<p>Hi to all,</p>
<p>I have been browsing syracuse’s website for MT and i just get a very happy vibe from it. Not sure why. I like ohw it says “prior dance training, while desirable, is not necessary for admission.” Other stuff made me feel like it could be a potential school to look into further. But, I know it’s very hard to get into, one of THE hardest. And I don’t know , but, do they accept transfers?</p>
<p>Jeremybeach, I have actually read posts from students who have reported that SU's dance audition was one of the tougher ones. (Scroll through various threads here and you may find what I am talking about.) However, when my D and I visited we, too, found them very friendly. To be sure about transfers, you may want to just call the drama dept and ask them. Good luck.</p>
<p>they are vey nice...compared to schools like Carnegie Mellon or CCM...lol. but i've seen some professor be very truthful to some kids and that can be ruff too.</p>
<p>The atmosphere at at Syracuse is very friendly and supportive indeed. But don't be fooled -- they do put a strong emphasis on dance, and the audition is a difficult one.</p>
<p>The BFA MT program calls freshman year "boot camp" -- and they do not allow freshmen to audition for any shows. I wasn't too fond of this policy at first, but after my D's freshman year, I think perhaps it's a very good idea. Students are able to form strong friendships without any competitiveness, as well as focus on their studies.</p>
<p>Because of the way the program is structured, I suspect that transfer students would have to enter as freshmen. But you should certainly call and speak to the drama department -- they are very helpful.</p>
<p>If you audition by tape or at unified, do you have to do dance?</p>
<p>I could be wrong... there are probably people who are accepted by video tape, but if it is at all possible to audition in person for a school that sees as many people for so few slots as Syracuse, I would.</p>
<p>I thik I also remember reading the Syracuse does not go to Unifieds. They have their own regional auditions in NYC and DC (maybe also Chicago??), but I do not believe they audition at Unifieds.</p>
<p>There is a parent on CC who had a child accepted by audition tape to Syracuse in the spring of 2006. I believe that student had to put dance on the audition tape. I agree with Kat, however, that it seems advantageous to be seen in person given how competitive it is to get in. Syracuse is not at Unifieds, but as Kat says, they do hold some regional auditions in cities. </p>
<p>If your dance is weak, now is the time to take a ballet class ideally, or a jazz class to prepare for auditions but frankly, if you want to go into MT in college and as a career, you need to be honing the requisite skills anyway.</p>
<p>I couldn't tell you that -- my D auditioned on campus. But SU has recently begun to put a bigger emphasis on dance training, so if you are not a dancer and this concerns you, you should call the drama office for these specific questions.</p>
<p>"If your dance is weak"...can you help me understand what "weak" means? My rising senior girl hasn't taken dance in about 6 years because of time constraints, but she gets dance achievement awards at her summer theater every year and the choreographers always put her up front. By "weak" do you mean "two left feet" (like me) or "not studying dance?" THANKS.</p>
<p>Haha. my dance meaning i haven't had dane since 8th grade...but i remember it all</p>
<p>Skwidjymom....not truly knowing your D or her skill sets, but just based on the little you said.....it sounds like your D took dance as a child, but not during her middle/high school years. However, it sounds like she has some background with dance and can "move well" in productions. That's all good. </p>
<p>However, when it comes to BFA admissions, IDEALLY, one is very talented in voice, acting, and dance. Being a triple threat surely increases one's chances to be accepted. BUT.....usually, schools will consider applicants who are very strong in two skills sets (voice, dance, or acting), of which one of the three has potential but is not that strong. Suffice it to say that usually the voice cannot be the weak area. Some schools will consider applicants who are very talented singers and actors with very little dance background but who move/perform well. Or they might consider very talented singers/dancers, who have little acting training but a natural potential with acting/performing, etc. So, one must not be an advanced dancer to get into a BFA program, though it can help to be one. In a dance audition, if your D can move well, be able to be taught a combination quickly and can perform well, but have very basic technique, that can still carry her, and shows potential and she'll improve her technique in college. However, if your D is planning to go into MT, and I say this without even talking of college admissions, it only makes sense to be training in dance. She needs the training to go into this field, not simply to get into college. It is going to help her in the long run both in college and beyond. Even taking one class in ballet would strengthen her technique. A jazz class can help her be