Point Park

[dancemaven]

ddancer, I'm sorry, but you are not yet eligible to receive PMs. That function will be automatically activated when you reach 30 posts.

 

In the meantime, I do hope folks will come on and share their experiences with Point Park's program and help answer your questions. I'm sure others considering the program will appreciate the sharing of information, likewise.

[ddancer]

My dd and I went to visit Point Park and we loved the program. It seemed to be very intense with many dance classes and the option of many electives which could be more dance or academics. Dd is very excited to be attending there next year. I was told the freshman schedule is pretty much set. From your experience what are the freshman requirements (dance-academic) schedule for dance majors and can you pick a a second ballet class each semester as a freshman? I am very excited for my dd and feel PP is a good fit for my dd. PP has a lot to offer and there were a lot of talented students. Would love to hear from students and parents of PP regarding your experience with the training, personal attention from teachers and the casting of shows. Is a very competitive to get casted in a show? Like the real world of dance? How did you grow as a dancer? An individual? Lessons learned? Your feedback would be very appreciated.

[calamitous]

ddancer, my dd is just finishing her freshman year at PPU and is so happy she is there. I will do my best to answer some of your questions about her experiences and relayed to me. She is a modern major, not ballet so I don't know all the details about the ballet track.

When you say the freshman year is pretty set, I assume you mean in dance. All freshman (and most sophmores) dance majors take ballet from 8-9:30, then jazz and modern as they can fit it in. I believe the ballet majors also take pointe but this may only be if it fits in their schedule. I say the second part because my DD was supposed to take a dunham course but had to switch out because of an academic class. Since ballet is a common time for everyone and there are MANY section that are leveled this doesn't generally interfer with other classes.

 

As for academic - this was set up at the orientation days. DD ended up having to change her schedule from the "standard" freshman, because she had already met some of the requirements and her jazz class level was switched. It seemed like most kids were put into a computer class and freshman English and math. DD is in the honors program so had to switch English sections. Most of the kids we talked to at orientation said the computer class was VERY basic, we are looking for another route for her to meet this requirement.

 

As for casting - from my understanding, everyone auditions for everything, and it is competitive. Freshman are competing with seniors. That being said, DD had a friend, freshman, who was cast in the first show of the year and ended up with a solo. DD was cast in the last show in one piece and as an understudy in a second piece (and in the program they listed the understudies which I thought was very kind). Man of her classmates were understudies in this piece (it was modren whcih is the smallest program). On the flip side, a friend from DD's school here who was almost always a lead part has not been cast all year.

 

As for personal attention, DD raves about some of her teachers and how they share life experiences, professional advise, and interest in each kids desires. This seems to be very much the case with her modern teacher - but this is a small class (i thin about a dozen) and all 8 freshman modern majors are in the same class. Her ballet class is much larger 24 or so students, so it is less personal BUT she ADORED her teacher first semester and enjoys the teacher this semester. I think for DD who had the same 3 ballet teachers since 4th grade having new teachers and then having to adjust at the semester has really invigorated her ballet interests.

 

At PPU most, if not all, students start as BA students and then decide during the freshman year if they want to go the BA or BFA route. These routes are not hugely different in terms of classes. DD talked to and felt she was really listened to by several of the teachers who gave her advice about which route she should consider.

[ddancer]

Thanks for the information.

[101driver]

Does anyone know about the possibility of double majoring at PP? Ballet and education... Can it be done? Thanks

[ddancer]

I know you declare a minor after your freshman year. You should talk to admissions.

[ddancer]

sfshaza, feel free to PM me about anything. As a senior, I've finally got this school figured out and definitely think this school can be an absolutely amazing training ground IF you know how to navigate it.

 

Can you pm me and let me know about your experiences at PP. I have not quoted enough to be able to pm. My dd is going there in the fall.

[dancemaven]

ddancer, you cannot receive (or send) PMs until you have 30 posts. At that point, the PM feature will automatically become available to you.

 

Again, please do post your questions and concerns and hopefully, folks will be willing to share so everyone interested in Point Park will learn from your interest.

[carpoolleader]

Just thought I'd give a little report on the audition which took place last Saturday. DD said there were about 25 dancers auditioning to enter the Conservatory of Performing Arts as dance majors for next fall (this is just one of many auditions Point Park offers for admission for next fall). The day began with an information session on the conservatory program. DD was pleased with the amount of dancing per day that they said they could expect (5-6 hours which I believe includes rehearsals). They did say that most Freshman are not cast and hence, will do stage crew type work for the performances . Then they had a 1 1/2 hour ballet class - pointe required only for those auditioning for ballet major or for those who wanted to do pointe. This was followed by a 30 minute jazz class and a 30 minute modern class. Only one combination was taught in each of those and the auditionee had only one opportunity to show it. They were allowed to change after the ballet class and before the jazz/modern portion so they did not have to do those in pink tights and slippers.

 

Parents got a brief talk on applying for aid and then all could go on a tour at the conclusion of the audition. The school seems very small so the tour was quite short. We did see the freshman dorm rooms - very small! The two girls who conducted our tour really encouraged living on campus due to the late hour that some rehearsals may go until.

 

Overall DD enjoyed the audition and felt it was a very positive experience.

[Cece]

I was wondering if anyone could give me any information as to how competitive it is to get into PPU's ballet program and how difficult the audition was? Thank you (:

[JLNH]

DD received a letter today with acceptance into BFA/Ballet concentration, with an artistic award, based on the 10/1 audition that carpoolleader described in post #144 above. Point Park is one of the schools she is most interested in, so she's very happy!

[calamitous]

Congratulations JLNH. DD is a sophomore at PPU and loves it. She was one of the kids who did the tours that day if you went on it.

[carpoolleader]

Congratulations JNLH4. DD also received acceptance this week into Point Park BFA with ballet focus. Yesterday, DD and I went to their "Contemporary Coreographers" performance and it was really quite impressive. Seeing the quality of all these dancers makes us feel very good that she was accepted into the program.

[Balletbuddy]

Congratulations JLNH. Point Park is a very good school and it's fantastic that she received an artistic award as well! You should be very proud. The artistic awards are few and far between!

 

My DD loved Point Park and was majoring in ballet until this past summer when she was offered an apprenticeship with a ballet company. She is now with the ballet company and is trying to finish her degree at a local university. She has been in touch with the administration at Point Park and is trying to work out a program where she could get dance credits for her company apprenticeship and finish her degree with Point Park. Has anyone else done this? She has finished one class at the local school but if she can get credit for the dance, she would be able to finish her degree on time.

 

I know there have been other dancers from Point Park who have left to pursue dance in a company. If anyone has any suggestions about how they were able to finish their degree from Point Park while dancing in a company, I would be grateful for the input.

 

Thanks!

Edited November 14, 2011 by Balletbuddy

[viccarmom]

DD received her letter yesterday and she has been accepted into the BFA program with a concentration in ballet. She also received an artistic award. She's very excited but she has a few more auditions to do before she makes her final desicion.