You are right on several counts, @halflokum. It IS an acting focused program. There is no doubt about that. And dance is not leveled in that the kids have to audition to get in classes. But they dance to their level…so, for example, the kids who were proficient at pointe got extra pointe classes, while the newbies to ballet did not. The “over 20 hours a week in training” is WAY more than 20 hours, depending on what you consider “training.” I consider, for example, rep class and voice lessons training; the many acting classes and scene study; and all the dance classes. That is pretty much all they do, and their schedules are packed. My D has classes from 9 until 6 today, then rehearsal from 7 to 10. It’s her toughest day, but they are all pretty much like that, except for Fridays, when her schedule is lighter. So, yeah…when they say “over 20 hours,” they mean OVER 20 hours. Maybe they don’t want to scare anyone. It’s a brutal schedule, but it sounds similar to many of the other programs.
@alwaysamom, you’re right that Ithaca was not known for their dance years ago. They hired new (incredible) dance teachers, and they stepped it up. My D is a junior now, and that was her ONE concern when she was deciding where to go…she was afraid the dance wouldn’t be challenging enough. She spoke to students who were there, and they assured her it was very challenging. And she has not been disappointed. But some of Ithaca’s graduates over recent years have been phenomenal dancers…Danny Gardner (2005) was just cast as Lucky in B’way Dames at Sea, and I hear he is a phenomenal tapper. Ben Fankhauser (2011) and Jeremy Jordan (2007) were both in Newsies on B’way…this is just a few. So I think the reputation the school had of being bad at dance was ill-deserved. Of course, there are kids there who aren’t the strongest dancers, as I’m sure is true at most schools, but the dance is getting stronger and stronger every year.
Yep @monkey13, I’d consider all of those classes studio training too except I don’t know what you mean by a rep class. That might be something that Tisch would call a theatre studies class. (Not that it matters.) Anyway, I’m sure there is more than 20 hours of studio training but probably less than 30 or they would have said over-30. My daughter has 27 hours of classes this semester and all but 3 of those hours are professional training studio type classes. The remaining class is an elective and it too has the word theatre in it.
I think I misunderstood what you were saying about Ithaca’s dance hours. You may have been just answering lgallybroadway’ s question in post #170 and meant that your daughter is able to take extra classes so easily dances 10 hours a week. I thought you meant the core dance training is that much at Ithaca which didn’t seem consistent with the revised curriculum they have on their website http://www.ithaca.edu/hs/depts/theatre/docs/Marketing/Pathways/MTPathway.pdf. Sorry if I’ve caused confusion and a tangent.
@lgallybroadway since you did specifically mention NYU in your question I can speak to that. I just added up the dance hours for fall semester senior year at Tisch and to be precise, the seniors have 5 hours and 40 minutes of leveled dance training this semester. Sure, if you are in a show, you dance more but that would be the case at any school and it also would be show and role dependent so I’d not factor that stuff in if you are specifically looking for a program with regular dance heavy weekly hours of training. I do indeed believe you can dance more if you want to at Tisch. I know some of my daughter’s friends attend multiple sessions of the same class and within reason, the instructors tolerate it. Then as I said, you may be able to take additional credits through Tisch open Arts classes or some other way. I’m not the expert as my daughter has not sought that out specifically at Tisch. However, she did last year take several hours of private dance instruction outside of Tisch. Obviously with an NYC location, there is plenty of that to be had.
My son is a sophomore MT at Ithaca, and he dances 9 hours per week: three 2-hour ballet classes plus two 1.5-hour modern classes. He said a lot of kids audit advanced ballet or tap in addition to their regular dance classes; he plans to audit tap next year even though it’s not required until senior year.
^^Oh, “rep class” is the weekly gathering of all the students – both MT and VP – in the same voice teacher’s studio, in which a few perform and receive feedback while the rest observe masterclass-style.
@maMTma - is he getting 9 hours of credit for dance? How many credits is he taking? If one assumes that 18 hours is a “normal” credit load how many hours are acting/music? I am not doubting he is spending the time dancing, just trying to understand the big picture.
@toowonderful, yes they get credits for all those hours of dance. Ithaca has a weird credit system with a lot of very low credit classes. One semester my D had 11 classes (all different, but some were for 1 credit, some for 3, etc. Another semester she had 9 classes. They spend the most hours in acting classes, and probably equal # of hours in music related classes (music theory, voice lessons, rep class, keyboarding, etc.) and dance. Does that sound about right @maMTma? They have more than an 18 hour credit load, although it’s hard to compare b/c they don’t do it by credit hours. For example, their tech requirement (which is only freshman year for MTs) is only 1 credit, but took up 20 hours per week for some of them, for approximately 4 weeks (not every week in the semester).
@monkey13 - I think that may be where some of the confusion lies. The only college systems I am personally familiar with (the schools I attended and the school my D attends) have a more direct correlation to hours/time in class. A 3 hour class meets for 3 hours a week etc. that was why it seemed hard for a kid to take X hours of dance and still have other classes. But if Ithaca uses a different system- then “normal” correlations don’t come into play.
@toowonderful, in NSB at Tisch, studio credits don’t correspond to hours. Every week this semester my daughter has 5 hours and 40 mins of dance related classes, 5 1/2 hours of voice/music related classes, and just shy of 9 hours of acting related classes. In total, eleven separate classes/instructors with only one that meets more than once a week. All of that for the low low NYU Tisch discount of 8 credits!
Then she has 7 1/2 hours in three non studio classes (all of whom are theatre, audition or screen acting related) and I do think those hours do sort of correspond to credits better so I sort of get where you are coming from in the normal world. Fourteen separate classes in total this semester and it’s not her record and I’m not even touching rehearsal time which is over and above. My son in contrast, has six classes including two labs. This major is not for anyone who cannot juggle their time.
Sooooo agree! That is why it is really important for those considering a BFA program to really understand what that life will entail for four years. It is not at all like a regular college schedule!
You are right @halflokum. But other classes (including theater things like ITS, ITP, History of theater etc) are 3 credits = 3 hours. I just tend to think of “studio” as a chunk - she goes up to that building for the day, and I have NO idea which days are voice& speech, scene study, yada yada. She does spend more than 8 hours a week there - (a quick glance says she is in the building, attending class over 20 hours a week) So I stand corrected.
@toowonderful, I agree that the non studio classes come in closer to corresponding to credit hours. Though ITP comes with a crew requirement that will blow that theory right out of the water.
Since this thread is about “The Freshman Experience”, here is one worth avoiding. The flu. Time to start nagging your kids to get their flu shot. If your kids are like mine, it will take a month before they comply. Then it takes 2 to 4 weeks for the thing to provide any protection. Get on it! At some point it will go through campus like a wild fire. End of public service announcement.
"This major is not for anyone who cannot juggle their time.
Sooooo agree! That is why it is really important for those considering a BFA program to really understand what that life will entail for four years. It is not at all like a regular college schedule!"
This is true of auditioned BA Musical Theatre programs and Theatre programs as well. It all depends on the rigor of the program and the academics.
Important questions to ask of the schools on your list. Particularly if you can speak directly with students.
Add in show rehearsal schedules and sleep becomes the most precious commodity. Kids who can dance may quickly find themselves envious of those with two left feet.
