<p>Start University of Michigan dance major discussion here!</p>
<p>my daughter is very interested in umich due to its reputation academically and its dance program...how big is their program? How many dancers audition and how many do they accept? How competitive is the program?</p>
<p>My d is also very interested in umich. She is a junior and we visited this fall. We met with an admissions counselor from the School of Music Theatre and Dance who was extremely informative. He arranged for my d to meet with the dance dept. spur of the moment. they were extremely welcoming. Judy Rice, the ballet prof. swept my d away and into the Ann Arbor Dance Works workshop to observe. she then invited my d and myself to a ballet warm up class where we were introduced to the chair of the dept., Angela Kane. We were than invited to watch the Laura Dean workshop. The dancers were very diverse...from bunheads to dreadlocks and everything in between.</p>
<p>We learned that approximately 100 dancers audition for about 20-25 spots. The biggest dance scholarship is $5000. You can double major. The new chair, Angela Kane has a exciting vision for the dept. including a move from the curren Kinesiology Building to west campus where the school of music theatre and dance offices are held.</p>
<p>A good friend of my daughter (from her dance studio) is a freshman in the UMich dance program this year. She seems to like it so far and is keeping extremely busy balancing the dance elements of the program with the rigorous academics (not much time for socializing). My daughter has taken ballet classes from Judy Rice (RDA, Broadway Dance Center-NYC) and absolutely adores her. If I'm not mistaken, she was on leave for awhile but is now back at UMich which is a huge plus for the ballet side of the program (which has generally had more of a modern-based reputation). I am interested in learning more about the freshman dance troupe, as well as other performing opportunities. I have also heard that as a dance major you cannot audition for the school musicals, as they are exclusively for the musical theatre students. Maybe a current dance student will share some insight??</p>
<p>We asked that question to the Admission counselor of the School of Music Theatre and Dance during our visit and he said the same thing. However, he said that their is a wonderful student run theatre/musical theatre group on campus that they can audition for.</p>
<p>Wow, this thread is really helpful. I'm a ballet prep student and had no idea that UMich (on my college shortlist) had such a prestigious dance program.</p>
<p>Hey all! I'm currently a dance major at UofM and thought I would put my two cents in:</p>
<p>the classes range in size, but the largest is currently nineteen (which is rather large)</p>
<p>i think the freshman dance troupe you're thinking of is called Freshman Touring Company, and takes place the second semester. basically the freshman class learns a few pieces (in the past guests have come in, faculty has set works, etc.) and they tour with the program. I believe there's an outreach component as well, but don't quote me on that (I'm a freshman myself so I haven't actually done it yet)</p>
<p>as far as other performing opportunities go, there are lots. students organize shows and make works for them, there's dance composition showings and dance repertory showings, a large concert in January, and all seniors choreograph group pieces for the senior BFA showings that happen at the end of semesters. </p>
<p>regarding musical theatre: i'm not sure if dance students can audition for UProds (university productions) which are the three large musicals that go up every year. i do know that dance students have been put in operas that need dancers and that they have participated in MUSKET!, the student run theatre organization. (a youtube search of "umich musket" will yield plenty of results, the productions are very well done).</p>
<p>hope it helps! good luck to prospective wolverines!</p>
<p>Thanks umichdance! Great to hear from a current student. My D is a junior and visited in September. She fell in love with the school and the people she met in the dance department. How was the admission process for you? Audition? Solo? Interview? How long did it take to get your response? Are you in-state or out-of -state? How many freshman in your class? % in state and out of state? What type of solo did you do? Are you double majoring? Are others double majoring? what is your day like? Are most of your friends from the dance dept. or have you met others? Who are your favorite teachers. Do you have any recommendations for being successful in the audition/admission process? What have your academic classes been like? What were your academic stats like?.......any info you can provide would be great. Thanks!</p>
<p>i'll just respond with a bulleted list for clarity:</p>
<p>-i auditioned on the last day, so i found out about a week and a half later. the downside to that is that on the last audition day they don't consider anyone for merit based scholarships. for others i think it took anywhere from weeks to two months.
-we have nineteen freshman, nine in state and ten from out of state.
-haha my solo was interesting. i had a 100% ballet background but the audition sheet said to use a "contemporary idiom." i watched a lot of youtube, a lot of so you think you can dance, and everything else i could get my hands on so i could see as many kinds of movement as i could. that being said, i did more of a contemporary ballet.
-as of now i plan on double majoring in anthropology or american cultures. i'm also considering alternatively doing a double minor in either of those and movement science. or i might just scrap it and do just dance. i haven't made up my mind yet :)
-a LOT of kids are doubling or considering it. i'd say about a third, but that estimate isn't really scientific at all.
-as for my day, i can give you the freshman perspective from this year, but it may be different for every grade level and could change from year to year, i'm not too sure. the general structure is that you have your academics in the morning, start dance around noon, and go until 4-6, after which you have either another academic, rehearsal, work, student clubs, or some free time. meals fit in around all of this, and there's a huge, new dining hall two minutes from the dance building.
-the dance dep't is a great place to meet friends, but i also meet people through student organizations (michigan has hundreds) and around the dorms.
