Dance EC

[MomOf3Stars]

Hi, I am trying to get CC to start a Dance Majors forum. It would be great if you could all go to the Forum Issues section and find my thread and post support of a Forum for Dance Majors.

[Momneedsadvice]

Calmom, you're right - poor choice of words on my part. I know my d though, and she has already asked me how she is supposed to let colleges know about all the time she spends at dance, and she's only in 10th grade. She was concerned that there wouldn't be a way for her to convey the depth of her commitment since the activity wasn't associated with her high school. So when she asked (and she will ask again, I'm sure, when the time comes to do her applications) I will respond by explaining to her how to list the number of hours, etc.

[curiouser]

Momneedadvice:
One thing my D did is created an Activities Summary sheet that went with all her college applications. Since some college apps actually ask about EC activities by name and hours participated, your D WILL be able to illustrate the depth of her commitment.

As soozievt has mentioned, colleges definitely appreciate the discipline that a serious dancer has developed. My D was a very serious, pre-pro ballet dancer who ultimately decided not to go the professional route and focused on getting a degree in the sciences, yet insisted on continuing a high level of ballet training in college. I firmly believe that in addition to her excellent academic performance, her artistic performances impressed the adcoms just as much.

And many colleges need dancers, just like they need the violinist or the tennis player.

One interesting common thread I've observed over the years is that a very high percentage of dedicated dancers are also fantastic students. I think this is due, in part, because they MUST learn how to organize their time and study efficiently. When a dancer is putting in 25+ hours a week at the studio in class/rehearsals, it becomes critical to develop very strong organizational skills and ability to focus on the task at hand.

One thing she's really enjoyed at college is the fact the classes actually count for credit, that her "EC" is part of her studies. For years, ballet was completely independent of her school day and very few really understood the level of commitment this "extracurricular" required.

[meccamp]

My D is also a dancer who has danced since the age of three. She was fortunate enough that her high school did have a dance team. Although it
wasn't in the varsity sport category, it was considered a school EC. She did become a captain of this dance team senior year.

To convey her passion for dance, D wrote about how dance has shaped her
life for her short essay. She included in the essay the hours spent in the dance studio from an early age. She was on a competitive dance company through her studio and her school dance team competed, but she did not list awards won. D also had self-choreographed her solo routine for her high school dance team show. This dance portrayed, as Alumother said, who she was as a person. She had planned to submit that video, however, there was a glitch with the filming and her dance unfortunately did not get recorded. She also submitted an activities profile (which her high
school required) that was mailed to schools to which she applied which included the many hours spent in the studio and the types of dance she was involved in. Another thing her school dance team did was particpate in the school musicals where dancers were required. The theater dept. did 42nd Street one year, and the entire dance team participated.

D also spoke of her love for dance during her admissions interview. She applied to schools which had some type of dance team/troupe/ensemble.

Ultimately, D ended up at a school with a dance ensemble, for which she had planned to audition. However she ended up having to post-pone this for a year due
to spinal surgery the summer before freshman year of college. She had a stress fracture in her lower back, also known as "dancer's or gymnast's back". This resulted from many years of bending backwards. Surgery was successful and she plans to audition for the dance ensemble for sophomore year.

Best of luck to your dancing daughter.

[class2009nj]

Thank you to all above posts. Timely advices!

[mathmom]

My son is a computer nerd not a dancer, but like your daughter except for one course freshman year in the high school, everything he did with programming was done outside school. It really isn't a problem. You just put all your activities down in the spaces provided. If you can distill the experiences into a separate resume or sum it up in one of those "is there anything else you want to tell us" spaces, I think that is helpful. The outside activity can be the subject of an essay as well. In some ways, I think it's a good thing to have a life outside of school.

[calmom]

I'd also like to add that my daughter did not write about dance in her main essays, though she mentioned it in various short essay. So one reason that a dance resume + DVD was beneficial to her is that it enabled to present information that was not really addressed elsewhere.

I'd note that not all colleges will accept supplemental material, though I believe the common app now has a specific "arts" supplement where that can all fit.

[Zetesis]

Our daughter, a HS junior, also dances (ballet, modern, aerial), but she got started a bit late (when she was 13). Although her dance teachers really want her to go on, and perhaps to dance professionally, I doubt she'll either major or minor in it (she's thinking of science, or perhaps psychology). I think she'd like a college where she has opportunities to continue to dance (to perform, but also to take classes in ballet, pointe, modern, etc.). So where did some of your dancing daughters end up, or what schools are you looking at? We are trying to find a good LAC, that also has solid dance offerings. Any clues?

[frazzled1]

Hi, Zetesis - something to investigate about individual college dance programs is the extent to which non-majors can participate in classes and productions. Many of the BFA programs or schools with pre-professional emphasis restrict classes to majors only.

Two dancers at my daughter's studio were accepted at Mercyhurst this year, a small LAC in Erie, PA. I think this is a respected dance program that seems to offer some nice performance opportunities. It's not one of the big names in college dance programs (Indiana U, NYU Tisch, Fordham/Ailey, Butler, SUNY Purchase, Oklahoma, etc.). Another friend will enter her third year at Goucher as a dance major, and she's been quite pleased with her training there.

Vassar, Barnard, Smith, and Skidmore are said to have strong dance programs with good ballet offerings, and of course are strong LACs as well with academic admission profiles ranging from difficult upwards. My d loved Muhlenberg, a nice LAC in the Allentown, PA area where she took an advanced ballet class and was quite happy with the teacher and welcoming atmosphere - non-majors can be full participants there. My d also liked the dance opportunities at Dickinson, which has a dance program at the nearby Central PA Youth Ballet.

However, she has chosen a college that's a poor dance match for her because it offers no ballet at her level, but is her ideal school in every other way. Before she applied ED, she found a terrific ballet school nearby, where she hopes to take classes two or three times a week. She never hoped for a professional career, so it was inevitable that her training would taper off.

[MomOf3Stars]

So of all of those schools listed for dance which have the best reputation for providing good aid packages? I have heard Indiana is horrible at least this year.

[Chedva]

MomOf3Stars, Vassar and Barnard have only need-based aid, but promise to meet 100% of need (as they define it, remember). Skidmore has few, if any, merit scholarships, at least that they advertise. Muhlenberg can be very generous with merit aid to their top candidates.

[curiouser]

Actually, Momof3stars, when D applied to Indiana, she received some very good merit aid from them. We were surprised, frankly, but she received an initial academic scholarship, and subsequently received even more money after submitting Honors Program materials they sent to her.

However, she chose another school....

[frazzled1]

I believe some poking around on the website showed that Skidmore offers a 10K annual merit scholarship for artistic achievement, and also has academic merit scholarships available. We were looking last year at this time, so memory may have failed me! Muhlenberg is indeed generous with merit aid through several programs. There is a $4k dance-specific scholarship available (even for non-majors), as well as several academic scholarship/fellowship programs. Dickinson has at least 3 levels of academic scholarships, I believe beginning at 7.5K up through 15K annually. D's friends who were admitted to Mercyhurst were offered talent scholarships of 10K annual shortly after their auditions; I don't know what their financial aid offers might be.

About Indiana - it's said to be one of the most selective university ballet programs in the country. It isn't a terribly large program, so openings are few. An acquaintance whose d auditioned this year said that auditioners made clear they are looking for "company-ready" dancers in the ballet program.

[MomOf3Stars]

Curioser: Are you in-state for Indiana? I have seen bad reports of aid from Indiana this year but granted those are not for dance majors (see the benefit of a forum for dance?).

[epiphany]

Alummom, I PM'ed you.