The Juilliard Summer Dance Intensive is a specially curated program designed to introduce dancers aged 15-17 to Juilliard and provide them with information about college dance programs that will assist them in making decisions about their education that are in line with their professional goals. Each day begins on the Juilliard Campus, where our dancers evolve through technique classes, discussions, evening rehearsals, and collaborations with special guest choreographers. Dancers will 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. Finally, each dancer will present new choreography and repertoire on a last day showing for family and friends. On free evenings and weekends, the dancers can opt to attend many activities supervised by the residence hall hosts, including Broadway shows, walks in nearby Central Park, movies, and free outdoor performances at Lincoln Center.
The program is highly selective with only about 40 students accepted based upon video audition.
Location(s)
- The Juilliard School, New York, New York
Schedule
- Three weeks in July
Cost/Compensation
- Around $4,200 (including application fee, tuition, room, and board).
Eligibility Requirements
- Students must be seriously considering dance as a career and major area of college study.
- Students must have completed at least one year of high school/secondary school (grade 9, 10 or 11) by the time the program begins in July.
- Dancers who will graduate from high school prior to the start of the program are not eligible.
- Students must be advanced dancers with a minimum of three years of prior training in ballet and modern or contemporary dance.
- Students must possess a desire for creative exploration and an interest in new approaches to movement.
- Students must currently be training for a minimum of 10 hours per week.
- Students must be available to participate in the entire three-week program.
- Students must be fully immunized according to the NYS Immunization Requirements for School Attendance and be fully vaccinated and boosted (if eligible) against COVID-19.
Deadline
- Mid December
Application or Entry Requirements
- Students must pay the $40 application fee.
- Students must complete the online application.
- Students must submit a letter of recommendation.
- Only recommendations received through the application system will be accepted. 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.
- Your recommender will receive an email with a link to securely upload the recommendation letter to our application system. The recommendation itself is not due until later in the application timeline.
- Only one letter of recommendation is required or necessary.
- Students must submit a photograph or headshot.
- The photograph does not need to be taken by a professional, nor is there any specific format for photographs. After all video auditions are reviewed, the photograph is used in admissions committee meetings to identify dancers who are being considered for admission. The photograph is not used for prescreening purposes.
- Students must submit 4 audition videos.
- Videos must be submitted online with your application.
- Videos submitted via email, or on video-sharing websites like YouTube, Vimeo, etc. will NOT be reviewed.
- 12 hours after starting your application, you will be emailed links and passwords to open the demonstration video created by Dance Division faculty and students. This video will guide you through the ballet, modern, and improvisation sections of the video audition.
- Videos must be submitted online with your application.
- Please record each of the following four video sections separately in the order listed; you will be required to upload four 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.
- 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.
- You may submit a second solo in a different style, but this is not required.
- Section Three: Ballet Technique - Center Exercises
- Tendu with pirouette (four phrases of 8 counts on both sides)
- Adagio (four phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Pirouettes (two phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Petite allegro (two to four phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Optional (if you have enough space to execute the combination safely): Grande allegro (two phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Must be with musical accompaniment
- Section Four: Modern Technique
- Horton combination #1 (four phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Horton combination #2 (four phrases of 8 on both sides)
- Improvisation exercise (90 seconds)
- Must be with musical accompaniment
- Combinations may be recorded separately but must be edited together prior to submission.
- Accompaniment
- You may use music from our suggested playlist or any music of your choice. The playlist will be sent to you after you have started your application.
- 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.
- Acceptable video formats include .avi, .flv, .m1v, .m2v, .m4v, .mkv, .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, .webm, .wmv
Notifications of Decisions
- Mid February
Financial Aid Details
- Once admitted to the program, if an international or U.S. student wishes to apply for financial assistance, they are invited to submit a letter explaining their financial situation along with their parent or guardian’s tax forms for the current or previous year. Financial aid awards are based on need.
- Please note that most scholarship awards cover only a portion of tuition.
- Fee waiver requests are available for students who demonstrate significant financial need by the submission of one of the following:
- An official College Board fee waiver form signed by a high school guidance counselor.
- An official SAT fee waiver form signed by a high school guidance counselor.
- An official NACAC fee waiver form signed by a high school guidance counselor.
- A letter on school stationery from a guidance counselor stating that you qualify for the free lunch program.
- A letter from someone other than a family member that addresses your financial situation.
- 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.
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
- Deadline to receive letter of recommendation: Mid January
Have other questions?
The Juilliard School, commonly known as Juilliard, is a prestigious, highly-selective, private performing arts conservatory located at the famous Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York City. The school’s three academic divisions consist of dance, drama, and music, with music being the largest and oldest. Upon its founding in 1905, it was called the Institute of Musical Art and was one of the first musical schools in the United States. Juilliard's third president, William Schuman, was an American composer and the first recipient of Pulitzer Prize for Music. Juilliard offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, diploma programs for professional artists, and musical training for pre-college students, as well as liberal arts courses. Juilliard also hosts a wide range of performances and concerts throughout the year, including opera productions, orchestral concerts, dance performances, and theater productions. Juilliard boasts dozens of notable alumni. Some of the most famous being Leonard Bernstein, Itzhak Perlman, Philip Glass, Wynton Marsalis, Miles Davis, Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman, and Robin Williams.
