What Should I Include in an Arts Supplement?

An arts supplement — a portfolio, an audition recording, or additional materials submitted to a college to demonstrate artistic ability — is an opportunity that many applicants to general colleges and universities don't use as effectively as they could.

This is different from the pre-screen video and application materials you submit to performing arts BFA programs. This is the additional materials you might submit to a liberal arts college, a research university, or a highly selective institution where you are applying as a regular student who also happens to be a serious dancer or performer.

What an arts supplement typically is

Many colleges — including some highly selective ones — invite students to submit arts supplements as part of their application. These are typically optional submissions that allow applicants who have significant artistic achievement to share that work with admissions committees.

The format varies. Some schools want a video. Some want a portfolio. Some want a brief artist statement alongside visual or performance materials. Always check each school's specific requirements before preparing materials — what is acceptable at one school may not be the right format for another.

What to include

For dance applicants specifically, an arts supplement typically includes a video of your dancing — ideally including your best audition or performance material, showing your range and your current level of technical development. Think of it as a curated performance reel rather than a pre-screen video for a conservatory program.

The video should include material that shows multiple dimensions of your dancing — different styles, different movement qualities, different contexts if possible. A two to four minute video is typically appropriate unless the school specifies otherwise. Beginning with your strongest and most compelling material is important — admissions readers are looking at many supplements and won't always watch to the end.

An artist statement — a brief written piece explaining your relationship to your art form, what your training has involved, and what dancing means to your intellectual and personal development — can accompany the video. This is different from the personal essay in your main application. It is specifically about your artistic practice.

Keep it focused and specific. What is your training background? What styles have you studied? What do you find most meaningful or interesting about your practice? What have you made or performed that you're proudest of? Keep it to one page or less unless the school specifies otherwise.

Performance or training credits — a brief list of significant performances, companies, teachers, and training experiences — can provide context for the video and the statement. Keep it concise and prioritize the most significant items.

What makes a strong supplement

The strongest arts supplements do what the strongest applications do: they show a specific, genuine, developed relationship to the art form.

Admissions readers at general universities are not evaluating arts supplements the way performing arts faculty evaluate pre-screen videos. They are asking: does this student have a serious, developed artistic practice? Does this work reflect genuine skill, genuine investment, and genuine development over time? Does this artistic identity add something to our community and contribute to the story this student is telling about themselves in the broader application?

A supplement that is technically strong — that demonstrates real training and real ability — is valuable. A supplement that also reveals something specific about the student's artistic identity and relationship to their work is more valuable still.

Whether to submit one

The question of whether to submit an arts supplement to a school that makes them optional should be answered honestly. Submit one if your dancing is a genuine strength — if it represents a significant part of who you are and if the quality of the work reflects well on you. Don't submit one just because the option exists, or to check a box, if the material doesn't actually strengthen your application.

A strong supplement adds something. A weak supplement, or one that is carelessly prepared, raises questions. Better to submit nothing than to submit something that suggests you haven't taken the work seriously.

Book a free call at dancingincollege.com to discuss how to present your artistic work in the college application process.