<p>Fendrock: I know what you mean. My D's whole thing w/ going to different audition sites than her classmates is more to do with her not wanting the distraction so she can get into her "zone". And on my end, I hear far too much waiting room talk to want my D to be the subject of that talk. Some girls will not audition unless they have a group to go with but my D always went to workshops and conventions on her own bc no one else wanted to go so I guess she is just used to it and has come to enjoy it. The quiet time gives her the focus she needs.</p>
<p>Our 16 year-old daughter is auditioning for a bunch of places for the first time this year. Her attitude is that no matter what, each audition is a great class. She loved the LINES class and teacher who did the audition. If she does not get in, and she does not expect to, the audition inspired her and showed her what else is out there to aim for. I think going alone helped her have this attitude. It would be hard to go with friends, I think.</p>
<p>I believe my daughter had better auditions when she went without the pack. After an audition I would hear how this one and that one tried to hog the spotlight; then they would get in and my daughter would not and she would gripe some more. Because my daughter was not as strong as other girls from her studio, she had trouble shining. Once she figure out the right SI for HER, she ended up getting a small scholarship offer; someone saw her potential, not where she was at the moment. After that she realize that ABT NYC wasn't the only SI in town; actually she liked Orlando Ballet better than ABT Austin, although she grew at both programs. </p>
<p>Ballet programs are just like college, you need to find the right fit!!</p>
<p>Daughter's suitemate did Lines two summers ago (between high school and placement auditions) worked hard and LOVED it.</p>
<p>Hi, Has anybody been to The LONG BEACH BALLET summer intensive?? This will be my daughters first SI experience. She wants the most intense and best for the money. We haven’t heard much about it except the class size is small, the teachers seem experienced and wonderful, and a lot of dancers that come out of there seem go to very high places. We would love to hear about this 6 week SI, first 3 weeks in LONG BEACH,last three in CHINA!! (my daughter will only do the first 3 this time.)
So far it seems to be off the beaten path, yet perfect for simply getting much better. (she’s serious and only young still, 12)</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>My daughter attended Long Beach Ballet several years ago when the entire program took place in California (no trip to China).</p>
<p>It was the perfect fit for her. The classes were good, the outings were fun, and the final performance provided good roles for everyone (which is in no way a given at Sis). </p>
<p>That said, the program is not as selective or rigorous as many other programs. Her last summer after high school, she went to Maple Conservatory in Irvine, for example (because we couldn’t afford to send her to China!), and she found that much more demanding.</p>
<p>For a first SI at age 12, I would say it is a very good choice!</p>
<p>well I am doing the 3week SI (no china but am doing the residence program for the experience) for LBB this year too!! I am a year around student at LBB and the teachers are (as you’ve said) 101% experienced and wonderful! I am 13 and am in Academy 3 (pointe is introduced; the level where is gets serious) and if you have any other questions (environment, teachers, other students, facilities, etc.) please ask me. I could tell you from what my friends said last year that the classes are fun, challenging, and at the end rewarding and the extra activities on weekends are fun and well planned.</p>
<p>I would say absolutely go for the auditions. Whether or not your daughter gets accepted, it will have been a great experience.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t automatically cut ABT off the list just because she doesn’t think she’s a top-caliber student. While ABT is the top of the top, and they are often full of body-concious and super-focused future company members, ABT has more than just the NY location–there are actually five, with each of them being a little less difficult than the one before to get into usually. I would have your daughter go for it with the ABT audition, because it serves as a great audition experience since she will be surrounded with future company members even if she doesn’t plan on that being her future, plus she does indeed have a shot at getting in (although it is still extremely difficult).</p>
<p>There are some “extreme body-conscious” programs that you probably would want to avoid. While your daughter is in a perfect situation weight wise, some programs are known for inflicting eating disorders upon students. I do not mean to speak badly of any programs but there are some out there.</p>
<p>As for auditions, no program will cut someone because of their body type. There WILL be girls heavier than her there… I can guarantee it. I’ve been to so many auditions and have seen so many audition times, and a lot of programs are willing to work with the girls as long as they have talent. She is perfectly fine in the weight category, even if she isn’t stick thin, because someone people who are almost overweight are accepted.</p>
