Dance Programs That Focus on Commercial Dance, Including Tap

The commercial dance world — the world of music videos, film, television, theme parks, cruise ships, touring shows, and Broadway — has its own specific aesthetic and technical demands, and a growing number of college programs have developed curricula specifically designed to train dancers for it.

Students who see their professional futures in commercial contexts — who are drawn to the entertainment industry, to the intersection of dance and popular culture, to the full range of what professional dancing looks like outside of concert dance companies — should know this part of the landscape specifically.

What commercial dance training emphasizes

Commercial dance training develops specific skills that concert dance programs often don't prioritize. Versatility across multiple styles — jazz, hip hop, contemporary, and increasingly tap — is fundamental. The ability to learn choreography quickly and execute it precisely is more central than in concert dance training, where interpretation and individual artistry are more prominently valued. Performance energy for large venues and on camera — the specific quality of projection that reads in a stadium or through a lens — is developed deliberately.

Tap in particular is experiencing a significant resurgence in both the commercial world and in formal training — and programs that develop serious tap technique alongside other commercial styles are worth knowing specifically.

Programs with strong commercial dance emphases

USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance is one of the most deliberately commercial-aware programs in the country — its hybrid aesthetic explicitly includes commercial styles, and its Los Angeles location gives students direct access to the entertainment industry. Kaufman graduates work across concert dance and commercial contexts with unusual fluency.

Boston Conservatory at Berklee offers a specific BFA track in Commercial Dance — a three-year program focused explicitly on training for commercial contexts including TV, film, Broadway, and theme parks. This is one of the most focused commercial dance programs at any conservatory-level institution.

Point Park University has developed strong commercial dance offerings alongside its concert dance curriculum, with specific tracks that address the commercial world and faculty with significant professional commercial experience.

Oklahoma City University has a strong reputation specifically for training commercial dancers — jazz, tap, and musical theater dance are central to the program's identity, and its alumni work consistently in commercial contexts.

Pace University has significant commercial dance offerings within its MT and dance programs, with a New York location that puts students in direct contact with the commercial industry.

Marymount Manhattan College in New York City has developed a strong dance program with commercial emphases and benefits from its location in the center of the commercial dance world.

Programs with serious tap emphasis

Tap is one of the most technically demanding and historically rich forms in American dance, and it deserves specific mention because the programs that develop it seriously are not always the ones with the highest general name recognition.

Oklahoma City University has one of the most serious tap programs in the country — tap is genuinely central to the curriculum, not an optional elective.

University of the Arts in Philadelphia has a long history of serious tap training within its dance program.

Point Park University has developed significant tap training as part of its commercial dance emphasis.

Marymount Manhattan includes tap in its core curriculum in ways that many programs don't.

Howard University has a distinguished history of tap training rooted specifically in the African-American cultural tradition from which tap emerges — students with an interest in tap's cultural and historical dimensions alongside its technical ones should know this program.

For students who are specifically serious about tap, researching the specific faculty at any program — their professional background, their relationship to the form, their approach to the technique — is more important than the general reputation of the program.

The audition for commercial programs

Auditions for commercial-focused programs typically reflect what those programs value. Expect combinations in jazz and hip hop styles alongside contemporary work. Some programs will include tap in their audition process. The performance energy expected in a commercial audition — projection, charisma, the ability to fill space and connect with an audience — is more explicitly valued than in many concert dance auditions.

Research each program's specific audition format and prepare accordingly.

Book a free call at dancingincollege.com to discuss which programs match your specific professional goals.