University of Texas- Austin

[Dancer28]

Does anyone know about the dance department at UT Austin? I'm very much interested in doing dance if I get into UT. Is it possible to take a ballet class and not be majoring in it? Thanks.

[mini cooper]

At my dd's previous dance school, there was a dance student who was a chemical engineer. She attended UT, and learned that it was cheaper to register for ballet classes through the university than to take open classes around Austin. Although, she did not actually get a minor in dance, she was very close to that. I cannot vouch for the instruction, but she was a great dancer. I thought it was interesting that even with a curriculum as challenging as ChemE she found time to dance during college.

[balletnast]

For what it's worth - I asked this question of one of the RAs at Ballet Austin who is in the program, and she said it leans more towards modern. I would recommend calling and asking to get the real answer.

[Dancer28]

thanks! i'm majoring in Theatre/Musical Theatre which is the reasoning for ballet at UT. I'll def call and see how the ballet is down at UT.

[jsn]

Please tell us what you find out when you call! I'm taking my daughter up to look at UT soon and it would be great to get some background information. From what I've read on the website, it concerned us that dance majors get first priority for the classes since UT is so big and they tend to run out of spots for classes in other subjects. They have beautiful facilities. Thanks!

[Dancer28]

I'm going to look at UT once school starts and we have a longer weekend and I'll post info asap.

[Taradriver]

UT's online catalog lists the requirements for the BFA program as 28 units in contemporary dance and 12 in ballet. Looks like a clear modern emphasis to me, but if anyone gets any further info from the school, please post ASAP. BTW, the site also says non-dance majors can audition for placement in majors classes.

[jsn]

DD and I just returned from a day in Austin talking to different departments about their programs. We were really disappointed in the dance department which was a shame because we loved the honors academic programs and were hoping for a double major. I'm sure there are instructors who know their trade but the department advisor who was assigned to talk to us was clueless regarding any aspect of dance or the offerings of the University. She basically wanted to tell us what the requirements were to achieve a BFA and told us to go to the website to find out more about the program. Our artistic director told us that a student she is familiar with is miserable at UT because she is majoring in theatre and minoring in dance and has ended up in classes with 50 students at all different levels. The facilities are lovely, and I bet they have some good instructors, but the program doesn't seem to have any desire to recruit dancers and it doesn't seem to have much administrative support. The advisor told my dd to come to the audition to find out more, but we really want to know if the auditions are worth our time and effort. If anyone knows different, it would be great to hear.

Thanks.

[Guest megarina]

I live/dance/teach in Austin. UT is definitely modern-oriented. No doubt about it.

[jsn]

Thank you Megarina for your input. UT has such great facilities for dance, but the attitude was strictly business from the administration: "Here are the requirements you need to fulfill to get a BFA".

[Guest JustTheFacts]

My DD has a friend at UT who says dance classes are scattered all over the university, with classes in one "studio" that is located inside the football stadium. She felt the floors are not consistant studio to studio and are not the best, she thinks a high injury/sit out rate due to floors. She was also not a dance major, but still trying to study ballet. She is not taking ballet this semester. She does not think the "facilities" are so "lovely."

Edited October 10, 2006 by JustTheFacts

[jsn]

Great first hand input JUSTTHEFACTS! Thanks! We were going on our tour of the many studios we saw, along with the full Pilates workout facility and the large secondary auditorium we viewed (because the primary one is being renovated). Evidently ABT rents these for 2 SI's they hold there each year and that indicated to us that they must have good flooring etc. BUT....there is nothing like first hand knowledge that your daughter's friend has experienced

Edited October 10, 2006 by jsn

[Guest JustTheFacts]

I happened to do a search here and read some reviews of prior years of the ABT SI's at Austin, and I found several similar comments about the dance studios being spread all over campus, and problems with slippery floors . There was apparently a year where there were two dancers who fell and broke their wrists, as well as foot injuries.

Edited October 11, 2006 by JustTheFacts

[dancemaven]

Gentle reminder: First-hand information is information that comes directly from either (1) a BT member who has attended a program or (2) a BT member who is a teacher or parent or someone directly connected with a dancer who has attended a program.

 

"A friend of a friend . . ." is NOT first-hand information. Likewise, "I heard" or "they say" is not first-hand information.

 

Please help keep these threads most useful by reporting ONLY experiences either you or your dancer has had. Anything else, no matter how helpful or reliable the source in the end is only hearsay---and, therefore, not really helpful.

[Redbookish]

*knock knock* University theatre professor here: a couple of points - it's quite standard at big universities internationally that disciplines are taught in facilities across the campus - in my experience of many universities in the UK, US, & Australia, UT (Austin) is one of the larger universities in this respect. But it might not be to your taste or inclination - in that case you should probably be looking at universities with small compact campuses (we call them 'green field' campuses here in the UK).

 

I have spent quite a bit of time over the last few years as a research fellow at UT (Austin) in connection with the Drama & Dance School - the drama/theatre section of it is internationally recognised for its excellence in research and teaching, as are the dance theorists (I can't speak to the practical dance training). In your academic classes, you'd be exposed to some excellent teaching and opportunities to encounter some world-class performnance, both at the University and in Austin. Basically, in that DEpartment, you'd be taught by some of the people writing the text books and research sources which you'll be using for your academic studies!