<p>I would recommend looking into Ballet Chicago, The Rock School, Boston Ballet, Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, Interlochen, and others too. I am sure your daughter would get into at least a couple of those. The Rock School for sure; it is a unique audition because the dancers get results at the end of the audition and the level they will be originally placed in. Jose Mateo I actually don’t have experience with, but I hear they are great with all body types (but again your daughter is a fine weight so I don’t think you have anything to worry about). </p>
<p>Programs will not accept a dancer solely because they are skinny, and they will not reject a dancer solely because they don’t have a dancer’s body. Although the dance world can brainwash you into thinking that, people running auditions usually have a heart and know to look at the potential and talent of the dancer. That being said, some programs do highly consider the weight of a dancer, but again, if your daughter auditions for multiple ones, she will surely be accepted.</p>
<p>Hi, Amplified! I don’t know which post you’re responding to, but I was the OP on this thread and was surprised to see it come up today. It’s 6 years old now (and I am getting old). It sounds as if you have a lot of helpful, reassuring information, and maybe some newer CC members will have additional questions.</p>
<p>But my d graduated from William and Mary last May with a BA in history and a minor in dance. She’s gotten into running now, no longer dances, and is student teaching while she earns her master’s in special ed. So it would seem as if a summer ballet intensive was truly never meant to be for her. :)</p>
<p>What fun! How nice to have an update on your accomplished daughter. All the best to her.</p>
<p>Thanks for the kind words, quilll. Seeing this thread come up made me realize just how quickly time passes. When I wrote the first post, she was a junior in high school. Now she’s a college grad embarked on a career she hadn’t foreseen back then. </p>
<p>Wishing all the accomplished kids posting here (or whose parents have posted) much luck.</p>
<p>It’s so refreshing to see the OP coming back to give an update as it’s very helpful to me to see OP’s daughter’s choices along the way. I welcome input from any of you experienced dance moms and dancers as I dont know much about navigating the dance world.</p>
<p>My daughter is 13 and will be entering high school next year and we are at a cross road right now. She has been doing ballet since 5 and pre-professional company since 10 (was Clara in Nutcracker last year.) She has been in her middle school dance (drill) team for the past two years and is the officer. She is in the schools gifted program and will be attending a high school program that has a strong focus in math and science. I think in high school, she will need to choose either ballet or dance team as doing both has been difficult even in middle school.</p>
<p>I wonder at what point and how do we know if she should focus on academic vs. ballet. Please share your journey on how you decide.</p>
<p>If she is going to be focused in academic, then for her extracurricular activity, does ballet or school dance team make more sense. Then there is college admission . How do they view these two ECs? Please dont think I am asking this for the sole purpose of college admission, my daughter enjoys both ballet and dance team which makes the decision difficult. College admission is one of many criteria but its an important one. </p>
<p>So many issues to think about . Then I noticed right now seem to be the audition time for the ballet summer intensives. She will do a two-week SI in her current studio. My question is, is it a good idea to send my 13 year old to auditions for out-of-town ballet SI (audition is in town)? More importantly, should we do a residential SI in addition to her two-week SI in her current studio? She has no problem with 3 week away from home. I wonder whether the expense is worth for 13 year old to attend residential SI?</p>
<p>4beardolls, dance drill team and good pre-professional ballet training would generally not complement each other. Ballet, for example, values turn out which wouldn’t be used on a dance drill team at all.</p>
<p>Does your daughter want to receive the kind of ballet training that prepares her for a career in ballet? (Not to say that she would actually want to dance professionally, merely is that the kind of training and ballet she enjoys.) </p>
<p>Most “on track” 13 year olds at good ballet schools attend class a minimum of five times a week, with class lasting 1 1/2 hours and consisting of barre and center. (Pointe class, repertoire and other classes would be in addition to these classes.)</p>
<p>If possible, I suggest your daughter audition for some of the “big name” summer intensives, just to get some sense of whether she is receiving good classical training, if she likes this type of training, and if she has the body and talent to do well in this environment. (The “big names” include Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.)</p>
<p>Then there are other summer programs like Walnut Hill which are not quite as competitive but will also give you a good sense of where your daughter stands with her training.</p>
<p>If your daughter is more inclined to pursue the drill team or recreational ballet, then I do not think the residential SI is “worth it,” unless, of course, she would simply enjoy going!</p>
<p>I do think schools have a respect for applicants who have “survived” preprofessional ballet training, because it is very time consuming and it requires dedication to handle both academics and an intensive schedule of ballet classes and do well.</p>
