What Does "Elite Ballet Training" Actually Mean for College Admissions?
About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of elite ballet training on college admissions and the differences between pursuing a BFA and a non-dance degree.
Listen to Ballet Help Desk ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BalletHelpDesk Does your dancer need elite training to have a shot at a top college? But what does elite actually mean? Is it competition wins? A company-affiliated school? The right summer intensives? And does the answer look the same whether your dancer is pursuing a BFA or a non-dance degree? College and career specialists Francisco Gella and Julie Friedrich of Francisco Gella Dance Works have guided hundreds of dancers down both routes. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. In Part 1, we dig into the real differences between the BFA route and the academic route. We talk about why your school's college counselor may not understand this world and what "Olympic level" actually means when elite universities evaluate a dancer's background. We also look at why competition results carry less weight in academic admissions than many families expect, and a distinction that confuses a lot of families: the difference between a dance portfolio and a dance supplement, and what each one is actually for. The 2026 workshop schedule can be found here . Discounts are available to listeners of the Ballet Help Desk…
Sponsors
Ballet Help Desk
More episodes of Ballet Help Desk
- Peter Stark: When Is It Time to Leave Your Local Studio?
- What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 2
- What It's Really Like to Send Your Teen to Full-Time Ballet Training: Part 1
- Riley Weber on Ballet Influencers and Brand Ambassadorships
- Francis Veyette: What The Heck Does Potential, Facility and Body Type REALLY Mean? A Rerelease
- From the Royal Ballet to K-Ballet Academy: Kenta Kura on Training Japan's Next Generation
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Ballet Help Desk podcast page.