|
 A
Matter of Degree
By
Elaina Loveland
Guiding your students through the maze of college dance
programs
Dance
teachers have a great influence on the path a teenage dancer
chooses after high school. They can help steer students toward
a professional career in dance immediately after high school,
which is usually when ballet dancers start their careers, or
help them find a college program that will meet their needs.
Competition for performing jobs is fierce and only the most
talented and driven dancers make it. But college dance
programs can provide students with additional training for a
performing career or performance opportunities for personal
fulfillment should they choose not to dance professionally.
And they can prepare students for dance-related careers other
than performing.
Types of
Programs
Each dance
program is different. Many emphasize modern technique, some
have equal emphases on modern and ballet (and sometimes jazz),
and a handful focus on ballet as the primary dance technique.
Careful scrutiny is needed to cull out the differences between
programs—although many offer excellent training and ample
performance opportunities, some are geared toward students who
intend to become professional dancers and others toward those
who seek other kinds of dance-related careers.
Three kinds
of degrees are possible with a dance major: bachelor of fine
arts (BFA), bachelor of arts (BA), and bachelor of science
(BS). Each requires a different number of dance credits for
graduation. A BFA requires the most dance credits and is often
focused on performance; it is usually the best option for a
student who hopes to audition for professional dance companies
after graduation. It offers the most dance technique classes
and is often conservatory based. A BA is usually offered at
liberal arts colleges and requires the same amount of credits
as other disciplines, which makes it easier to double major. A
BS is the least common dance degree and varies considerably
from program to program— some are designed more like a BFA and
others like a BA. In-depth research into these programs is
recommended for students who are considering this type of
degree.
Auditions
Most
conservatories or institutions that offer a BFA in dance
require applicants to audition for the dance program and often
it is the primary, if not the sole, determining factor of
acceptance to the dance program. However, not all colleges
require auditions for acceptance into their dance programs.
Many notable colleges today offer dance majors that include
many of the attributes of a highly competitive dance program
in a less competitive fashion, such as Barnard College in New
York City, Goucher College in Baltimore, MD, or Skidmore
College in Saratoga Springs, NY. They still offer daily
technique classes, bring in guest artists, and have performing
opportunities, yet the auditions for entering freshmen might
be for scholarships only. Dance teachers can help students
decide what their goals are for dancing in college, thus
easing audition anxiety. However, students who want to study
solely dance with an emphasis on performance can expect that
an audition (and perhaps a solo) will be required.
Students
may be anxious to know what schools are looking for, but there
is no firm answer. “Different departments are looking for
different skills and qualities in their students,” notes Libby
Patenaude, chair of the department of dance at Florida State
University. “We are interested in students who are eager to
train intensively in both ballet and modern dance and who will
ultimately pursue careers in the professional dance world,”
she says. “We are also interested in the student who does
original improvisational work during the auditions.” She
points out that several other schools do not require previous
ballet training because “their programs may be exclusively
focused on creative process and contemporary dance.” A few
well-known programs that focus on modern dance and
choreography include those at the University of Utah;
Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT; Mills College in
Oakland, CA; and George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.
Like many
of the most competitive dance programs, the audition at
Purchase College, State University of New York, determines
whether students will be accepted as a dance major before
th ey
even apply for admission to the college. The program holds
five auditions on campus each spring and has four to eight
off-campus regional auditions in California, Illinois,
Florida, and Texas at the end of January each year. Regional
auditions usually attract between 15 and 40 students;
on-campus auditions usually include approximately 70 students.
Purchase’s dance auditions consist of classes in ballet and
modern, after which some of the students are invited to
present a solo. The average size of the freshman class in the
Purchase dance program is 45 students, but it varies greatly.
“We have had a class as small as 32 and as large as 67—there
were a lot of talented students auditioning that year,”
explains Carol K. Walker, dean of the School of the Arts and
director of the Conservatory of Dance.
Researching
dance programs can yield clues that might help determine if
original choreography is appropriate for an audition. A
program that emphasizes ballet might prefer something more
traditional like a variation from a classical or contemporary
ballet. However, when programs have a more experimental slant
to their curriculum (usually those that offer courses in
choreography and modern dance), the faculty may be more
interested in seeing original work. This doesn’t necessarily
mean that ballet-based programs wouldn’t be interested in
seeing original choreography. The best thing to do is to call
the department and ask which kinds of solo pieces they have
seen students perform recently and whether they have any
recommendations. If they don’t mention original choreography,
ask whether it is appropriate.
Dance-Related Careers
Even when
promising students decide that a performance career isn’t in
their future, they can still pursue dance in college in
preparation for another kind of dance-related career. Some of
the most popular options include dance education, arts
management, and dance therapy.
Students
who are interested in becoming dance teachers need to decide
if they are interested in becoming certified to teach in
public schools. If so, they should consider dance programs
that have a teacher-certification component. The National
Dance Education Organization maintains a list of states that
offer dance teacher certification; students should evaluate
dance programs in those states and determine whether they
include K–12 teacher certification. Private studios, however,
do not require teacher certification.
Students
who hope to open their own studios or work for a dance- or
arts-related nonprofit organization might find that a dance
program with a degree or concentration in arts management fits
the bill. Arts management programs teach the business aspects
of running businesses and nonprofit organizations geared
specifically for the arts world.
Another
option for dancers who want to integrate dance skills into a
career is dance therapy. Dance therapists (sometimes called
movement therapists) integrate creative movement in the
treatment of developmental, medical, social, physical, and
psychological impairments. They work with people of all
ages—from children to the elderly—in medical and educational
settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and day care
facilities, and in private practice. Becoming a dance
therapist requires graduate study in the field, but
undergraduate preparation in the sciences would be ideal; a
college program that combines dance and science (for example,
the dance science major that Goucher College offers) might be
a good fit for a student interested in this career.
As a dance
teacher, you can help your students realize their potential by
working with them to make them the best dancers they can be.
But you can also aid them in whichever path they pursue after
high school by becoming knowledgeable about the educational
options available to them and guiding them through the
decision-making process.
Send
Page To a Friend
|