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<p>This really depends upon your daughter. It need not be an either/or situation if she has both the talents (dance and academic) and work ethic. Our daughter is completing her senior year as a physics major at Harvard and will spend a fair amount of her last semester auditioning to become a professional dancer. Her strong academics give her a safety net if the dance career does not pan out. And given the odds, it gives me some peace of mind as a parent. I agree with fendrock that college admissions do respect applicants that “survive” preprofessional ballet training while maintaining excellent academics.</p>
<p>Thanks for the excellent feedback.</p>
<p>I don’t think I was clear in my earlier post. My 13-year-old daughter has been trained in a pre-professional ballet company/studio and takes ballet lessons 5x/week. Many of high school seniors from the studio are hoping and working on dancing professionally when they graduate. So in short, her home studio offers good quality, serious ballet training. She also takes the two-week summer intensive there every summer.</p>
<p>@fendrock, I agree that ballet and drill team do not complement each other which is why I told DD to pick one when she goes to high school next year. I noted your suggestion of the big name SI. It appears to me that most of them either dont audition in my city or the date has past. One SI audition I can still catch here is Milwaukee SI. Are you able to comment on its selectivity or quality? </p>
<p>@cltdad, wow, I have never thought of the possibility of doing both. That is incredible your daughter is trying to do. I would guess its extremely difficult to audition for a ballet job after four year of academic study …but then again . Graduating from Harvard with a physics degree is not easy either. How did your daughter keep up with her ballet training while pursuing her Physics degree? You really have opened up a whole new concept for me.</p>
<p>4beardolls, that’s great that your daughter is already receiving good training.</p>
<p>Many people do not realize that there is anything beyond the ballet classes one takes along with jazz, tap, lyrical, etc at a local studio.</p>
<p>Do you know about Ballet Talk for Dancers, [Ballet</a> Talk for Dancers](<a href=“http://dancers.invisionzone.com/]Ballet”>http://dancers.invisionzone.com/) ?</p>
<p>That is probably your best resource to answer these questions (or at least it was five years ago, when my daughter was in high school!)</p>
<p>@4beardolls - while H does not have an academic dance program, they do have a pretty high level extracurricular program. My D has been in the H Ballet Company throughout her four years and also has had additional performance opportunities. They have regular technique classes and have had master classes from top professionals from all over the dance world. Between classes and rehearsals my D spends about as much time in the studio as she did in HS. And during her time at H there have been a handful of kids that have gone on to dance professionally for top companies like ABT, Boston Ballet, etc. There are other top schools like Stanford and Duke that have dance majors and the kids that enter those programs have the same academic achievements as other students attending those schools. So, if your D can continue to thrive both academically and dance-wise there is no need to choose between them yet.</p>
<p>@fendrock, thank you. I went on the Ballet Talk for Dancers site and it is indeed informative.</p>
<p>@cltdad, thanks for the informative and encoraging post.</p>
<p>Princeton has a fantastic dance program, along with student led dance clubs whose performances are as much or more of the campus culture than football games:).</p>
<p>@4bearsdolls, if it’s not too late for the Milwaukee audition, I would encourage your daughter to attend it, along with any others she can manage to get to. Auditions, in and of themselves, are vital parts of a dance education. If you live off the beaten path of the “big name” SIs, then it’s even more important to treat SI auditions as master classes. Serious dance students need as much information about the greater world of dance and their place in it in order to navigate their own path through it.</p>
<p>I’d like to share an article I wrote with you: [The</a> Care and Maintenance of a Dancing Daughter | Nurturing Minds Blog](<a href=“http://nurturingmindsblog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2012/09/15/dancing-daughter/]The”>The Care and Maintenance of a Dancing Daughter | Nurturing Minds Blog)</p>
<p>As the mother of a BFA dance grad and professional dancer, I feel folks need to take cltdad’s claim about professional dancers from Harvard with a grain of salt. Not that the claim is incorrect, but context is everything when it comes to individual dancers and their ability to make it as a professional dancer. Here is one example I managed to find:
[ABT:</a> Dancers](<a href=“ABT - Dancers”>ABT - Dancers)</p>
<p>I work in a college counseling office and believe strongly in the adage that “College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.” (Google that phrase for more info.) So asking outsiders about “what makes sense” and how colleges view EC’s is totally off-course. What they WANT to see is how YOUR DAUGHTER made decisions and what she learned from those decisions. Any signs of groupthink is viewed as a weakness.</p>
<p>After all these years being on this board, I believe this is my first post. I second fendrock’s suggestion for Ballet Talk for Dancers.</p>