Not looking for this summer, but for future. I searched around for summer dance programs for my beginning dancer S. Most of the intensives appear to be designed for the more experienced dancers, and it seemed a waste of money to send him if the dance instruction was way over his level.
We just don’t have the time to commit to hours and hours of dance during the school year (yes, I realize that good technique requires consistent time and effort, and compressing it into an intensive is not a perfect substitute).
Can anyone recommend a summer dance intensive where the skill level of the participant can vary? TIA.
How old is your son? Broadway Dance Center in NYC has 3 and 6 week programs for 13-17 year olds during the summer. You get to take classes in all different forms of dance and I believe they would level you into the classes that fit your skill level. If he is in college, they have a similar program for older students.
Oh thanks, @vvnstar - he’ll be 14 so I’ll have to look into this program. NYC programs don’t always offer room & board though, which he would need. OCU has a summer broadway dance workshop, but it conflicts with their MT summer program dates and it seems too advanced for him, but maybe he’ll be ready as a rising jr or sr.
Yes, @lojosmo , he did one here locally, it just wasn’t tailored well for MT, and was much more advanced ballet. They lumped all the kids together with girls who have been dancing for over 10 years, and he struggled some to keep up, the instructor was always on his case about his form, lol. He also wasn’t conditioned like the pointe girls, so by day 3 he was nursing one leg.
It’s just been awkward - he finally realized he needs to learn proper dance technique, but I can’t put him in a ballet class with 5-6 yr old little girls. I wish we had more time during the school year to devote to dance.
Have you explored private lessons so he is not with 5 year olds? He would be getting one-on-one attention which would also be to his benefit. Or even local community colleges where at least he would be with adults??
Our local professional ballet company offers classes for the serious ballet “wannabes”, but also offers beginner and intermediate “adult” classes. These classes are often made up of out-of-shape middle-aged adult women, college-aged used-to-be-dancers, young men (and women) with two left feet - some who never had dance before - and even some of the local MT majors trying to get more ballet time under their belts. Perhaps you area offers something similar. Or check to see if there is a “boys only” class or intensive. The skill range in “boys/men’s” classes tends to be much more varied than in girls’ classes (and the boys get to do “boy stuff” that they generally find more fun). The age range can also be quite a bit wider. Ballet really is the foundation for all styles of MT dance and there is no way around “putting in the time”.
If your S gets to a level where he can at least be considered an “intermediate” dancer, many ballet companies/schools that offer summer intensives are more welcoming of boys with lower skills than they are for girls - and are fairly likely to offer scholarships to boys as well. You may be more likely to find these “less intense” intensives at lesser known ballet companies/academies in mid-sized cities. My son didn’t start ballet until he was nearly 12 - and then only did “Saturday morning” classes. He did his first intensive with the local ballet company summer before 8th grade - on partial scholarship. He improved TREMENDOUSLY that summer and then got more serious about ballet after that. As he got better, the classes/intensives got “cheaper” because they were always looking for more boys.