For educators and students, summer means a chance for a break, a time to relax and go on vacation. For ballet dancers, summer may be the time to travel, but not to get away from everyday life and jobs. Instead, both amateur and professional dancers join a summer intensive program, where they often train harder and longer than ever.
What Is a Summer Intensive?
A summer intensive is a special program, usually held for around six weeks, that professional companies and larger schools hold every summer. Most are open to anyone, not just dancers within the company or school, and there is an audition process to get in. A summer intensive can be a wonderful opportunity for dancers to receive instruction from new teachers, learn new styles of ballet and other forms of dance, and meet dancers from across the country (and even from other parts of the world).
Different schools and companies all offer different areas of focus, which gives dancers ample opportunity to find a program that fits with the new skills and styles that they want to learn. For many, the goal is to push themselves out of their comfort zone, whether that be training in an unfamiliar location or learning a completely new style of dance.
Benefits of a Summer Intensive
Because professional ballet dancers spend their entire weekday in the studio, a summer intensive doesn’t differ much in terms of duration from what they’re used to during the regular season. For students, however, without the constraints of school, a summer intensive is a chance to train for as long as a professional dancer does. Because of this, the nature of a summer intensive program means that dancers will greatly improve in several areas in a short span of time.
Different schools and companies focus on different ballet techniques—such as Vaganova, Cecchetti, and Balanchine—and their summer programs offer dancers who are unfamiliar with a technique, or are interested in honing their skills in that area, a chance to learn that they wouldn’t have by staying at their home school or company. Many programs also hold classes in other forms of dance, like jazz or contemporary, to help round out their students’ training.
In addition to introducing new ballet techniques and other forms of dance, summer intensive programs expose dancers to new instructors and different styles of teaching than what they’re used to. This is tremendously helpful in a dancer’s career: no matter how wonderful the instructors at home are, learning from other teachers instills versatility in a dancer’s overall instruction. It also helps dancers learn to focus on weaknesses they may not have even realized they had. Sometimes a new instructor will provide a correction that a dancer has received many times, but the way it’s stated by the new instructor suddenly makes the correction click in the dancer’s mind. For dancers to be exposed to new instructors with a variety of backgrounds is an invaluable experience.
Summer Intensives and Professional Careers
For dancers wishing to go on to a professional career, participating in summer intensives is absolutely essential—and more than that, a summer program can be an incredible way to network and get a taste for another company’s dynamic without committing to a full season. Students who attend a summer intensive at a professional company’s school can meet and learn from instructors and dancers with the company and decide if it might be a good fit for them in the future.
Regardless of the program dancers choose to attend, they will have the opportunity to see how they measure up against other dancers of their age and approximate skill level. This can be a huge advantage in preparing for a professional career, as it helps them see where they need to improve and make adjustments. Additionally, it can help with confidence, since they can gain a better idea of where they excel.
And for dancers who are considering a professional career, but maybe just need a push, a summer intensive can be the perfect source of inspiration. To be seen with fresh eyes, learn new techniques and choreography, and meet instructors and dancers from all across the country can give a fresh boost that’s hard to come by during the regular season, especially when students are also trying to balance school.
Advice for Summer Intensives
Unfortunately, not all summer programs are created equal. Some end up not being a good fit, or costing more than they’re worth. At Studio R Ballet, we’ve created a summer intensive program that’s scheduled by the week, so that our students can attend part or all of our intensive while also traveling to a different program, if they choose. We offer advice on the summer programs our staff and advanced students have experience with, so students can decide for themselves whether to attend a program they’ve been accepted to. Regardless, we encourage our students to audition for summer programs, as the audition experience is highly beneficial for young dancers.
We’ve also created a program that extends through the majority of the summer, so students who don’t attend an outside intensive can keep up their strength and further improve their technique. Our regular program includes classes in barre and center work, pointe, variations, character, jazz, and a host of other dance styles. We also offer a partnering workshop, which provides dancers with invaluable instruction that’s also essential for a professional career. And since one of our main ballet methods at SRB is the Balanchine method, we also offer a Balanchine workshop—an incredible opportunity for dancers to learn from Balanchine-trained instructors. This caliber of training is only available at a small selection of schools across the country.
A summer intensive program can be the perfect chance for growth. Dancers who are able to find a program that pushes them in all the ways they need will gain an incredible amount of strength, confidence, and experience. Whether or not a ballet dancer ultimately chooses to join a professional company, a summer intensive program can be hugely worthwhile.