Would love to hear parent/student feedback! Please provide info on your school if they are known for having an understanding attitude re beginner dancers (especially for males) during the audition process, yet they offer strong/focused dance training to truly increase skill level by graduation. It would be awesome to know if these programs (overall) are more based in acting or voice, as well.TIA, as always!
@beachymom - just thru our experience (and my D’s feedback) - she felt for the exception of Rider and BoCo most dance calls were very basic and very easy to pickup. She had training in ballet, tap, jazz and modern BUT hasn’t taken dance classes for about 3 years now and dance was definitely not her strongest asset. CMU doesn’t even have a dance call. If your S is taking some classes now and can “move” and has the ability to pickup a routine fairly easy, he should be fine unless he plans on applying to a triple threat program that really looks at everything (CCM is one I can think of).
Montclair has multiple levels of every kind of dance, including beginning. If you are a strong singer/actor, you can get in without dance. You move up at your own pace. You can audit extra dance classes for free. There are definitely kids who come in as “movers” who leave as good dancers. And if you are already a good dancer, you come in at a higher level and still are definitely challenged.
Despite the difficult dance call, BoCo actually takes dancers at all levels. My D had virtually no dance experience, said she felt like she made a fool of herself in the audition, but still got accepted. She is entering junior year and feels she has learned so much in all three disciplines, but has improved the most in dance.
I would look at programs’ four year curriculum plans. Most/many are available online, but at one time, I seem to recall that there was a thread where people posted these curriculum plans??? If a program offers four years of dance, they will level and challenge your son in a progressive manner.
This is tangentially related. When my kid and I first headed down this path, we knew that said kid was an awesome actor, great singer, pretty good dancer. We wanted a list of schools that would help improve singing and dance skills, and of course enhance acting, but our thinking was to focus on schools that would boost weaknesses. It makes sense, right? Our first instinct when it comes to learning is to strive to improve our deficits.
After working with a coach, we realized that even though our thinking was logical, it wasn’t practical, and we were advised to create a list of schools that were excellent actor-first type programs. Your strengths will likely get you into a program. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try to get into programs that are singer-first or dancer-first type programs of course, just something to think about.
While S’s program, Wright State is acting focused, they have very good dance training and many students graduate as triple threats. They have leveled classes - from beginning Ballet to Dance for Dance majors. One male in S’s class came from an uber-athletic background - zero theater experience until a sports injury ended that trajectory and he auditioned for his first musical his junior year of HS. By his sophomore year at WSU he was in the dance ensemble for the fall musical and fit in just fine. He has been dancing in the main stage musicals ever since.
SIU’s dance call was very relaxed and fun, and they are building a dance minor so it would be a program to grow with. The faculty there are lovely. Might be worth a look for your son.
Ball State is great at this
Hartt would definitely fit in that category. They level their dance and my D went in with very little formal dance training (1 year of ballet, jazz and tap) and has been pushed (in a positive way) to improve. She had been placed in Tap I this year, but through a ton of hard work and great training is jumping to Tap III for next year. Students are also able to add more dance through the community division (the Hartt school’s dance classes that are open to the public) for 1/2 price ($7 a class) on a drop in basis - but my D had a hard time scheduling those. She had better luck just asking classmates who are stronger dancers to grab a studio in any spare time they had to work on things. She has really dedicated herself to improving that area since it is her weakest area. Hartt is definitely accepting of all dance levels and I would call it an acting/voice based program, but Ralph Perkins has put a great dance program in place. She is very happy with the training she has gotten.
OCU - 10 levels of dance in each discipline. You can start as a beginner and go to professional levels. I also highly recommend a summer in the Broadway Dance Center training program in NY. The progress you can make just focusing on dance (plus learning to live in the city) will help you improve in dance tremendously. They too offer all levels.
For what it’s worth, my S is not a dancer (his only dance classes were a few privates taken before auditioning to learn basic ballet steps and some jazz moves). However, he is a great singer and passable actor. He had great success this year despite his lack of dance skills. He was told by Point Park (dance heavy) that they prize a good singer/actor who can move rather than dance (he thought he did very well in the acting/singing room and the dance call was terrible and he did not get in). At Boston Conservatory, S was exhausted by the dance call. He moved well enough (and he smiled as he flubbed and stumbled around the dance steps) but he did well on singing and acting and was eventually accepted. He was accepted to Rider even though he didn’t do the dance call (submitted a dance video since he was a walk in and missed the dance call). So my impression is that a strong singer, solid actor and untrained dancer can be accepted into even a dance heavy program like Point Park, Rider and BoCo if you are really super strong candidate in 2 other categories. Most programs believe they can teach you dance if you can act and sing. Pretty sure they think that they cannot teach you to sing even if you can act and dance.
Boys more so than girls, though.
I agree with @Jkellynh17 - i think the standards are different for the boys. Looking forward to going through the process with my son in two years after living through it with his big sister. Big sister landed in just the right place and is thriving, but, oh my gosh, what a process. Now to see if my son’s twin sister is going to audition – someone save me.
@Divamamacita having been through the process with both (S and D1 - and now D2), the girls have a higher hurdle, for sure!
That’s my sense, too and boy/girl twins is going to be rough.
My daughter was told that if she’s not a trained dancer she doesn’t have a chance of getting into any top tier programs–especially ones that have difficult dance calls or have particularly strong dance programs.
Ouch @type1mom BAL to your D!!! 
@type1mom - I don’t know who told you that- or what your definition of a “top tier” program is. But for the last number of years CMU (which should be on ANY “top” list) hasn’t even done a dance call. A fantastic kid with 2 left feet who went to my D’s PA HS just graduated from BOCO (which as I understand it often has a tough dance call). My D is a “mover” not a dancer and got into Syracuse - which has a tough dance standard.
I think being an exceptionally skilled dancer is certainly an asset - as is an exceptional voice or exceptional acting skills… they’re called “triple threats” for a reason But I think schools take kids where they see potential, even if they are not “perfect” as of yet.
Yes, thanks @beachymom and @toowonderful . We took that advice with a grain of salt and went with a different coach. It was not the best way to start this process, and since then my daughter has regained the confidence that was stripped from her with that coaching session.
OU’s (University of Oklahoma) Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre has both a “dancer” and “mover” call. Applicants who get on-campus callbacks get to pick which one they go to. My D got in two years ago and she elected the “mover” call. All who knew her “moving” skills prior to attending OU, and have seen clips of her dancing now are amazed by the amount of growth & transformation of her skills. The dance teacher who choreographed her pre-screen dance around her strengths rather than her weaknesses has had the strongest reaction. :))