My daughter is in an unusual category I think: she has studied classical ballet for 8 years and has been in a rigorous full IB program. Most students I think would focus on one or the other, and either really excel in dance or be an academic superstar. She is straddling both and has good grades and has made a lot of progress in ballet.
It’s really hard finding a college for her. Her counselor is recommending schools with dance based on my daughter’s gpa, like Butler, but I have no idea if she has any chance of getting into the dance program. If she can’t dance, I don’t think Butler would be a good fit.
It’s also hard because I don’t know anything about ballet. 8 years of experience doesn’t mean much on its own. My daughter is on pointe, she can do multiple pirouettes in a row on pointe, but not fouettés yet. She has been told she has beautiful lines and she is very good at slow, graceful movements (adagio?). She’s not the most flexible and doesn’t jump the highest. So for these top tier programs, I’m not sure she’s there yet.
Another factor is that my daughter has made incredible progress in the last couple months with a new instructor. She says her old studio made her feel like she just wasn’t ever going to be that good. She says the new instructor makes her feel like she needs to work on her skills and that she has potential. At this rate, she could build a lot skill, made enough for a place like Butler in a year or two.
Hi! I recommend you join this FB group for parents of aspiring dancers to ask this question. Specifically, ask for recommendations for strong ballet programs with no audition. No audition is the key, because it sounds like she might not pass a prescreen for a ballet BFA (and may not be interested in that?). The folks there know all about this and you will get good ballet recommendations and you can evaluate whether the schools are a good fit otherwise. https://www.facebook.com/groups/182038899743604
There is a dance forum here on CC. You will get more informed info there.
You might want to get a copy of Dance Magazine’s college guide.
Her situation is not uncommon at all, in dance, music, theater or art.
She will need to decide if she wants to major in dance (BFA or BA), major in an academic area with dance as a minor or extracurricular, double major or double degree. It is hard to suggest schools otherwise. (Some schools have vigorous extracurricular programs).
How much experience does she have in modern, jazz, contemporary? Does she want a straight ballet program?
She may be surprised: at Juilliard, a top program of course, students get rid of their pointe shoes pretty quickly, we were told. Make sure, if she wants ballet, that that is a focus.
Barnard, Goucher, Vassar come to mind for me. If she wants a conservatory, that is a different matter. With more info I could be of more help.
What are her career goals? I am a fan of doing what you love as an undergrad, but in this case, wondering if she is envisioning a career in dance.
Not a dance parent but found this list and double checked a few, and auditions don’t seem required.
So it might be a list to look through on the actual college websites.
Obviously, also do as the previous posts note given their experience. But not knowing the admission stats or desires, but schools like Oregon or Richmond have BAs or BSs (or like Oregon both) or BFAs which Oregon has too. Some schools seem to have minors too…and they may also have auditions for dance companies so one can perhaps study but not advance.
I just want to add that even if the dance program itself has no audition there will be auditions for any dance company/performance opportunities. My D22 grew up in a small rural area and although she had good dance training she was completely unprepared for the realities of auditions. She’s done well but there have been a lot of disappointments along the way that she had to persevere through. She attends a college with no dance major (although they are adding one next year) but an excellent dance program. She doesn’t concentrate on ballet though so her search would have been different than your daughter’s. There is a parent on here whose screen name is escaping me whose daughter sounds very similar to yours. She ended up at UCI. Her voyage getting there was very interesting trying to balance ballet and academics. Hopefully she will chime in.
Yes I noted that - because the schools made it clear - but they can still do the major it appears.
It’s really just a list for OP to peruse. If any schools are of interest, they can check but they should follow the instructions of others to join the other forums for sure.
My d22 is a double major in dance and chemistry at Barnard, and it has been a good fit. I’d recommend taking a look. That said, Barnard/Columbia does have a very low acceptance rate, so don’t consider it a likely choice for anyone.
One thing to consider is how your daughter reacts to working alongside people who are brilliant, talented, and have had opportunities yours has not even imagined. If that inspires her and gives her wings, Barnumbia is the place for her.
