Why Dancers Should Consider Community College Programs

Elizabeth Grace Mainor Transfers to Oklahoma City University After Collin College

During her senior year of high school in Texas, Elizabeth Grace Mainor realized she wanted to keep dancing but felt unready to commit to a four-year institution. She enrolled in the dance program at Collin College near her home, using the community college to complete core academic coursework while maintaining her technique.

Mainor immersed herself in the dance department, performing regularly and joining the Collin Dance Ensemble. She later transferred to her dream institution, Oklahoma City University, as a dance major.

I really do not think that I would have been able to achieve that if I hadn’t started with community college.

Elizabeth Grace Mainor

Fritzlyn Hector and Lizzie Rhineer Pursue Flexible Schedules at Community Colleges

Dance programs at community colleges often allow students to tailor schedules to their specific goals. Fritzlyn Hector, an alum of Queensborough Community College in New York City, stated that her time there renewed her love of learning and led her to earn an MBA in marketing while touring with Dorrance Dance Productions.

At Orange Coast College in California, Lizzie Rhineer packed her daily schedule with as many dance classes as possible while minimizing general education credits. It felt like I was in a day-in, day-out intensive, Rhineer said. Meanwhile, Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland allows students who want to pursue a nondance major to audition for the college’s dance company, according to dance specialist Margaret Russell.

Leslie Bitong Highlights Reduced Competition for ACDA Conferences

Smaller department sizes at community colleges often mean students face less competition for limited opportunities. Golden West College faculty member Leslie Bitong noted that virtually any dance student can join the department at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) conference—while at bigger universities, dancers sometimes need to audition, or wait until their senior year, to attend. At Collin College, Mainor represented her school as a student ambassador regional spokesperson at the same conference, worked as a department student assistant, and built close connections with faculty members. I feel like I’ve gotten to do more in two years than I would if I had gone right away to a four-year college, Mainor said.

Ryan K. Johnson Notes Open-Minded Environments for Movement Experimentation

Because community colleges do not compete for rankings in the same manner as university dance programs, faculties and students frequently maintain a more open-minded atmosphere. Percussive-dance artist Ryan K. Johnson, who attended the Community College of Baltimore County as a teenager before completing his MFA at The University of Texas at Austin, described the environment as a laboratory.

“It’s always felt like a really safe space to experiment with the movement or with the compositional creative process, more like a laboratory. There’s a willingness to make mistakes and then find new discoveries, without the pressure you sometimes see in a traditional four-year institution.”

Ryan K. Johnson

Ten years ago, Johnson was invited to set work at Queensborough Community College by Emily Berry, the dance director at the time.

Financial Aid and Pilates Certifications at Orange Coast College

Beyond flexibility, community college training offers financial advantages for students seeking consistent instruction. Rhineer reported that her two years at Orange Coast College were totally free—a perk for many California residents. She concluded her time there with a Pilates certification and a job dancing at Disneyland.