<p>Currently I am a junior guy looking at musical theatre schools, and trying to find schools I want to audition for. My biggest issue is that I have little to no dance experience other than dance in musicals I have been in. I'm pretty decent, I wouldn't say that I have two left feet, but I'm still a little concerned about the dance portion of the audition due to my almost non-existent experience. How important is the dance audition for admissions? How difficult are dance auditions generally - are they basic or extremely complex/need years of dance to do well? Also, are guys held to a lower standard because less of them are experienced in dance than girls?</p>
<p>I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I can tell you my son’s experience. Son had almost no dance experience. The dance calls varied from intense (Pace) to non-existent (Otterbein at Unifieds, CMU). The assumption we made was that any school would love a triple threat, but reality is there are probably far fewer male triple threats auditioning than females, and so some schools may be more forgiving if you are strong in acting and voice. My son was accepted for BFA MT by two schools, waitlisted for BA MT at another, and accepted for BFA Acting (though auditioned for MT) at another. He is thrilled and amazed with his choices.
If you can take ballet and Jazz classes from now until auditions, you will not regret it.</p>
<p>It varies school to school and many programs don’t even have dance auditions. A lot of them are looking to see if you can move. If you check out the schools websites it should tell if they have a dance audition or not, </p>
<p>Definitely agree with @entertainersmom about jumping into a jazz class but I would bump that up to add even a basic ballet class. You will be glad you did. Most schools don’t expect to get a triple with the guys, but those that have even the most basic dance usually fare very well!!! That being said, it does vary school to school and you can build a good audition list around your strengths. Especially if you are a guy :)</p>
<p>Oops! I wrote son was accepted to two BFA MT, but one is a BM MT. And as broadway95 mentioned, son was told at most of the dance calls that they were most interested in how they moved. Of the 9 schools son auditioned for MT for, only two did not have a dance call. Ironically, the school that accepted him for Acting BFA rather than MT BFA did not have a dance call 
I’m pretty sure they could tell he probably wasn’t a dancer!</p>
<p>Having auditioned this season I can tell you that although schools like to see technique and how your body moves, they are more concerned with your stage prescence and how quick you can think on your feet if you make a mistake. I remember multiple auditions where some boys would forget the combination and then just turn the audition into a comedy act. They want to see more that you are confident with your body and are willing to put yourself out there, not a perfect triple pirrouet :)</p>
<p>@BFAbaby96, I wonder if you were in any auditions with my son! He was definitely in the “act the dance” category, having only started formal dance studies just before his junior year at the recommendation of his dance coaches at MTCA, which I highly recommend, by the way – one of their dance coaches evaluated his abilities when we first signed up and gave him invaluable advice about what to focus on before audition season, and another coach choreographed a dance combo for his prescreens that highlighted his dance skills but especially his personality… over Skype, mind you! At every dance call, he was complimented on his energy, expressiveness, and willingness to try anything, even if it was beyond his abilities. There’s no way you’ll be able to compete in terms of dance skills with guys who have been dancing since they were little, so concentrate instead on getting a good foundation in ballet and basic MT/jazz styles so you won’t be lost in a dance call. By the way, my son can now execute a pretty decent single pirouette, and is working this summer on perfecting his double!</p>
<p>Ballet is important - for the terminology. Even if you still struggle with the technique - knowing the ballet terms will help you navigate dance calls. </p>
<p>My S just went through his audition “season”. He has had several years of dance training. In hindsight, he feels that many of the schools he auditioned at were MUCH more interested in singing ability first and acting ability second. Some of the schools even said, “If you can sing, we can teach you to dance and act.” S felt that some of the dance calls were VERY basic - “step, touch, step, kick” type stuff - but one was challenging, even with his experience. Don’t let the dance calls make you anxious. I think if you look at the CC threads on audition experiences, you’ll find that many auditioners found dance calls to be the “fun” part of the experience. That said, as many others have posted, get some basic ballet training if you can, you won’t regret it.</p>
<p>Some termonology and dance steps you can and should learn before your auditions that were in EVERY schools combination are Pirrouets, grand battement (high kick), jete (leap), pas de bourree (step back, step side, step front), chasse, chaines, and pique turns. If you have a general idea about what these are and how to do them then you will always have a place in the combinations where you can pick back up if you get lost. I will definitely answer any more questions about my own personal auditions experiences !!! and @maMTma I did MTCA and it was the best decision of my life!!! I would have never gotten into one school let alone 5 without them!!!</p>