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Summer Dance Intensive
Application & Audition Requirements

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About this Program

Overview

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR THE 2024 PROGRAM WAS DECEMBER 15, 2023. WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING LATE APPLICATIONS. APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2025 PROGRAM WILL BE AVAILABLE BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

2024 Program Dates: July 7 - 26

Juilliard Summer Dance Intensive is a curated three-week program designed to both introduce dancers to Juilliard and provide information about college dance programs that will assist dancers in making decisions about their education in line with their professional goals. 

Through technique classes, discussions, and collaborations with special guest choreographers, dancers have the opportunity to meet faculty, students, and staff, and will meet one-on-one with either Dance Division Dean and Director, Alicia Graf Mack, or Associate Director, Mario Alberto Zambrano.

The program is limited to dancers who have completed at least one year of high school/secondary school and who will not graduate before the program begins. Generally, this means that dancers in the program are aged 15-17 and have completed grade 9, 10, or 11. 

Dancers who will graduate from high school prior to the start of the program are not eligible and may wish to consider applying to the 4-year Bachelor of Fine Arts college program instead.

International students are welcome to apply.

All classes, rehearsals and other activities will take place at Juilliard's Lincoln Center campus and in New York City. Optional on-campus housing is available.

Applicants are required to submit a video audition; no in-person auditions will be held for the summer 2024 program.

Approximately 44 dancers will be offered admission to the program.

For more detailed information about the program, please visit the Summer Dance Intensive program page.

Eligibility

In order to be admitted to the Summer Dance Intensive, you must:

  • have a minimum of three years of prior training in ballet and modern or contemporary dance
  • currently be training for a minimum of 10 hours per week
  • possess a desire for creative exploration and an interest in new approaches to movement
  • have completed at least one year of high school/secondary school (grade 9, 10 or 11) by the time the program begins in July
  • not have graduated from high school before the program begins
  • be seriously considering dance as a career and major area of college study
  • be available for the entire three-week program
  • be fully immunized according to the NYS Immunization Requirements for School
    Attendance
  • be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a FDA or WHO authorized vaccine

International students are welcome to apply.

Application Timeline

Application Timeline

Application Requirement Received-by Deadline
Online Application (including video audition) December 15
Application Fee ($USD) or Fee Waiver December 15
Request for ADA audition accommodations December 15
Recommender Information December 15
Recommendation Received January 5


Notification of Admission Results

You will receive notification of your admission status (admit, wait list, or deny) through your application status page no later than February 18.  

Application Fee & Waivers

Application Fee

The $40 application fee is nonrefundable and must be paid through your application status page upon submission of your application. Your application is not considered complete until the fee has been received.

Fee Waivers

The inability to pay a fee should never be a barrier to applying to The Juilliard School.

Fee waiver requests are available for students who demonstrate significant financial need by the submission of one of the following:

  • An official SAT  or ACT fee waiver form signed by a high school counselor OR
  • An official NACAC fee waiver form signed by a high school  counselor OR
  • A letter on school stationery from a school counselor stating one of the following:
    • You are enrolled in or eligible to participate in the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch program (FRPL).
    • Your annual family income falls within the income eligibility guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
    • You are enrolled in a federal, state, or local program that aids students from low-income families (e.g., TRIO programs such as Upward Bound).
    • Your family receives public assistance.
    • You live in federally subsidized public housing, a foster home, or are homeless.
    • You are a ward of the state or an orphan.

If you are unable to provide one of the above documents, you may provide the following:

  • A letter from someone other than you (the applicant) that addresses your financial situation

All documentation must be in English. Original documents with translation are acceptable.

Fee waiver requests will be evaluated after you have submitted a complete application. If you are requesting a fee waiver, please submit your application (including fee waiver documentation) but do not pay the application fee.

Your Application Materials

Your Online Application

Your application must be submitted online by the appropriate deadline. To begin, create your Juilliard Admissions Account, gather all of the required application materials, and follow the instructions to complete your application.

Start your online application

Your Recommendations

You must indicate who will be submitting your letter of recommendation within the online application. Your recommendation must come from your primary ballet teacher and address your dedication, openness to corrections, technique, performing skills, and citizenship both in and out of the classroom.

The recommendation itself is not due until later in the application timeline. Your recommender will receive an email with a link to securely upload a letter to our application system. 

  • We will only accept recommendations received through our application system.
  • You are required to submit one letter of recommendation; additional letters of recommendation are NOT required or necessary.

Your Photograph

A photograph or headshot is required. The photograph does not need to be taken by a professional, nor is there any specific format for photographs. 

The photograph is not used for prescreening purposes. After all video auditions are reviewed, the photograph is used in admissions committee meetings to identify dancers who are being considered for admission.

Your Video Audition

Applicants are required to submit a video audition; no live auditions will be held for the summer 2024 program. Videos must be submitted online with your application; the faculty will not review videos submitted via email, or on video-sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc. 

