of OK actually has a dance call at their call-back. At unifieds, they had live pre-screens which didn’t have a dance call, but if you made it through, you had to do an on campus audition which I think had a dance call.
I believe you are correct about U of OK but when we visited and spoke with the department there they did put all freshman together in beginning dance classes…so possibly not weighted as heavily in the dance portion for admission requirements. I do remember that their form did ask about dance experience though.
This was definitely an issue for my S last year. Lack of dance skills did hurt him for certain callbacks, but not for the majority on his list. If your child - has a high talent in acting and singing, has a good audition package, has a solid performance in the audition room, and has a balanced list - they should net choices. And that is regardless of dance deficiency, as long as they can move to a degree. Capitalize on her strengths!
@beachymom, can I ask where your son ended up and what schools you felt did not put as much emphasis on his dance? I have a DS auditioning this year and dance is our one worry. Thanks!
Hey @NYKaren ! This was a big topic of discussion on another MT forum just the other day! I fully remember and understand the angst of the process, especially when you realize the national level of talent, and the huge number of the kids that are already well-versed in all 3 disciplines. I promise that you’ll get through it, though. And that there will be great moments along the way. 
My son had good results, auditioning at approximately 15 programs and getting into 10 (Shenandoah, Wright St, BW, Coastal, Montclair, Arizona, Missouri St and CMU). He’s a freshman at Carnegie and loves it! Feel free to shoot me questions in PM if need be. Break all the legs!
NYU has a dance call as part of their audition but I would be surprised to hear that portion of the audition excludes anyone from admission because they have built in leveling to the dance curriculum. They start the non-dancers with a “Dance Fundamentals” class freshman year and the freshmen with more dance background are placed in Ballet 1 / 2 / etc…
I’m just going to say that you can’t compare a male to a female in this process, especially if dance seems to be a strong focus in the program.
@beachymom Congrats to your son with so many acceptances, and for his decision of CMU! Thank you for staying online & helping the new class through this process! Glad to hear about the schools on your son’s list re: dance. My son is a mover, and the majority of the schools you noted are on his list too! With CMU as his big reach school…fingers crossed! Did your son audition on campus or unifieds? And do you know if CMU is one of the schools that really prefers on campus auditions? With so many schools on the list, and limited on campus audition dates, many of which coincide, we are having a tough time trying to schedule on campus dates.
@lithpool - My S did the majority of his auditions (plus a few live prescreens) at Moonifieds. He did 3 on-campus auditions that were within driving distance of our area (UNC, FSU and Coastal). In Chicago, he did callbacks for 3 schools, including CMU. If you guys have any other questions, please feel free to shoot me a PM.
@beachymom Thank you! S is under the impression that we HAVE to do the CMU audition on campus, but we’re having a hard time trying to fit it in to the schedule. Once we actually get to scheduling it, of course! (And that’s assuming he passes the prescreen, of course!) If he does, I’m sure I’ll be reaching out. Thank you again!
@lithpool - In my son’s freshman class, one of the other kids (redirected from MT to Acting, but still training in voice and loving CMU) was in his callback group in Chicago. So on-campus vs off-campus does not matter!