Since even with dance she will need a major. What will that be? Many high school dancers are dancing 20-40 hours /week with competitions or performances. Is she doing that? What do her instructors say about her potential in college? All of this could help deciding on which colleges to apply to. I would suspect finding a college that has some additional opportunities to dance even if it’s student led might be a good fit. The competition for any BFA type program is intense. How does she do with rejection?
Can we move back a second? How old is your daughter?
Thanks for tagging me. Yes, my daughter went through almost this same process a year ago. I did a lot of research into options, and here are some take home messages:
*If your daughter wants pointe, the number of colleges available to her dramatically shrinks.
*If she is looking for a school to prep her to dance professionally, that is very different than a general “Dance BA”.
*The combination of high level academics and high level ballet is very challenging to find. At the end of the day, kids in this situation have to weigh their options (some mentioned below, but adapt to your own kid):
take a gap year(s) and go the trainee route and then go to college
decide to weight academics more heavily (and then schools like WashU, Barnard, Swat are mentioned)
decide to weight dance programs more heavily (top ballet programs are generally noted as Utah, Indiana, Butler, and OK; next tier is probably U Cinncinatti, TCU, and maybe Point Park). If your daughter is willing to consider double/triple track programs, I’d have her look at SMU, Fordham, UCI, Florida State. This is not an exhaustive list, by any stretch.
The one thing that gives me pause is that I’m unclear what level of technique your daughter is at. If she has good lines, good feet, good turnout that will take her a ways into this very aesthetically driven art form. If the reason she struggles with fouettes is because she’s so lax that it’s hard for her to control her mobility, that’s one thing. If it’s something else, that might lead me down a different path with her.
Note: the vast majority of auditions my D25 went to she did not put on pointe shoes.
Tagging @Twoin18 whose daughter went to and graduated from Utah and was a strongly academic kid as well.
My daughter’s freshman roommate was a dance major (ballet focus) and was in the Honors college. There are academic focused students in every major. Many years ago my BIL was in engineering but also sang in the University’s (traveling) choral group.
Just want to add that most ballet-focused dancers we know, went directly to professional dancing or apprenticeship. Jose Matteo in Cambridge is unusual in requiring a college class for all dancers. That said, I know a male dancer who started ballet at 17. The teacher took one look at his movement, in the first class, and said he had potential. He danced in a well-known company and didn’t do college at the time. Of course Harvard Dance, a pretty good ballet program, has students dancing in major companies while attending Harvard. But, you know, that’s Harvard.
Your daughter needs to be clear on what she wants. It is okay to apply to, say, a conservatory and a rigorous college, and decide at the end of senior year. Summer programs can be really helpful in clarifying. Dance Magazine is a great resource for that too.
Many dancers I know have day jobs: what would that look like? I know a few who got grad degrees and teach in dance programs. There is also “expressive arts therapy” (Lesley).
Check Colleges that Change Lives ctcl.org , Barnard, Goucher (on ctcl), Vassar…Check schools in detail because many college dance programs are modern-focused and sometimes also focused on choreography. Sounds like it would be wise to apply to schools where she would be happy if she stopped dancing or did it as an extracurricular.
Options, again: BFA, BA in dance, BA in something else besides dance w/extracurricular dance, double major, major/minor (either way, dance as major or minor), and double degree.
I’m just catching up after the holiday weekend. My daughter was a very serious ballet dancer and a very strong student - in the full IB program as well. I agree with previous posters that first understanding her potential major, desire to dance professionally and just where she is in dance is critically important. Has she auditioned for any summer intensives? It can be extremely illuminating in understanding just where she might fit in the ballet world. Just how many hours is she dancing now - I’m not quite clear on her current training.
I agree with previous posters that the vast majority dancers we know who pursued a professional career in ballet went the trainee route and we know quite a few. I know a couple who tried the college BFA route, but couldn’t make it to the next level in ballet - know a few who switched to different dance forms.
My daughter was a strong dancer, but had realized that dancing ballet professionally was not in the cards. So she was looking for colleges with strong dance programs - including POINTE (this is a huge, huge differentiator) with performance opportunities. She was willing to audition, so the list was a bit different. But then was matching with colleges strong in her major.
Spending some time, really understanding if she is going to college to dance, or wants to dance in college is very important. Best of luck to her!