John Cranko

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General

Who is Reviewing?

Dancer

Program:

John Cranko

Season Attended:

2018-19

# Of Levels In School:

Dancer Age:

Hours of Dance Each Week:

11-15 hours

Was Student Scholarshipped?

Please Describe Scholarship:

Financial aid scholarship

Years At School:

4 years

Leveling by Age or Skill?

Age

Teacher Background:

Former professional ballet dancer

Parents Required to Volunteer?

Date Submitted:

4/17/2026

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:

Live Music in Technique Class?

Yes

Dedicated Men's Program?

Yes

Men Taught by Male Teacher?

Yes

Men Taught Batterie?

Boys In Level:

Less than 5

Separate Technique Class for Boys:

Yes

Techniques Taught:

Vaganova

Technique Teacher Rotation:

Usually the same every day

Did School Director Teach?

Never (school admin was a designated upper level teacher)

Classroom Corrections:

Dancer specific: detailed but only a few dancers consistently got corrections

Attention From Teachers:


Very Little	A Lot

Quality of Instruction:


Poor	Excellent

Did Technique Improve?


Not at all	Tremendously

Curriculum Comments:

Vaganova classes 1-6, audition for upper school academy years A and B

Partnering

Frequency of Partnering Class:

1x per week

Partner Ratio:

A few girls had to share but most had their own partner.

Who Taught?

Male teacher

How Much Partnering Improved:


No	Tremendously

Quality of Pas Teaching:


Poor	Excellent

How Were Corrections Given?

The teacher focused on one or two couples and the rest of the students were on their own

Description of Partnering Class:

Classical pas de deux

Other Classes

Other Dance Styles:

None

Contemporary Offered?

Yes

Types of Contemporary Classes Taught:

Technique

Contemporary Quality:


Poor	Excellent

Master Classes?

Strength & Conditioning

Physical Training Offered?

Injuries/Health/ Mental Health

Are Doctors Available?

How Parents Notified?

Student told parent. School not involved

How Treatment Obtained?

We were not allowed to show signs of injury or weakness, getting treatment or rest was deemed lazy. Most people just kept dancing. Otherwise, with serious injury like broken bones, the boarding school helped to find ‘normal’ doctors outside of the school.

PT Available?

Was There a Recovery Plan?

Describe Recovery Plan:

None. No health care. No specialists. No affiliated doctors or therapists.

Mental Health Therapists Available?

Were Students Given Fat Talk?

Yes

Staff Made Comments About Bodies?

Yes

Were Students Weighed?

Was "Coded Language" Used?

Yes

Additional Comments:

Absolute abomination. I would NEVER send my child here. I was humiliated, psychologically and physically abused in the studio, I was shamed, there was at least one girl crying in each lesson, we were injured, ill, left alone to deal with growing up completely misinformed and traumatized by teachers who don’t have any name worthy qualifications or in depth knowledge or understanding of pedagogy, some of them should not have the right to teach children. Yes, your technique improved, but in a culture of fear, punishment, toxicity and ignorance. These people neglected their responsibility of care for vulnerable dancers far away from home. Many stopped, many had eating disorders, many had body dysmorphia, damaging and dangerous ‘advice’ regularly given to children on how to ‘improve’. Favouritism all the way, if you were not a shop bought prize from a competition you could go to the back of the line. Weight loss encouraged and rewarded regardless of how that was achieved, students were cutting themselves as a coping mechanism! I do not exaggerate. I want this knowledge to be accessible to parents considering this hell hole of a school. ‘No news is good news’ was the motto to intimidate and keep parents from prying or asking questions they should have been able to ask about the treatment of their children. Everything that is wrong with the ballet world got is walking and working in these corridors. Very sorry to have to say this, it’s exactly why I feel compelled to fill out this review.

Communication

Formal Orientation?

Handboook & Paperwork:

No handbook provided

Quality of Communication?


Poor	Excellent

Who Received Communication?

With dancers only. Parents not involved

Exams

Formal Exam?

Yes

Written Feedback?

Yes

Exam Adjudicator:

Internal

Exam Rubrics Clear?

Agree

Who Attends Exam Meeting?

Yes, dancer only. The meeting was with my teachers.

Well Prepared For Exam?


Not at all	Completely

How Heavily Did Exams Weigh in Promotions:


Not at all	Heavily

School Culture

How Supported Did Student Feel By Staff?


Not	Completely

How Supportive Were Students of One Another?


Not	Completely

Describe School Culture:

Toxic. Abusive. Neglect of care

Placement Notification Timing:

Yes, via report card.

How Dancer Was Notified:

In-person meeting with school director/staff

Dancer Had Mentor?

Mentoring Details:

There was no mentoring, the only people providing some guidance or stability were maybe the minders in the boarding school. These were non dancers and non dance related people. They did what they could but also went along with the systematic oppression and dysfunction as ‘that’s just how it’s always been and how it has to be to make it’ - kind of defeatist attitude and also mute in the face of the artistic staff.

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:

Casting:

School staff chooses students for roles - no auditions

Peformance Calendar:

Older students got to be extras in the ballet. In school shoes mostly the favourites were chosen for featured pieces, the other students shoved in the back of some group piece or left out as so-called ‘second cast’

Private Lessons

Private Lessons Available?

Summer Intensives

School Holds an SI?

School's SI Required?

Outside SI OK?

How Did School Help?

Summer schools were, by word of mouth, prohibited. Because they feared that, similarly to a cult, the moment one saw another school, the student would realise how isolated and brainwashed you got at Cranko school. They feared good students being snatched up at other elite dance schools. And they didn’t want their ‘bad’ students to be embarrassing representatives in their eyes. So summer schools were attended in secret, by the good students to continue growing their chances and by the weak ones to desperately attempt to improve over the summer in the hope of a better upcoming school year.

Program Grades

Overall Dance Instruction:

Continuing Ballet Placement:

Emotional Support:

Performance Opportunities:

C-

Program Comments

Program's Best Aspect:

Literally nothing unless you want to learn how to become a disturbed and troubled human for a long time after this period of life.

Program's Worst Aspect:

Everything aforementioned. We were treated like we were nothing and we were failures and a waste of time and space sometimes in class. I have never gained all the confidence I think I should probably have by now as a professional dancer and human. Still suffer from disordered eating and mental challenges around food, body, technique and self worth.

What Changes Would Be Helpful?

Basically needs a top to bottom, radical makeover in every single aspect. Needs outside monitoring. Change of almost entire staff as I knew it.

Anything Else We Should Know?

Please take my review serious, I mean everything I said. If I could go back in time and stand up for myself or for my classmates I would. I would call out the abuse, the humiliating, the shaming, the ridiculing. I could not live with myself sending my child here.