Choreography

Before applying, please make sure to familiarize yourself with the Choreography Program, faculty, facilities, curriculum and view student work.

Applicants who have passed the preliminary selection process will be invited to visit CalArts and will be asked to teach a class, interview and audition and to meet faculty and students. Each of these applicants who have submitted their portfolios by the application deadline will be personally notified by the end of January 2017. Applicants will be invited at the discretion of the review committee. All pre-interview correspondence should be directed to the Admissions Counselor for the School of Dance. This is a full-day event and an important component of the final selection process.

Audition and Materials Guidelines (MFA)

  • Artist's Statement addressing the following questions:
    • Provide a short statement and some context for your work. Describe your influences. How has your work developed over time? What defines your voice as a creator?
    • What do you bring to our community? What skills, insight, or specific point of view can you share with our BFA students and your MFA cohort? Briefly describe the study, practice, and/or life experience that informs this knowledge.
    • CalArts values experimentation and collaboration. Describe the collaborators you hope to attract and what kind of research you'd like to pursue. What do you see as your next step as an artist? How does the MFA in Choreography at CalArts support and facilitate that development? 
  • Professional résumé
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • ARTIST SAMPLE: Three complete works (no excerpts) including a minimum of one example of group choreography, and one example of documentation of a live performance.

Online Portfolio Submissions

MFA applicants must submit samples of their work using the SlideRoom submission system. The online system accepts MP3's, documents, images and video. Once the portfolio is uploaded, it can be viewed and rearranged until the final submission is made. No changes can be made following the final submission of your portfolio. There is a fee for each portfolio submission made through the online system. If you experience technical difficulties while uploading your portfolio, you may send an email to support@slideroom.com for technical support.