First-Year Applicants: Dance & Choreography

Freshman applicants must apply using the Common Application.

Applicants may only submit one application to one major. Admitted students can request additional major/minor(s) during their first semester.

Applications will only be reviewed after all components have been received, including transcripts, test scores and supplemental materials.

Include your Social Security number on your application if you wish to be considered for financial aid or the Hope Scholarship/Lifetime learning tax credit.

Please note: While VCU does not require your Social Security number for admission consideration, it is necessary for applicants who wish to be considered for financial aid and the Hope Scholarship/Lifetime Learning tax credit to provide a Social Security number to the university. To protect your privacy, your Social Security number will not be used as your VCU student identification number.

Applicants are required to complete an audition for admission into the Department of Dance & Choreography. Applicants can schedule a virtual or in-person audition using SlideRoom after submitting the Common Application.

In order to be considered for university scholarships, your Common Application and Slideroom materials must be submitted by November 1st, 2022.

In-person audition
Please use SlideRoom to request your in-person audition date. At the time of your request you will be prompted to upload a brief written statement regarding your educational and career goals.

Onsite auditions will consist of a warm-up, a ballet barre, modern center work and an improvisation section as part of a class, followed by a short interview.

Audition Dates:

• Friday, Nov. 18th, 2022
• Friday, Dec. 2nd, 2022
• Friday, Jan. 27th, 2023

Virtual audition and interview

If you are auditioning virtually, please use SlideRoom to submit your audition video. Below you will find the link to access the videos as well as a description to what each file is.

• Audition Video:
  • All aspects of the audition material can be danced safely in a 10 x 10 foot space. Auditionees are strongly encouraged to access a studio environment to learn material and record audition footage. However, we understand that some auditionees don’t have this option and must dance in their home settings. To optimize an environment where dancers’ can safely move and submit their best work, we ask that auditionees locate an open space where furniture and home accessories can be pushed aside and pets or other distractions can be removed.
  • Please use this link to access the audition video and music files. VCU Dance Audition Audition 2023-2024
• Longer Video File
  • The long video file is meant to allow prospective students to warm-up, become mentally and physically centered, engage with VCU Dance Faculty, and learn the audition material with more thorough explanations. Auditionees will take a brief class in the following order:
    • Improvisation with MK Abadoo (sound only, no video)
    • Ballet with Eric Rivera and two dance majors
    • Modern with Autumn Proctor Waddell
    • West African with Sinclair Ogaga Emoghene
    • (Dance accompanists, Shellie Johnson and Scott Milstead, are featured in the video. The music tracks for the Improvisation are “Onwalo” by Philip Aaberg and Kinobe and “African Journey” by Anugama & Sebastian. VCUarts Dance Music Director, Robbie Kinter, filmed and edited both videos and he and pianist Ryan Jones are featured in the shorter video file for the Improvisation section.)
• Shorter Video File
  • The short video file [7:36] is meant to resemble the entire length and sequence of events for the video submission. This video is designed for you to follow along if needed.
• Creation of Video Audition
  • All material should be filmed in one continuous shot only pausing to change shoes and take a breath.
  • 1. 2-min improvisation based on memory of the prompts guided by Professor Abadoo.
  • 2. Ballet, modern, and West African sections of the audition. You may follow along with the video if preferred.
  • Please use the provided sound file while completing the improvisation and movement phrases if you are not following along with the video. If you are using the short video to follow exercises you do not need to use the music file. The music in the short video and the music on the sound file are the same. For both methods please make sure the volume is loud enough for the camera to pick up the music. The video should not exceed the short video or sound files.

A virtual interview will be scheduled at a later date after your virtual audition has been submitted.

If you have any questions regarding the audition process please contact the Department of Dance & Choreography at dance@vcu.edu.

Admissions criteria:

• Talent and potential as an artist in the field of dance.
• Prior training and the ability to demonstrate knowledge of modern dance and/or classical ballet techniques.
• Ability to demonstrate musicality and dynamic range.
• A healthy, physically conditioned body that is injury-free.
• Openness to new ideas and the ability to engage in creative problem-solving.

Applicants should review VCU’s Student Financial Services’ financial aid checklist, available here.

Applicants are encouraged to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completing the FAFSA form allows you to be considered for federal student aid. States and colleges also use FAFSA information to award grants, scholarships and loans.

The FAFSA form is available starting October 1. To be considered, complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by the priority deadline of March 1.

Request that your high school guidance counselor sends your official transcripts to VCU. Transcripts may be submitted electronically via the Common App or Naviance, or sent in the mail. If sending a hard copy in the mail, please request that your school counselor send your transcript, including:

• Senior-year courses and first-term grades, if available
• Class rank, if available

All foreign transcripts must be official and submitted in the original language. If the original language is not English, an official translation must be submitted along with the transcript.

Transcripts must arrive in sealed envelopes signed across the seal by official high school, university or college registrars.

Transcripts should be sent to:

Office of Admissions
PO Box 842526
Richmond, VA 23284-2526

Currently, VCU does not require SAT or ACT scores for admission. However, submission of test scores remains a requirement for all Guaranteed Admission Programs, offered through the Honors College.

Applicants whose first language is one other than English must submit scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). For more information, please visit this page.

Admission to VCU remains a competitive process, and all candidates for admission will be considered on their own merits. Qualifying for application review without submitting standardized test scores does not guarantee admission to VCU.

VCU does not require applicants to submit recommendations. If you choose to submit recommendations, you will see an option to list your recommendations in the Common App.