<p>I know that you need to dance for the audition (I will not be auditioning till 2010 by the way, I am just wondering in advance) but I would like to know how hard the dance is or if you have to of had previous training to successfully do it. I have had no prior experience in dance except learning choreography in a show, and even then it was not so hard. I can dance when I learn and practice it but if I am given the dance steps right at the auditions do you think there is a chance of an inexperienced dancer like me doing it?</p>
<p>And furthermore is the actual dance at the school for musical theater too advanced for a person with my experience, or could I learn and keep up?</p>
<p>I think they want to see if you can move, if you can pick up steps. It helps to have some ballet. My D hadn’t had a dance class since she was 11, though she can move well. She did just fine with the dance portion of the audition, though, of the three disciplines (dancing, singing, acting), dance is her weakest. They offer beginner classes to freshman in all forms of dance, so they must take a lot of non-dancers. Many of the freshmen boys weren’t dancers to start with.</p>
<p>I auditioned this past year at Chicago Unifieds and BOCO by far had the hardest dance call out of my 10 auditions. Dance is not my strongest point (I’ve only had about 3 years of solid training), but I can hold my own in a dance call. BOCO’s dance call isn’t impossible by any means, it’s just very difficult. The only thing I was thrown by was when they asked us to improvise for a few counts of 8, as I have never had to do this. But no matter what, show personality and do what you can. They’ll see that you are trying. However, I got the impression from the audition (and I could be wrong) that they were looking for strong dancers. Good luck!</p>
<p>The year my daughter auditioned (she’ll be a Senior next year) was the first year they had a dance call. At that time, it was not to have an impact on whether or not you were picked for the school. Maybe that has changed. As Skwidjymom said there are all levels from beginning to advanced at BoCo. During your first week of school, you are placed in the level they feel best suits you. If you get in, I wouldn’t worry about being a complete novice in dancing. They are trying to improve where you are, not a world class dancer, I’d say.</p>
<p>Oh good grief, if my daughter had had to improvise I surely would have heard about it! She is class of 2012. I have been very impressed with how closely the dance teachers (ALL the teachers, in fact) work with interested students. One dance teacher recommended a studio for informal summer lessons and has stayed in contact with the summer teacher to see how my D is progressing. VintageArt, if you wind up at BoCo, I don’t think you will be over your head in the dance program. That being said, there are KILLER dancers at BoCo…but there is room for all skill levels.</p>
<p>Re-reading over my post, it sounds kind of discouraging. I don’t mean to tell you that you can’t get in without dance training. That’s not the case at all. I know people who got in there who are not the best dancers. So no worries. Just be prepared for a challenging dance call and do your best!</p>
<p>It sounds as if you will be okay at the dance audition. But, if possible, it might help boost your confidence if you took a dance class this year. Every bit will help, and since dance is a part of musical theatre, starting now will help you in the long run. If it is not possible to get into a dance class this year, I would not worry about it though. Good luck!</p>
<p>It would seem to me that being well prepared for all your MT auditions would require you to address not only your songs, your acting and your dance.
Learning to count in dance takes training and taking a year in a dance class will have you better prepared all round.
Dancing and singing at the same time takes stamina and practice.
The BoCo dance audition is rigorous, wouldn’t you want to feel you had prepared for it.
If this is one of your colleges of choice , the dance audition does carry weight.
There are many beginner classes available once you are there.
This is an area of MT that should not be neglected.
Increase your odds and enroll in jazz or ballet.
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<p>One thing you need to know is that Boco prides itself on producing triple threats. Unless your voice and acting blows them away, you will need to work on your dancing. Ballet will build a great foundation but the audition is more jazz based. They will look somewhat at how fast you pick up the different combinations among other things.</p>
<p>You have plenty of time and I think you will greatly improve your chances of being accepted if you work hard on your dancing. It can’t hurt. </p>
<p>I started taking Ballet classes about three months before my BOCO audition. I had danced for shows and things like my high school show choir, but never anything big. I got in. I don’t know how much of it had to do with dance, though.
I found the dance to be very fun, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The little ballet training I had came in very handy when it came to vocabulary. I would recommend at least some professional training. Good luck!</p>
<p>My D isn’t the best dancer on the stage but she always looks like she’s having fun and she catches your eye…I think that helped overcome her lack of formal dance training. So SMILE and have fun…they know they can teach you to dance.</p>