Dance Life

The college auditioning process for dancers and their parents can be overwhelming. Scheduling the auditions, paying for the auditions (usually in addition to the college application fee), preparing resumes, completing photo sessions, editing videos, and finally traveling to all the auditions with hotels, gas, and time is all included in the process of auditioning. The colleges are looking for things such as the dancer’s mental preparation, body type, alignment, musicality, movement flow, strength, flexibility, how well they take instruction, how well they pick up routines, technique, do they have passion for dance, expressivity, interviewing skills and risk and commitment.

Preparing for all of this is not easy. For the most part these aspects are learned from the education the dancers have received over the years. Like athletes, there are different talent levels and different effort levels. Very few dancers have both. The ones that do have both will be very successful during auditions. The last item colleges are looking for is academic success. Academic success plays a critical role on whether the student is accepted. They all have a rigorous schedule, as athletes do, and need to be on solid academic ground to be successful in both arenas.

Here is one dancer’s view of the auditioning process:

I went into my college auditions mentally prepared but in a different way.  I was nervous going into a competition or an audition and of course I didn’t want to mess up but when I really thought about it those things didn’t mean anything.  I thought about how choosing a school would help me determine my lifetime goals.  College would allow me the opportunity to work with some of the best dancers and teachers in the country.  This allowed me to focus and concentrate on the task at hand.  I went into my auditions telling myself I would stick everything and put my best effort forward because it was a make or break situation.  There are many dancers that try out for each school and they only pick a select few.

My back had been injured all year and I was slowly getting better.  When your in the dance world you have to learn how to suck it up and give it your all and that is exactly what I did.  I forgot about any injury or pain I had and went in there feeling stronger than ever.

As far as what the schools were looking for…..No one knows what is going on in the heads of the people watching you.  No one really knows what the school wants except for them.  I made it through the entire audition at most schools.  The results were sometimes very confusing.  I was accepted at all but one school.  I saw some very talented dancers that did not get accepted. You just have to give it your all and if they like you they like you but if they don’t then get over it and move on.  Clearly it isnt the place for you.

The instructors were asking for you to be at your best.  Again, you never know what they really wanted to see but what they asked for is a performance in what you do best if you made it to the solo routine pertion of the audition.  As far as I know they just wanted to see the performer in everyone no matter what the song or genre of dance it was.

Overall, I auditioned at four schools: Marymount Manhattan, SUNY Purchase, University of the Arts, and Juilliard.  At every single one of the auditions I felt the same way.  I went into them with my head up and ready to go no matter what the outcome.  I was at my best regardless of whether the school was my first choice or not.  I wanted to make a good impression on everyone.  Overall I realized that colleges are not looking for the best dancers that are skinny and have legs for days.  I learned to respect everyone that calls themselves a dancer because as I was once told you can learn something from everyone.

I received acceptance letters from Marymount, SUNY, and Uarts which are all very good schools.  They all had a wide variety of dance genres which is what I was looking for.  The reason I didn’t choose a few schools was because of the distance from home honestly.  My dream was always to live in New York City and that is exactly where Marymount was, right in the middle of Manhattan.  SUNY Purchase was out in the middle of no where but still had an amazing program.  Either one I went to I would have been happy at but it was the location of Marymount which really caught my eye and made me decide where I needed to be.  I have been here now for about 2 months and couldn’t be happier.  The dancning is great and I enjoy the size of the school.  I have met so many interesting people and I am excited to finish my college experience here. Good luck to all who will be auditioning this year and in the future.