Dance Division faculty and current students have created a demonstration video that will guide you through the ballet, modern, and improvisation sections of the prescreening. Within 12 hours of starting your application you will receive an email with a link and a password that will allow you to access the demonstration video. The demonstration video will be made available only to dancers who have started an application. (Please note that you must complete the Program Selection page in the application in order to receive the demonstration video email.)

Please record each of the following five sections separately in the order listed; you will be required to upload five videos to your application. You may not upload additional videos.

Section One: Introduction

  • A brief close-up shot of your face, from the shoulders up.
  • Clearly state your full name, current city and country of residence.
  • Provide a brief history of your previous dance training.
  • Tell us why you have been inspired to audition.

Section Two: Performance

  • A prepared solo, either ballet, modern or contemporary, to musical accompaniment.
  • State the title of the solo, the choreographer, and the composer of the music before performing.
  • The solo may be original choreography or from standard repertory.
  • The solo should demonstrate your artistic qualities and flow of movement.
  • The solo should be approximately two minutes in length.

Section Three: Ballet Technique - Center Exercises

Please view the demonstration video prior to recording your video audition. You may learn and submit the suggested ballet combinations and phrases in the demonstration video. However, if you already have pre-recorded material that you would like to upload instead, you are welcome to do so as long as it meets the below criteria.

We’re looking for:

  • Tendu in the center combination with a pirouette
  • Adagio in the center
  • Pirouette that moves across the floor
  • Petite allegro combination
  • Grand allegro combination
  • Record the combinations on the right and left sides
  • You may use music from our suggested playlist or any music of your choice. 

Again, you may learn the combinations in the demonstration video or you may provide your own.

Exercises may be recorded separately but must be edited together prior to submission.

Section Four: Modern Technique

Please view the demonstration video prior to recording your video audition. Treat the video as a class and execute the modern combinations as demonstrated.

  • Modern combination #1 
  • Modern combination #2
  • Record the combinations on the right and left sides
  • You may use music from our suggested playlist or any music of your choice. 

Combinations may be recorded separately but must be edited together prior to submission.

Section Five: Improvisation

Please view the demonstration video prior to recording your video audition.

  • Improvisation exercise (60 seconds)
  • Please use the Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: III. Courante from our playlist.

Accompaniment
You may use music from our suggested playlist or any music of your choice, unless otherwise stated. The playlist will be sent to you after you have started an application.

Pointe Work
Please note, pointe work is NOT required as part of the video audition. However, dancers are welcome to do the technique and/or the performance section en pointe if they so choose.

Clothing Requirement (Technique sections)

  • You must be in a unitard, or tights and tight-fitting top, or leotard that clearly enables the viewer to observe your technique.
  • Do not wear skirts, loose-fitting tee shirts, leg warmers, or costumes.
  • Wear clothing that contrasts with the filming environment so you can clearly be seen and stand out from the background.
  • Pointe shoes may be worn but are not necessary.

Filming Recommendations

  • It is to your benefit to create the best possible conditions for filming.
  • Carefully consider your space; ideally, there should be enough room for you to move around.
  • Choose a place with minimal visual distractions for the viewer and as free as possible from ambient sound.
  • Ensure you have adequate lighting, especially from the front and side. Avoid placing yourself in front of a strong light source (for example, a window or an overhead lamp).
  • Be sure you are visible within the frame for the duration of the recording.
  • Review your video before submitting to check for playback quality of the image and sound.
  • Professionally recorded video is not required.

Format

You are required to upload your files in a Video format. Acceptable file types include:

  • .3g2, .3gp, .avi, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .mxf, .webm, .wmv

PLEASE NOTE: Some .mov files use a codec which is not supported by the application. We recommend that .mov files be converted to another accepted format to avoid uploading difficulties.

We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your Internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection for the necessary period of time. 

Deadline
Video auditions must be submitted via the online application by the appropriate deadline

Decisions & Enrolling

Decisions

Final admissions decisions will be released once all of video auditions are reviewed by the faculty. You will receive notification of your admission status (admit, wait list, or deny) through your application status page no later than February 18.  

Approximately 44 dancers will be offered admission to the program, and a waiting list of approximately 10-15 dancers will be established. You may audition one time per year.

Scholarship & Financial Aid

Some financial aid is available for admitted students. Once admitted to the program, if you wish to apply for financial assistance, you are invited to submit a letter explaining your financial situation along with your parent or guardian’s 2021 or 2022 tax forms. International and U.S. students are eligible to apply for financial aid.

Financial aid awards are based on both need and merit.

Please note that most scholarship awards cover only a portion of tuition. In cases of extreme need, full tuition may be awarded but room and board are generally not covered by scholarship awards.

Information about tuition, fees and expenses may be found on the Summer Dance Intensive program page.