School for the Arts is a four-year public high school that provides young people with intensive, pre-professional training in the arts within the context of a comprehensive, college preparatory academic curriculum. Working with a distinguished faculty, students pursue any one of five disciplines—the visual arts, music (vocal or instrumental), theater (acting or theater production), dance and film—in an environment that emphasizes professionalism and scholarship. In addition, the school maintains artistic relationships with local organizations such as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Center Stage, the Hippodrome Foundation, and the Walters Museum. Academics Students learn a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum built on the core values of a liberal arts education. Despite admissions being based entirely on artistic review, BSA has a graduation and college acceptance rate close to 100 percent. Alumni go on to attend the nation's most distinguished colleges, universities, art schools, liberal arts colleges, and conservatories. Admission About 400 students attend the school, coming from public and private schools in and around Baltimore. Students are accepted by an audition or portfolio review only– without regard to grades or academic performance. Rising 9th and 10th graders may apply to attend. Of the 1,000 or so students that audition each year, about 115 are accepted for enrollment. Campus and facilities Situated in Mount Vernon, a historic cultural district immediately north of downtown Baltimore, BSA is located in two buildings on the corner of Madison Avenue and Cathedral Street. It occupies the former Alcazar Hotel and a historic brownstone, specially designed to educate students for future careers in the arts. Workspaces consist of music practice rooms, art and dance studios, a film editing lab, a costume/scene shop, and a state-of-the-art Center for Collaborative Arts and Technology (CCAT) located in the third floor library. Performance spaces include a black box theater, a recital hall, an art gallery and a theater for larger performances and galas. In media The school in the film 2006 film Step Up was a fictionalized version of BSA, called The Maryland School for the Arts. There are some significant differences between the institution portrayed in the film and the real school, and some parts of the movie were filmed in the school. The Maryland School for the Arts also provided the setting for the 2008 film sequel to Step Up, Step Up 2 the Streets although most of the actual filming of the movie did not take place inside BSA. Notable alumni