BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 234
Total Reviews: 1882

Ballet West

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

4
5
6
9
3
1
1

Gender

26
3

First time at a summer intensive?

26
3

Year of SI

1
1
5
7
4
11

Weeks available

27
2

Weeks attended

13
1
15

Reviewer

11
18

Curriculum

Techniques taught

7
5
2
4
3
19
7

Partnering (based on age)

9
15
5

Dedicated men's program?

1
28

# of boys in level

12
10
4
2
1

Other dance genres

1
1
25
29
5
1
1
1
1
24
8
1
1
1

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
7
8
13
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

24
1
22
1
3
16
3
1
21

PT offered?

2
27

Extra fee for PT?

14
14
1

Injury rate

5
18
6

Teaching

Who taught?

5
23
1

Guest teachers

1
4
24

Year-round teachers taught

9
16
4

Attention from teachers

Very Little
2
5
11
11
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
1
2
5
10
11
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

1
5
1
1
1
1
1
26
2
1
1
6
1

Studio space

Cramped
2
1
8
10
8
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
1
15
13
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

3
10
14
2

Saturday classes

29

Saturday class duration

1
28

Leveling

Leveling

9
20

Leveling type

19
7
3

Did students move levels?

5
24

Leveling fair?

2
27

Students per class

1
19
8
1

Performance

Performance?

3
14
12

Rehearsals happened

1
12
2

Casting equitability

Uneven
4
3
8
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
1
2
26
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

25
4

# of roommates

4
1
3
4
13

Bathrooms

1
23
1

Coed bathrooms

23
2

Air conditioning

1
24

Housing comment

  • "University of Utah has beautiful, clean housing!"
  • "Spacious, I felt that my suite mates and I were comfortable in our suite. There were a lot of amenities in the dorms such as microwave, mini fridge provided in every suite and a large common room and small kitchenette on each floor."
  • "It was the first year they used Westminster College. The suites were fantastic and had a full kitchen and 6 bedrooms. The stoves were unplugged though so they could not cook. The campus was incredible. Lots of complaints about the food."
  • "Westminster campus was beautiful. Food was an issue for many. Size of living area was nice."
  • "A lot of issues with plumbing across rooms in the dorm. One of the toilets in our room never worked and was never repaired over the 3 week intensive."
  • "Wished we could’ve opted out of meal plan. Spent a lot of money on microwaveable frozen foods for her as food was not great and she was hungry and we didn’t want her just eating snacks"
  • "Everyone had their own bedroom and there were 6 people per suite"
  • "Terrible plumbing, dirty plates in the cafeteria"
  • "There is 1 suite shared between 6 people. Everyone gets their own bedroom and there are 2 bathrooms, 1 small kitchen area, and 1 common area in the suite."
  • "Suites had 6 suite mates and two bathrooms. Each dancer had a private bedroom. There is a full kitchen. Stoves were turned off but microwaves were accessible. Full size fridge. The AC worked very well. Rooms have plenty of storage. RIs were very strict and somewhat unapproachable. They have a strike system. 3 strikes and you’re out! There were fun activities offered. Food was overall pretty bad. Boys were served bigger portions. It was not Balletwest’s fault. The RIs made many complaints about it. The dining hall was being renovated 2025 so that was definitely a factor."
  • "Housing was nice, rooms were big"
  • "the layout of the dorm at westminister was great! 6 individual bedrooms in a suite with 2 large bathrooms. the suite had a kitchen with a full size fridge and microwave. the dining hall was absolutely terrible. usually only one option and it was almost always gross. we had to spend so much extra money on groceries! would love to be able to opt out of the meal plan or at least find a way to improve the quality and options...it was REALLY bad. my daughter said she was semi-hungry the entire time."
  • "dorm setup is great at westminister. loved the private rooms within the suite and access to a kitchen. food was a real struggle. my daughter was hungry the whole time and we had so spend so much extra money to have groceries delivered. they really need to do something about the food situation! these kids are so hungry from all the dancing and not having easy access to good nourishing food is a problem."

Where did they stay?

4

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

25

Curfew reasonable?

25

Room check

2
23

How strict were dorms?

11
8
6

Infraction handling

4
6
10
7
1

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

25

Laundry free

4
1
20

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
2
2
18
3
Spotless

Cleaning required

7
18

Meal Plan

Meal plan

25

Food quality

Gross
8
10
4
1
2
Excellent

Enough food

12
13

Dietary needs?

19
6

Specific needs

  • "Allergies to peanuts and corn"
  • "Pescatarian"
  • "Allergy"
  • "Vegetarian"
  • "Food allergies"
  • "all nuts"

Dietary options

Limited
2
2
1
1
Lots

Activities

Weeknight activities

6
19

Weekend outings

29

Attended weekend outings

5
12
12

Favorite

Repeated Responses:
  • "Hike" (2 responses)
  • "Lagoon Amusement Park" (2 responses)
  • "Lagoon amusement park" (3 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "The hike"
  • "Amusement park"
  • "I liked both the amusement park and hike equally; both were great."
  • "Water park, 80s prom"
  • "The amusement park (Lagoon)"
  • "Lagoon Amusement Park, 4th of July on-campus field games"
  • "Going to a park"
  • "Ballet West “prom”"
  • "Prom, amusement park"
  • "Amusement park and hike"
  • "Amusement Park"
  • "Lagoon amusement/water park"
  • "the water park"
  • "Lagoon"
  • "ummm honestly she didn't love any of them but probably enjoyed the prom the most"
  • "prom"
  • "Overall, the nicest thing to us was that Ballet West includes commuter students (not just dorm students) in activities. DD registered for the Prom activity, but was super tired and ended up not going. Still think it's great they include all students."