very comfortable picking up combinations taught on the spot, which is what happens in an audition. Again, it is OK to be weaker in dance if superb in voice/acting. But ideally, it can only be beneficial to be good in all three skill sets. And if a candidate is weak in one area, say dance, it is more necessary to be super strong in voice and acting to compensate. So, it is good that your D can move well and dances in shows, but it can only help to also be training to improve her technique. If you were applying to study flute in college, you would make sure to take flute lessons, practice hours a day, be in orchestras, bands, etc. So, for someone trying to get into very competitive BFA programs, it makes good sense to do all you can to train in the three main areas of voice, dance, and acting, and ideally also in piano. Can someone be admitted to a BFA program who is weak or not that trained in dance? Yes, it is surely possible. But the odds improve if the candidate is strong in all three skill sets and at least has training in all three to some degree. Being strong in two and having potential in a third, can often be enough. But also, this varies from school to school. Since Syracuse is being discussed, I can say that having had my own child audition there, who is a lifelong dancer, she said it was a very good and challenging dance audition. She was accepted. Could someone not that good or not that trained at dance get in? Possibly! Someone who can't dance at all is going to have a tougher time getting in there though.</p>
<p>My comments are more general than about Syracuse and I agree with onstage that it is best to ask directly at Syracuse.</p>
<p>My daughter auditioned at Syracuse last January after having spent 6 weeks at the summer MT program there. Dance is a significant aspect of the program and the dance component of her audition was the most demanding dance portion of all the schools to which she applied. The professor who does the dance portion is the one who runs the dance program and while he is a wonderful professor he also expects students to be prepared at the audition to follow instructions and demonstrate that they can move. Any student who has been out of dance for a while would serve their interests well by taking some classes before auditioning otherwise they may be at a competitive disadvantage.</p>
<p>My D is currently attending Syracuse. She has been told by her professors that they have recently begun putting more emphasis on dance in the program. In particular, GIRLS must have had dance training to be accepted to the program. Of course, this seems unfair; however the fact is that many more girls than boys have had a background in dance. So, they are more likely to look for "potential" when scoring boys. We took a tour of the drama department during my D's junior year, and the audition grading system was explained to us like this: auditions are graded on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the highest. Students will receive a numerical grade for each segment of the audition -- vocal, dance, and monologue -- from each teacher observing the audition. To be considered for the program, students must receive 1s or 2s in at least 2 areas. In other words, if you score high in voice and acting, you could get by with a slightly lower score in dance.</p>
<p>Thank you, onstage. I forgot about the scoring for each segment of the audition at Syracuse but now recall it. That is a good concrete example of this discussion.</p>
<p>Yeah they are hard on transfers and rightfully so...To stop your training and go someplace else where your mostly like going to spend a considerbly less time than a incoming freshman they want to make sure you can bring. All the transfers I have seen in our program have been STRONG. BE prepared!</p>
<p>i go to syracuse right now and two of my best guy friends who are mts never have danced before in their lives.</p>
<p>one of my good friends is a sophomore tansfer. she is a sophomore here and is taking some freshmna classes but is graduating with the sophomore class.</p>
<p>they are harder on transfers.</p>
<p>Transfers are accepted and start with the freshman, non-performance year. After that, many transfers technically become Juniors. There are a couple transfers in each grade, I believe. As for the audition process...Dance is much more valued than it used to be. I'm a sophomore and I know that all of the MTs received comprehensive scores of either a 1 or 2. I believe it was a 1 for acting majors. If anyone needs some explanation on that, PM me.</p>
<p>Hi, I am also a transfer who auditioned for Syracuse's program, but in acting. While at the audition, I talk to them about their transfer policy. Basically, they accept very few transfers (I believe he said 2 in acting) and they start off as freshmen. It is, however, possible to graduate in 3 years if you have enough basic credits in the required fields from your last school. </p>
<p>Hope that helps. Good luck!</p>
<p>My D. did not get in to Syracuse this year (prob. due to low GPA), but was invited to transfer to Syracuse next year, if she went to another school this coming year. Has anyone ever heard of that?</p>