Im a sophomore in hs and i started dancing during the summer&i'd like to try

Question:i've taken hip hop at alvin ailey and i just started taking modern & hiphop at mark morris in the fall. i'm thinking of taking ballet at least 6 times a week (twice on weekends), pointe maybe twice, and modern once or twice. it all depends on the price for open classes &/or workshops & the times. if i did this until senior year, do you think i'd be okay? or is it too late? i'm extremely dedicated to my dancing and am willing to do whatever it takes to be juilliard material. thanks for reading :)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: i've taken hip hop at alvin ailey and i just started taking modern & hiphop at mark morris in the fall. i'm thinking of taking ballet at least 6 times a week (twice on weekends), pointe maybe twice, and modern once or twice. it all depends on the price for open classes &/or workshops & the times. if i did this until senior year, do you think i'd be okay? or is it too late? i'm extremely dedicated to my dancing and am willing to do whatever it takes to be juilliard material. thanks for reading :)

While Juilliard places an extraordinary emphasis on "talent and potential as a performer" over technical skills in their criteria for acceptance, they still require "a minimum of three years experience with ballet and modern dance vocabulary." Check out all of their criteria for acceptance on their "dance audition requirements" page:
http://www.juilliard.edu/pdf/Dance.pdf

Keep in mind that you apply and audition for admission early in your senior year. That's only TWO years from now, so your training still falls a bit short. I suppose it's possible that if you could cram in an 8-week intensive program over the summers where you dance 40 hours a week you might close the gap a bit. (But the other dancers do summer intensives, too.) Then, if you happen to be amazingly talented AND a minority student, they might give a closer look at you. When my daughter auditioned and was cut after the first round, a bunch of minority students with less technical skills were passed to the second round, but then they got cut as well. The bottom line is that they look for talent and are wiling to throw a wider net in order to find it.

Talk to your teachers at Mark Morris and Alvin Ailey and see what they say. I can tell you now that you don't need to waste your time with pointe, since it's not needed for admission. Replace those time slots with extra ballet technique. Likewise, your hip hop classes aren't helping you get into Juilliard. You'd be better off with extra modern. Meanwhile, if you think you'll try and apply, you'll need to prepare two contrasting solos (selecting from ballet and modern only). So you may need to develop a closer relationship with your dance teachers than you may be getting through open classes.

So, if you've got the time and money to apply, it's certainly worth a shot. But don't get your hopes up. And remember that, while Juilliard is very prestigious, it's not the be-all and end-all in college dance programs. You should certainly start now to explore other options. (Start with Point Park University and University of the Arts.)

its a very prestigious school. you'll be competing against people who have been dancing their entire lives and you would have to be extremely talented in general and this would be after years of training. its like starting any sport in high school and wanting to play on a divison 1 team and being on varisty your freshman year, doesn't happen that much. plus, they have an 8% retention rate for their dance program. i would love to say yes, but, chances are another school would be better if your into dance that much and are still new.

Hey, Juilliard is a *school*. They don't expect you to be the perfect dancer yet. Thats why you want to go to there school. Go for it! You won't know till you try. Shoot for the moon, if you miss you'll be amongst the stars...and can pursue your dance somewhere else.

well i am srry to say but... the chances of someone who has only danced for three years by the time you would go there is very unlikly for you to make it in. Unless you are super good!

Yo. Just lift your head high and do what you gotta do. I'm sure if you stick to your classes and work hard, you might still have a chance with Julliard, even if you didn't have 8 years of classes.

Uh no you cannot dance for 3 years and think your going to get in julliard dancers who get accepted to julliard dance since they are 3 or so with years of experience and because your going to be taking so many classes doesnt mean youll advance to julliard material probably with dancing for about 8 more years or more