What inspires you?
Feel free to reference people you follow or shows you’ve been to that push the boundaries of what dance and choreography is.
And what do you hope to gain from working with visiting professionals during your course?
Dance 2026 personal statement guide
Dance admissions tutors really want to get a sense of your passion and love of dance through what you say in your personal statement. Demonstrate your enthusiasm with examples and experiences that are unique to you.
Tutors want to know about you, your practice, your inspirations, and your aspirations. Your personal statement will act as a written accompaniment to your performance at audition and interview.
As Barbie Movie Choreographer, Jennifer White, puts it: ‘Dance has been such a natural thing for me since I was a little girl that it’s taken a while to realise its impact on how I live my life and the benefits of it on my mental and physical health.’
When writing your statement, focus on explaining how and why you’re suited to studying dance and the impact you hope it will have on your future.
What do admissions staff at universities, colleges, and conservatoires want to see?
Working out what to include in your personal statement can feel daunting, but we’ve got some tips to help get you started.-
1
Think about why you want to study the subject
- Have you been inspired by someone, a news story, a documentary, or a podcast?
- Do you have career aspirations in this area of study?
- What interests you about the subject – be specific; rather than saying you enjoy it or are good at it, try to explain the ‘why’ behind your reasoning.
- What do you already know about the subject and what are you looking forward to learning more about?
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2
What makes you suitable to study the subject?
- Have you done projects or essays in this subject at school or college?
- Think about who you are as a person; your personality, your strengths, your experiences in life – how do these make you suited to study the subject?
- How have you shown an interest in the subject outside of school or college – have you done extra reading, online courses, been part of clubs or competitions?
- Your current subjects and grades will be included elsewhere in your application, so try to think about specific things you’ve learned during your studies that relate to the subject, rather than listing your grades and subjects.
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3
Look at the bigger picture
- Have you done any work experience, an internship or had a part-time job in this subject area or related? Most job or work experience will give you transferable skills, even if it’s in a different industry.
- Do you have any hobbies you can mention that might relate to your chosen subject? Many hobbies show that you can be motivated outside of school to achieve and succeed in something you’re interested in.
- Think about how your life and personal experiences have helped make you the person you are today, and how these challenges and experiences can support your application by evidencing essential qualities for certain subjects.
- If you’ve got ambitions and goals for your life and career, can you express how this subject will help you reach these goals?
Guidance and examples you can use
Question 1: Why do you want to study this course or subject?
This is your opportunity to showcase your passion and knowledge of your chosen subject area and to demonstrate to universities, colleges, and conservatoires why it’s a good fit for you and your future ambitions.
Examples:
- Give evidence of your interest in dance. According to De Montfort University, admissions tutors want to see your 'genuine enthusiasm for all aspects of performance and an appreciation for each of the factors that contribute to it’. They’d also like examples of how your own experiences or wider reading about dance have fed into this.
- Talk about performances you’ve watched and – crucially – how you've analysed them yourself or developed an opinion about the overall interpretation, or how a specific element of it made an impact on you and why.
- If you have a particular style of dance or a career you’re aspiring to – whether that’s a dancer, choreographer, teacher, or director – explain how you believe studying this course will help you get there.
- De Montfort University also stresses the importance of not resorting to the clichés many students come out with, like 'I was born to dance' or 'I come alive on stage’.
Question 2: How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?
This is your chance to shout about the relevant or transferable skills you’ve gained from your formal education and highlight your understanding of how they will help you succeed in this subject area.
Examples:
- If you’ve taken part in performances at school or college, be specific about the type of dance or musical theatre you were involved in, and how it changed or improve your practice.
- If you’re involved in a dance group or you’ve had first-hand experience of planning and performing a production, describe and reflect on what you learned from this.
- Think about skills you’ve picked up from other subjects, such as teamwork and physical fitness in sport, interpreting and editing text or scripts in English, or working to a brief in art or textiles lessons.
- Have you done any online courses to boost your knowledge in the subject? For example, why not try Subject Spotlights or Virtual Work Experiences from Springpod to grow your skills and interest?
Question 3: What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?
This is your chance to talk about any other activities you have undertaken outside of your formal education, or personal experiences which further demonstrate your suitability for the course. This section is likely to be highly personal to you and anything you do include should reflect on why you’re including it.
Examples:
- You’ll gain many transferable skills while studying dance, but think which ones you’re already bringing with you, such as good communication skills and time management from part-time jobs or studying.
- Give examples of times you’ve worked on solo projects and when you’ve worked as part of a team or larger group, and what you learned from those experiences that you can bring to a dance course.
- For its dance and drama with musical theatre course, Edge Hill University is looking for you to demonstrate your wider experience of 'movement disciplines', which could include sport, martial arts, circus skills or 'dance in any style'. Try and link any activities like these to what motivates you to study your chosen course.
Subject Spotlights give you the chance to try a university course before you apply. Delivered by the lecturers themselves you will gain insight into what it’s like to study the course and give your personal statement a boost.
Get stuck in with immersive and informative virtual work experiences with leading employers. Virtual Work Experiences give you a taste of what a career would look like through interactive, on-demand programmes.
Dos
- Do relate any examples back to the subject you’re applying to – make it relevant
- Do make it personal – admissions staff want to get to know who you are
- Do use a spell-checker and grammar-checker to ensure there are no errors
- Do ask people for feedback, whether that’s family members or teachers
- Do your research to find out what universities are looking for, and make sure you include evidence to show how you are suitable for the course
Don'ts
- Don’t just list out examples, subjects you study, or experiences you’ve had without any evidence
- Don’t copy something you’ve seen online or use AI to write something for you
- Don’t make things up just because you think they’ll make you look good on paper
- Don’t leave it until the last minute – you need time for several drafts
- Don’t worry about making each section the same length; as long as you hit the minimum character count, you can use the 4,000 characters across each answer in the way that suits you best
How to set yourself apart
The key to setting yourself apart in your application is to remember how important the ‘personal’ bit is to your personal statement. What makes you, you?
What hobbies do you enjoy in your spare time, such as music, drawing, painting or ceramics? How do you relax outside of your dance studies? Maybe you love film, or you love cycling places. Maybe you can link your love of film back to a dance scene you love and what it was that appealed to you about the choreography. Or maybe you can critique how the fight scenes are choreographed in the Marvel movies.
You may also have been through a life-changing personal experience, whether an accident that affected you physically or something that impacted your mental health. How has that changed or informed your dance practice, and where do you see your dance going next?
Some more tips to consider
- Research the course: Why do you want to study dance, what specific aspects of the course interest you, how does it relate to your academic studies, and what additional reading or other activities have led you to apply?
- Examples of your relevant skills: Describe situations where you’ve demonstrated skills like critical thinking, teamwork, problem-solving and creativity.
- Making your dance experience count: It’s not just what you've done but how you've reflected on it. If you work-shadowed at a theatre, dance studio or school, that's great, but be clear about what you personally gained from it.
- Transferable skills: Whether through extracurricular or supercurricular activities, work experience or a part-time job, you’ll have lots of skills that will be relevant to your course. Think laterally – if you’re a part-time waiter or waitress, can you explain how that has given you good communication and organisational skills, and helped with your self-motivation and time management?
Interested in studying at a conservatoire?
What are conservatoires like? How do conservatoires differ from a university or college? Find out here.Find out more about dance
