<p>My S is a really good dancer, many who know him argue whether he's a singer, dancer or dancer, singer..all agree actor is third (which makes me uncomfortable as far as this auditon season goes, I'm not certain why yet maybe because CMU is high on my list due to its...15 minutes away from home....my list doesn't matter much these days lol)</p>
<p>Otterbein is high on his list due to the MT with a concentration in dance program. If he's fortunate enough to be one of the 2 males they accept I know he'd be thrilled.</p>
<p>Point Park, again up there on his list. He attended the summer international dance program there last summer and really enjoyed it. He also received a nice scholarship to help with tuition. (Also high on my list)</p>
<p>When you review the websites, talk to others what are the things he should look for/ask to find out what type of emphasis the school places on dance?</p>
<p>My daughter was a BFA MT at Elon University, and went into her audition year as a dancer first. I can, without hesitation, say that Elon’s dance component to their program is top-notch! I don’t think you will find better in a BFA MT program.
Other programs our daughter considered (she did not apply to all of these since some of them didn’t meet other requirements she had), with reportedly strong dance, were Syracuse (we are from Syracuse and know their dance is strong), NYU, Florida State, Oklahoma City, Point Park, BoCo and Penn. State.</p>
<p>Roosevelt/CCPA has a BFA MT dance emphasis program. Chicago though, not east coast…</p>
<p>You might consider looking into Rider. Robin Lewis, a noted choreographer and dancer who previously headed the musical theater dance program at Texas, joined their staff a couple of years ago. In general, their program seems to be on the rise. My son was very impressed with him and their program in general.</p>
<p>MTMajorCook, I’ve heard good things about Elon too, and it is a beautiful campus. But, as you say about CMU, Point Park isn’t far from you, and as a parent, there is something nice about being able to see your kid’s college shows without flying or driving, staying in a hotel for the weekend, yadda, yadda, yadda. Also nice that it isn’t “settling” for a lesser program just so they are close to home. </p>
<p>Penn State is nice too, and I know they have a young man in their program who is a former multiple Gene Kelly award nominee/CLO alum from western PA who is a rising junior who is a very talented dancer, and from what I’ve seen of him is probably dancer/singer/actor in that order.</p>
<p>Boco not only is very, very, strong in dance but it also has a dance “emphasis” in senior year that you must audition for. Kind of a best of the best class.</p>
<p>I know of two students at Elon and they are very happy with the quality of the programs there.</p>
<p>Montclair is VERY strong in dance. My daughter is a strong dancer; she was a dancer first. She’s had 14 years of intense dance training. Having a strong dance program was pretty much at the top of her list. She worked with Michelle Chasse at BoCo 2 summers and LOVED her, but BoCo is so darned expensive, and my daughter wanted to be closer to NYC. She ultimately narrowed her choices down to BoCo and Montclair. She spent 2 days at Montclair and went to lots of dance classes before deciding on them. But you can’t go wrong dance-wise with BoCo.</p>
<p>A lot of programs tout themselves as having great dance components - it ain’t necessarily so - I will deride any program - but I will say that casting agents that visit Elon constantly praise the dance training as rated relative to a lot of other schools. I’ve seen consistently good dancers coming out Point Park, FSU, and others. There is great training available at many programs - the thing is - how can a MT student access that training, is it part and parcel of the MT training, is it becoming a dance minor, it is auditioning for a minor tract or concentration? These are the questions you should ask.</p>
<p>And I will add: be sure to GO to the MT dance classes. Lots of them. See if you are challenged. PUSH to go to them. One of the schools my D got into, that was geographically exactly where she wanted to be, initially would not let her come to attend a dance class (this was in April, decision time). We pushed and said it was a deal breaker, and they finally let her, but she did not find the class, which was supposedly upper level, challenging. She instantly eliminated that school. Yes, she wants training in the areas she is less experienced in, but it was important to her to not lose any of her dance skills, and to be able to continue dancing at the level she is already at (to start), and to continue to grow in dance. Bottom line: don’t go by what they say; go to dance class! And talk to other students to make sure there is room in their schedules to TAKE extra dance if they choose. At Montclair, if you are advanced enough, you take dance with the dance majors, and you can minor in dance.</p>
<p>I’m a huge advocate of Pace University!! Before college I had ambitions to be a ballet dancer, but decided shortly before unified auditions to continue doing musical theatre and to pursue it in college. I focused on programs with reputable dance programs, and out of the ten “top-twenty” programs I auditioned for, Pace definitely stood out. As a musical theatre major, I was able to take Jazz four times per week with the BFA dancers in addition to taking theatre dance twice a week. Another girl in my program was taking those classes in addition to morning ballet classes four times per week. Needless to say, you can pretty much take dance class whenever you’re not singing or acting 
The dance faculty is awesome, and they are super flexible when it comes to catering to the musical theatre majors who are particularly focused on dance. PM if you have any more questions!!</p>
<p>Calliene…great advice!!!</p>
<p>If you are seriously considering a school based on a dance segment you must visit and either take or observe a class. We eliminated many schools after observing!!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! He will be sure to observe and asks these questions.</p>
<p>For those of you with sons that dance, search on the article “What I Won’t Tell You About My Ballet Dancing Son” I loved and could really relate.</p>
<p>Hi - I also want to thank Calline for posting - I always advocate for campus visits, class observations, and, when you have a short list, re-visiting the schools to see performances. I also want to apologize and clarify - I wrote that I will deride programs, when I actually meant to write - I will NOT deride programs.</p>
<p>CCU added 2 fabulous new dance faculty this year. I know my D is loving her dance class this fall:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/coastal-carolina-university/1512574-ccu-welcomes-two-new-dance-faculty.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/coastal-carolina-university/1512574-ccu-welcomes-two-new-dance-faculty.html</a></p>
<p>I know that there are some students who come in to CCU as incredibly strong dancers. From what I know, they seem to be able to continue to grow as dancers while getting the benefit of the strong acting and voice training at CCU.</p>