All students are directly admitted into the B.F.A. in Dance by prescreening and audition. There will be a fall and a spring audition. Materials should be uploaded to Acceptd and these and more detailed instructions are also available on the Acceptd website. If you need financial assistance with the application fee for Acceptd ($35), please fill out the fee waiver on the Acceptd website.
How to Audition & Apply
Audition + application process
- Step 1: Complete your General Admissions application to IU
You must complete your General Admissions application to Indiana University. In order to be considered for merit scholarships, you should submit your application by November 1.
Early application is helpful in the audition process. You must be accepted to IU to receive your audition results. You do not need to be accepted to complete your prescreen or audition. You can direct questions to Kate Lyons, Dance B.F.A. Liaison (kavander@iu.edu)
- Step 2: Submit your pre-screen for the B.F.A.
Audition Days for the 2024/2025 season are:
-
Friday, November 22, 2024
-
Friday, February 7, 2025
-
Monday, March 3, 2025 (By special permission only)
To be invited to an audition day, you must first submit a prescreening audition through acceptd.com
All audition materials must be received by November 14, 2024, for invitation to the November 22 audition, and by January 30, 2025, for the February 7 audition, and by February 23, 2025, for the March 3 audition.
Notification of audition invitation will be emailed no more than one week after you have submitted your prescreen. Applications for 2024-2025 auditions will open August 15, 2024.
The itinerary for those granted a March 3, 2025, audition will be provided under separate cover.
-
- Step 3: Audition day
If you have been granted an audition with the IU Contemporary Dance Program you will receive an email confirming receipt of your application and your audition date via Acceptd. Be sure to follow the instructions below to assist in preparation for an excellent audition.
-
Upon submission via Acceptd, and based on the review of the submitted materials, you will be notified if you are invited to advance to the in-person audition.
- Dancers advancing to Round Two will be invited to campus for a live audition experience which will include a two-hour class and solo performance.
This part of the audition will be held on: - Friday, November 22, 2024, 8:30am-5pm EST for the Fall
- Friday, February 7, 2025, 8:30am-5pm EST for the Spring
- Monday, March 3, 2025 (this itinerary will be provided under separate cover)
- Audition results will be announced no later than one month after the audition date provided you have been accepted to the university. YOU MUST BE ACCEPTED TO IU TO RECEIVE AUDITION RESULTS.
What the audition day will look like: - For November 22, 2024, and February 7, 2025, auditions:
Audition activities will begin in the School of Public Health, Room 161, located at 1025 E 7th St, Bloomington, IN 47405.
8:30am-9:00am - Registration/Check-in
9:15am-11:15am - audition class (dancers only, parents may not view)
11:15am-11:30am - IU Contemporary Dance Performance (dancers only, parents may not view)
11:30am-11:50am - Small Group Conversations (dancers only, parents may not view)
12pm-1pm - Solo presentations (dancers only, parents may not view)
1pm-2pm - Lunch Break (parents will meet their children in 161 and be led to the Indiana Memorial Union where there are several options for dining.
2pm-3pm - Q&A with students, parents, and faculty in the Whittenberger Auditorium, located on the first floor of the Memorial Union.
3pm-4pm - Tour of dance facilities at Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center, located at 275 N Eagleson Ave.
4pm - End of day - A short concluding meeting will follow the tour. You may also elect to view repertory rehearsals scheduled after the audition and faculty and current dance majors will be available to answer questions at this time. An informal campus tour is also available.
- DRESS: Attire for the audition is black leotard and black footless tights, black t-shirt and black footless leggings, or a black footless unitard.
-
The itinerary for the March 3, 2025, audition will be provided under separate cover.
-
- Health and safety
Please dress to maintain safety in the dance space. Wearing a face covering will in no way negatively affect your audition. We strongly encourage best and safest practices for dancers.
Contemporary dance + general admission
All students aredirectly admitted into the B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance by prescreening and audition. You must complete an application in order to audition for IU Contemporary Dance. All audition materials must be received by November 14, 2024, for invitation to the November 22 audition, by January 30, 2024, for invitation to the February 7 audition, and by February 23, 2025, for invitation to the March 3 audition.
To apply for the B.F.A.,you should submit an application to the Indiana University Admissions Office concurrently with the application to the B.F.A. program in Dance. While acceptance into the B.F.A. ultimately depends on Indiana University admission, auditions may occur while admission is still pending. However, you cannot receive audition results until you are accepted to the university. Apply as early as possibly to prevent delays in audition results.
When prompted to declare a major for the General Admissions application, please enter Dance from the list of majors. Be sure to submit the General Admissions application by November 1 for merit scholarship consideration.
Visit the IU Admissions website
Contact our Dance B.F.A. liaison
You can direct questions to Kate Lyons, Dance B.F.A. Liaison, kavander@iu.edu.
If you want to audition for our program but are experiencing difficulties with resources, please contact Ms. Lyons as early as possible. We will work with you to help you submit your materials in alternate forms to ensure equity during the audition process. Click here for more information about Acceptd fee waivers.
Application fee + financial aid
Visit IU's FAQ page to learn more about University application fee waivers.
For more information about Financial Aid, visit IU's Student Central.
November 1: To be considered for IU Academic Scholarships, you must submit a complete application for admission (including official transcript and test scores, and IU-specific essay) by the early action (non-binding) deadline of November 1. Electronically submitted materials must be received by November 1, and hard copy materials must be postmarked on or before November 1. You will need to order your ACT or SAT scores several weeks in advance to ensure that we receive them by the deadline. More dates to know.
The IU Theatre & Dance B.F.A. Contemporary Dance Program does not charge an additional fee for students to audition. We use the platform Acceptd to process submissions. Click here for more information about Acceptd fee waivers.
The College of Arts