Canyon Concert Ballet/Ballet Northern Colorado

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General

Who is Reviewing?

Parent with dancer input

Program:

Canyon Concert Ballet/Ballet Northern Colorado

Season Attended:

2024-25

# Of Levels In School:

8 (Ballet 1-7 plus trainee)

Dancer Age:

Hours of Dance Each Week:

16-20 hours

Was Student Scholarshipped?

Years At School:

4 years

Leveling by Age or Skill?

Skill

Teacher Background:

Both

Parents Required to Volunteer?

Yes

Parent Volunteer Requirement:

Usually during performances parents volunteered and got tuition discount.

Curriculum

Days Per Week:

Classes Per Day:

Weekend Classes?

Yes

Weekend Schedule:

Half day

Students Per Class:

Less than 10

Weekly Repertoire or Variations?

Yes

Pointe Classes Per Week:

Daily

Live Music in Technique Class?

Dedicated Men's Program?

Boys In Level:

There were no boys in my level

Techniques Taught:

General Classical

Technique Teacher Rotation:

The school rotated teachers on a fixed schedule

Did School Director Teach?

Never (school admin was NOT designated as an upper level teacher)

Classroom Corrections:

Occasionally dancer specific: mostly general corrections were given

Attention From Teachers:


Very Little	A Lot

Quality of Instruction:


Poor	Excellent

Did Technique Improve?


Not at all	Tremendously

Curriculum Comments:

there is ballet technique daily, and pointe daily for the upper levels. There are also jazz, contemporary, modern, and character classes weekly as well. They also have strength training classes too.

Partnering

Frequency of Partnering Class:

1x per week

Partner Ratio:

Most girls had to share a partner.

Who Taught?

Male and female teacher together

How Much Partnering Improved:


No	Tremendously

Quality of Pas Teaching:


Poor	Excellent

How Were Corrections Given?

Attention and corrections were evenly distributed between the males and females

Description of Partnering Class:

2-3 girls were paired per male dancer and students did combinations for the most part and occasional repertoire.

Other Classes

Other Dance Styles:

Character, Jazz

Other Class Quality:


Poor	Excellent

Contemporary Offered?

Yes

Types of Contemporary Classes Taught:

Improv, Technique

Contemporary Quality:


Poor	Excellent

Master Classes?

Strength & Conditioning

Physical Training Offered?

Yes

Physical Training Types:

Progressing Ballet Technique, Stretch class

Physical Training Schedule:

Once or twice a week

Were Trainers Certified?

Some were certified and some were not depending on class

Physical Training Quality:


Poor	Excellent

Strength & Conditioning Comments:

It was a large age group that participated and so it would have been nice if there was for example a pilates level 1 and 2.

Injuries/Health/ Mental Health

Are Doctors Available?

How Parents Notified?

School called parent

How Treatment Obtained?

Dancer was responsible to find own physical therapist.

PT Available?

Was There a Recovery Plan?

Yes

Describe Recovery Plan:

Dancer explained limitations and would be allowed to make adjustments as needed.

Mental Health Therapists Available?

Were Students Given Fat Talk?

Staff Made Comments About Bodies?

Were Students Weighed?

Was "Coded Language" Used?

Communication

Formal Orientation?

Handboook & Paperwork:

No handbook provided

Quality of Communication?


Poor	Excellent

Who Received Communication?

With parents and students

Exams

Formal Exam?

School Culture

How Supported Did Student Feel By Staff?


Not	Completely

How Supportive Were Students of One Another?


Not	Completely

Describe School Culture:

Nurturing. felt like family.

Placement Notification Timing:

End of school year

How Dancer Was Notified:

Written communication via email or regular mail

Dancer Had Mentor?

Yes

Mentoring Details:

The school provides a mentorship program for dancers who want to dance professionally and meet twice per year in person and also has workshops. A lot of the teachers also do private lessons with dancers and mentor them individually.

Overall School Culture:


Lord of the Flies	Warm & Inclusive

Building & Surrounding Area

Security Around Building:

Safety of Area Around School?


Not Safe	Extremely Safe

Studio Space:


Cramped	Lots of space

Studio Cleanliness:


Dirty	Spotless

Performance Opportunities

Company Affiliated?

Yes

Programs Performed:

1-3

Shows per Program:

More than 5

Casting:

Everyone auditions for parts

Peformance Calendar:

There is Nutcracker and a Spring Performance with the company. There is also an end-of-year performance for students. And students in the mentorship program have one more additional performance.

Competition

Competitions required?

Did Dancer Compete?

Yes

Competition Categories:

Solos

Competitions Attended:

YAGP and Denver Ballet Guild for the mentorship program. For the competition team it was three contemporary/jazz-focused competitions.

Solo Rehearsals:

Take place outside of regular classes

Pas de Deux Rehearsals:

Our school doesn't have students compete pas de deux

Ensemble Rehearsals:

Our school doesn't have students compete in ensembles

Costume Responsibility:

School provides and charges rental fee

Did School Tution Cover Competition Fees?

What Were the Additional Fees?

Competition fees are separate entirely from the mentorship program.

Competition Fees Clear?

Yes

Competition Fees Reasonable?

Yes

Why?

Dance is expensive, we anticipated the cost.

Experience Description:

It was a good learning experience and for practice being onstage.

Private Lessons

Private Lessons Available?

Yes

Are Private Lessons Encouraged?


Not at all	Strongly recommended

Who Takes Privates?

Anyone who wants them

Private Lessons equally available to all students?


Strongly disagree	Strongly agree

Summer Intensives

School Holds an SI?

Yes

School's SI Required?

Outside SI OK?

Yes, it's strongly encouraged

How Did School Help?

In the mentorship program, there was an audition workshop.

Outcomes

Percent That Went Full-Time:

10%

Percent That Went To College:

None

How Much Support Did Dancer Receive in Taking the Next Steps in Ballet?


No support	Lots of support

Support Description:

The mentorship program had a workshop on options available after high school. However, for students that had personal mentors a lot of guidance was given that way.

Program Grades

Overall Dance Instruction:

B+

Continuing Ballet Placement:

B-

Emotional Support:

Performance Opportunities:

A-

Program Comments

Program's Best Aspect:

The sense of community and support.

Program's Worst Aspect:

Organization. There were a lot of changes in leadership over the years with a lot of different visions about the academy.

What Changes Would Be Helpful?

Less turnover with leadership with more consistent goals for the academy.

Anything Else We Should Know?

with the expansion of the traineeship and apprenticeship, students have had less opportunities to dance with the company. however, the administration is in the course of creating a youth company which will provide students more opportunities to dance on stage.

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