-i think our audition is just like any other. do your best, try not to be nervous, and in the interview just answer honestly and present yourself. they'll know if you're trying to give a cookie cutter response. if you need a minute to think of what to say, just let them know. it isn't a lightning round and they'd rather get to know you honestly.
-my academics were great. i took freshman english ((you choose a writing course or reading course)) because it's a requirement and spanish because if you place into fifth semester spanish and get at least a B, you get the three credits for the class plus eight retroactive credits for the classes you placed out of. very helpful for anyone considering a double major. both classes were about twenty people because there was no lecture component. </p>
<p>hope this helped!</p>
<p>Thanks umichdance for all the great information. My D gave me a few more questions to ask: how has the transition from a ballet focus to a modern focus been for you? what background of dance do most of the majors come from? How would you rate the caliber of dancer? What has been your performance experience so far and what can one expect.
Ultimately, what would you like to do with your dance? Do you have a feel about what other dance majors want to do with dance (professional, teach, grad school...). Again, thank for all your help and insight.</p>
<p>my daughter is a freshman wolverine dancer and LOVES her work, she speaks very highly of all her professors. we recently saw the dept's major production Arcs in Time which included the freshman group...Wonderful!!! As for auditions, this year there were 19 dancers accepted to the program, for the past couple of years the entering class has been about 15. Dance is one of the smallest programs at mich, but the dancers are well respected for the intense studio work and academics balancing required. she was not accepted into the program right out of HS but refused to consider other schools even though she had been invited into other college dance companies. she studied privately in ann arbor and continued to improve while attending as a biochemistry major and continues to study. This is what Michigan calls 'dual enrolled' rather than double major, students are enrolled in two different schools ie school of music, theater, and dance & LSA and will graduate with two degrees. the university will tell you that to do this usually requires 5 years to finish, this seems to be the case in order to complete all the academics. fyi, dual enrolling is not for the faint of heart! it requires discipline and dedication. But daughter LOVES michigan!! as far as dancing goes, primary focus is modern, ballet is part of foundation and is usually barefoot. In principles class, some dancers are en pointe, but few. According to daughter, dancers come from various backgrounds, but all are 'talented', the talents, like the university itself is diverse. Body type does not seem to be a focus at Michigan, so dancers without a classical type are not turned away (good for UM). Daughter likes the integration of music into the program, but she has been a musician for many years, and seems that reading music and understanding theory is a plus.
Best advice for dancer parent: relax and enjoy your audition process, audition early (rolling admissions), if accepted, let student buy season football tickets even if she's not a football fan (major social event) sorry post so long...</p>
<p>This is a really helpful thread. Can anyone currently at UofM tell me if first you have to be accepted into the university, then considered by the dance department? Or does the dance department make its choices in tandem with the university? We're from out-of-state and don't have the in-state advantage for general admissions.
thanks.</p>
<p>the admissions process for dance majors (if you are not intending to dual enroll) is you apply using the standard admissions form. the school of music, theatre and dance reviews credentials to "assure that students can be academically successful at UM", once this is done the qualified candidates are fowarded to the dance department for audition evaluation. I've never seen anything in writing that the academic standards are lower for M,T,D students than are the standards for LS&A, but students are not required to be accepted to LS&A before the school of M,T,D. No mistake, UM takes academics seriously. AS far as the Dance dept goes, I don't believe that 'in-state' provides an advantage. Many students are from outside michigan, in fact this year an MFA student is from Taiwan! NY, CA, IN, IL, OH, are just some that I can think off the top of my head...
If your dancer plans on dual enrolling (2 degrees), then both schools require admission.
the dance dept is one of the smallest on campus, but dedicated professors and close student interaction, approx 15 students per year admitted. hope this helps! good luck</p>
<p>you fill out the same application as everyone else and you have to pass academic requirements to be granted an audition. all colleges (LSA, engineering, nursing, music/theatre/dance, etc) admit separately with different requirements and focuses. </p>
<p>as for an “in-state advantage,” that really doesn’t exist. we’re known here for having HUGE amounts of out of state and foreign students.</p>
<p>how large is the incoming class?</p>
<p>Not sure on that…historically around 15. Daughter said that there were many dancers at auditions this year. Best bet, call the dance department, they are usually very friendly and helpful with any questions.
If your D/S is admitted, the dance department has a tradition of big sisters/little sisters (after the semester starts) to help with the transition to college life.</p>
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<p>i’d just like to clarify that ballet classes are not “usually taken barefoot.” modern classes are.</p>
<p>also the freshman class of 2013 is nineteen people again, unless i’m mistaken. five people from the class of 2012 either dropped the major or transferred to other dance programs (butler, point park) so 2012 is now fourteen people.</p>
<p>do you know if most people hear immediately if they’re in or not – or have to wait until after all the auditions are over?</p>
<p>My daughter auditioned in mid november and received her acceptance personally with a phone call from the School of Music Theatre and Dance Admissions Counselor the week of Dec. 14. It was also posted on Wolverine Access. She received letters the following week from the SMTD and U of M admissions. Hope that helps.</p>
<p>i think general practice with auditions is that they make very conservative acceptances a few weeks after each audition and keep a list going of other potential candidates to consider admitting, depending on how the rest of the auditions go. i auditioned on the last day and found out a week or two later.</p>
<p>i have no information about umich’s behind-the-scenes admission process though, sorry!</p>