Last Friday, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia announced it would be shutting down as of June 7, shocking dance students and faculty.

When you think of a summer dance intensive, you might not immediately picture a college campus. But many higher ed dance departments do host summer programs, which can offer a chance for holistic growth and often function as a preview of life as an undergraduate. A summer on campus might help high school students plan for their futures—whether at the same school or elsewhere in the dance world.

When first-year students begin classes at the University of the Arts’ School of Dance in Philadelphia, they’re met with guiding questions that challenge them to reframe the very purpose of dance training: “How do you pay attention to what you’re doing all the time, differently?” asks Donna Faye Burchfield, professor and dean of the School of Dance. “What […]

While the transfer process is a time of uncertainty and adjustment, ultimately it can lead to a program that better meets a dancer’s needs. “There’s something freeing about starting again and doing college on your own terms,” says Paul Matteson,­ associate professor at University of the Arts.

There is no one “right” college path, but it does help to have a road map. To get you started, here’s a year-by-year look at what to prepare for and prioritize.

There’s a healthy dose of repetition in your dance education—whether it’s those same fundamentals you’re asked to practice over and over as you deepen your technique or the many run-throughs it takes to polish a piece of choreography. But teachers also see the same missteps and issue the same reminders from student to student, perhaps […]