This is a theme you will see expressed again and again on this site—it’s not about finding the best college dance program, it’s about finding the best fit for your dancer

What about the “Best College Dance Programs” lists that I see?

These lists can be a useful starting point. Certainly all the dance programs on most of these lists are excellent. However, I would definitely suggesting taking the “best” designation with a very large grain of salt. Almost every list like this that I’ve seen has some glaring omissions.

You’ll also find that if you look closely, the descriptions of dance programs from these lists often contain text lifted directly from the dance department websites, so they are hardly original ideas about the programs.

But aren’t some programs better than others?

Well, there are certainly programs that are more prestigious, that attract extremely talented applicants and are very competitive for admission. But does that make a program the “best”? And does it make that program the best fit for your dancer?

Dance programs are so different

Dance programs are so different from one another. This is good news, because there is likely to be a program out there that is the right fit for your dancer. But it does mean that it’s rather silly to lump them all together in a ‘best of’ list. It is extremely unlikely that a student applying to the Pace University Commercial Dance BFA will even be looking at the Butler Ballet BFA. The important thing is to help your dancer figure out the program that is the right fit for them and together create a list of the schools that are best for THEM.

But then where do I start?

You’re here, so that’s a great start! We’re working on setting up informational pages on as many dance programs as we can. If you use Facebook, come join us at Dance Parents: College Bound. But the single most important thing is for your dancer to give some hard thought to what their goals are and how a dance program can help them meet those goals. Creating Your School List: Questions for Dancers will give you some guidance on getting started.