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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]As long as she stays away from UMD she should be ok.  UMD grads are unemployable. [/quote]

What makes you stay this? UMD is DD’s first choice.[/quote]

The lack of audition process means that only the worst dancers go there.  The faculty is incredibly weak and has little to work with.  Not only do they have trouble getting hired but we won't hire anyone that was taught by a UMD grad.

Even students that enter with some skill will not keep pace with peers elsewhere. I sit on the otherside if the table and toss the resumes.  Too many have underperformed to even bither.[/quote]

Are you hiring for teaching or performing roles? Doesn’t UMD have a scholarship awarded to talented dancers by audition? If you’re hiring for performing roles, wouldn’t the audition speak louder than the school?[/quote]bother.

Both.  Haven't had a competent audition in 5 years.  The really strong local schools don't hire them to teach.[/quote]

I’m sorry I’m not trying to out you but to understand more from your perspective. DD is planning to audition for several dance programs next year - including the local ones mentioned here - but UMD has a much stronger academic program and she wants to double major. Her goal is to dance in college at a fairly high (but not top) level and hopefully in a company someday, but doesn’t plan to make her living through dance. Is UMD’s program strong enough to provide those kinds of opportunities?[/quote]

Not likely employable for a dance company.   [/quote]

How about strong schools that offer dance minors and/or strong companies - Princeton, W&M, Wesleyan, Vassar? Or other schools offering BA dance degrees like GW, AU, or Connecticut College?[/quote]

Pretty solid options.  Even Harvard has a dance major.   The current group of GW and AU students are doing well in the working world.  [/quote]

My daughter is a sophomore, dance major at Towson. Her goal is to own her own studio and teach, she does not want a performative career though many at Towson do. She applied and got into the typical  schools dancers all seem to pursue (except Montclair State, did not get into the dance program) She did get into the dance programs at  JMU, VCU, George Mason, Radford and American. UMD was a little too modern based on reputation so she did not apply. She has a chronic illness so decided to stay closely in Md. She loved Towson, it's demanding and I have to say pretty slow on offering any accommodations for disabilities (she has a syndrome that causes fatigue and has some Dr's appts. Even after disability office approved her status the dance dept lagged behind and made it hard). She really had to advocate for herself to not be penalized with a lower grade for missing a dance class due to a necessary doctor's appt for example. Which seems crazy to me but that tells you about the expectations. And maybe about dance culture in general. Though different schools may have different tolerances.

We walked out of a dance program we attended at GW when she was a senior in high school. It was poorly choreographed. And American's program was difficult to gage, it was hard to know when they even had shows, so despite getting in, she felt like the school really did not invest in the dance program. We could be wrong on that. Best wishes to your daughter.[/quote]

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