<p>OK we’re back after a week of visiting. Some of our plans changed but this is my review. Let me stress here that what works for one may not suit another person at all, so these are just reports on how my daughter interacted with the different schools.</p>
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<li> SUNY Purchase. Loved the area. Beautiful setting. We had a general tour guide from a Sr student who did a fantastic job. He was very informative, yet funny enough to keep our interest. He also answered some tough questions very honestly. The school itself had some very quaint buildings, but also some that looked like they were in need of some renovations. The dorm setup was probably the worst one that we have encountered. The space would be small for 2 but most had 3 freshmen living in them. Community floor bathroom. </li>
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<p>The dance seemed pretty good. The building was very nice, although I suspect it sold get quite warm in the hotter months. We sat in on one freshman improv class. A little bit out there but the students were into it. The students seemed very nice and answered any questions we had.</p>
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<li> Fordham (Lincoln Center Campus)/Alvin Ailey Dance We took a guided tour of AA and then toured the campus on our own. AA is intense. We were able to observe several classes through the windows. The building is top notch and very inviting. I did not detect an overly friendly atmosphere. Every one seemed very wrapped up in what they were doing. There also seemed to be a bit of a wall between the students and the AAADT there. Quite a few places that were off limits to the students. Although the tour guide stated that sometimes the “pros” took classes with the students, I just keep getting the feel that there was very little association.<br>
No doubt some great connections would be made by taking class here.</li>
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<p>This seemed to be much more oriented to ballet then I had first imagined. But this may have just been when we attended. My biggest thought was that if you were going there it might be a bit of a waste to go to school.</p>
<p>The Fordham campus was a pleasant surprise. Enclosed by a wall and iron fences, it seemed like a step into a peaceful respite from the rest of the city. Things looked modern and clean. The few students we talked to were very helpful. It seemed like a very safe place. We did not get to see any dorms there.</p>
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<li><p>NYU/Tish First of all it took me 3 phone calls and 2 emails and finally leaving a message that my next call would be to the College Chair and/or President to get any response for a tour. And that response was that they could not give one on the day that we were there. After emailing back that we are from our of town and we would be visiting several schools and it would probably be our only chance to visit, they “squeezed” us in on a Friday. The Thursday night before we went to a performance by the students with their Second Avenue Dance Company. We even got there early so we could set in the first row and really observe the dancers. While we could see that there were a couple of very talented individuals, as a whole my daughter did not like the style of dance at all. She was so negative on the performance that she said no way would she go there. We got in late that night and she was not feeling very well, so we canceled the next days tour.</p></li>
<li><p>University of the Arts… After all of the days in NY (where BTW, NY wife’s wallet was stolen!) the Avenue of the Arts in Philly seemed like a breath of fresh air. We arrived there on Sunday for a Monday tour. The entire area where UArts is based seemed very nice and clean. It was not overly busy with traffic and people and just projected a very safe, comfortable vibe. WE ran into a girl who we knew that was a Senior there. She had a 4.5 hour rehearsal that Sun night but we arranged to have her show us around after our tour Monday.</p></li>
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<p>The dorms there were some of the most spacious that we have seen. In addition that all had kitchens where the student could take care of their own meals. Some of the buildings were a bit old, but they seemed pretty well kept up and safe. No air conditioning though. My daughter liked the curriculum setup. All students take the same core classes for the first 2 years before concentrating on their area of preference. That assured that everyone would get some training in all of the dance forms. We watched several classes and the students seemed both talented and having fun at the same time. This was our favorite of the 4.</p>
<p>Again let me say that this may be completely different for someone else, and I really don’t want to offend anyone who likes some of these colleges or who might attend one. For example at UArts we met another parent/daughter doing the school rounds. We mentioned Cal Arts that we really liked (they were from California) and they said yes it was a great school but it was in the middle of nowhere. We kind of laughed because we had thought the location was perfect (about 30 miles north of LA), so not too crowed.</p>
<p>So that’s it until the next saga…</p>