Least favorite

Repeated Responses:
  • "N/A" (2 responses)
  • "Hike" (2 responses)
  • "Prom" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "They were all good"
  • "Hiking"
  • "I enjoyed the ones I went on"
  • "Prom was in the gym it was very hot. They moved it outside."
  • "all of the outing were good and everyone had fun"
  • "she said the Lagoon amusement park was awful ."
  • "Lagoon amusement park was bad she said..."

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
1
4
7
17
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
2
10
12
5
Comprehensive

Transportation

22
1
1
4
1

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
1
8
20
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
1
4
5
19
Absolutely

Best aspect

Repeated Responses:
  • "The teachers" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Amazing mens training and for the most part smoothly run."
  • "Some of the teachers"
  • "Liked that there wasn’t a big show at the end - SI is designed to improve, not spend weeks rehearsing. Housing was also incredible. Excellent faculty."
  • "Dorms, communication"
  • "The training was excellent, and I had a very large amount of teachers. I made really great friendships as well."
  • "The Artistic DIRECTOR WAS FULLY INVOLVED THEOUGHT CLASS / week"
  • "The faculty, the quality of classes, and the partnering."
  • "Strong men’s program with lots of boys from all over."
  • "I enjoyed the various styles of dance taught, and the variety of instructors. The facilities were great also. The people from BWA and the students attending were all friendly and kind, especially the RI Lydia."
  • "Instructors were great and Westminster campus was nice and small"
  • "well organized, great teaching"
  • "Quality instruction, ratio of teacher to students, partnering and variations classes"
  • "Teachers, friends, dorm, weathet"
  • "Saturday classes and the balance between guest teachers and faculty"
  • "Yoga"
  • "2 hour technique class everyday"
  • "The training. Tremendously improved. Having so many different teachers made for lots of different perspectives and corrections. High level of talent with the students. Dorms were almost apartment like and private rooms."
  • "very friendly environment, great teachers"
  • "The opportunity to partner at every level"
  • "the culture is very positive and affirming. other kids were really nice! high level instruction for sure. also very rigorous! A LOT of dancing which was great!"
  • "rigorous training and friendly warm environment"
  • "The program’s strong men’s training created many opportunities for partnering, which was a valuable experience. The contemporary classes were also solid and well-taught. The schedule was full and demanding, which provided excellent stamina training."
  • "My daughter found this to be a rigorous program full of hard working students who really wanted to be there. She liked the teachers quite a lot, and enjoyed the variety of classes. There was not a lot of downtime at all during the day, which was also great. Partnering for all levels was a big bonus, and the men's program seemed really fantastic. If we had a male dancer, we 100% would be prioritizing this program."

Least liked about program

  • "Some of the teachers"
  • "LOTS of walking to get to studios. Needed more food offered in evening hours. Have to get used to altitude."
  • "The commute to the studios was a lot; 30 min train ride and then about a mile walk each way. It was a lot after dancing."
  • "The food - had to supplement with grocery delivery and door dash"
  • "As far as dorming goes, definitely the food and the strictness of movement for the 15 and under group. From the dancing aspect, the classes at Westminster College (small studios and the flooring was not great - my dancer felt her injury was due to the flooring at the college)"
  • "Nothing"
  • "There was little communication during the first couple days, as the overall intention was to allow students to "settle in". But, this was confusing to new SI students."
  • "Meal plan (quality, lack of options); had to go to the grocery store and Door Dash frequently"
  • "Food:("
  • "Food, communication"
  • "Food"
  • "Food and communication was sometimes lacking"
  • "The studios at westminister were cramped / too many people"
  • "Terrible food, judgmental students, daughter had many classes in a basketball court (appalling for the cost of the intensive), many girls frighteningly thin, daughter had food stolen from the fridge on a regular basis, plates in the cafeteria were not clean which is not good if a child has food allergies"
  • "Not a lot of attention or corrections given, inconsistent teaching. Big class sizes. My level had to be in the run down gym all day for multiple days."
  • "Strictness of dorms and food"
  • "my dancer did have an injury during class, that they were great about but I was surprised I only heard it from my dancer and no one fro the school reached out to me. she was given 2 appointments with the PT with no extra charge and they were great about her healing but still I felt like I should have heard from them."
  • "Favoritism to year-round students"
  • "class size was WAY too big, and the food was awful."
  • "the class sizes were quite big...also the terrible food was a huge issue"
  • "in the gym, where the marley space was insufficient, and in smaller studios that felt cramped. The large class size limited the attention and corrections that are essential for a rigorous summer ballet intensive. We usually appreciate having a rotation of teachers to gain different perspectives. However, in this case, the combination of the large class size and the lack of individual attention meant that having a different teacher each day hindered continuity. Technique and corrections were not able to build from day to day."
  • "Having classes in the Payne Gym at Westminster University was not ideal. BW is a huge SI with many levels and basically four different programs: 3wk, 5wk (no overlap between those students), 3 and 5 week men's, and the choreographic workshop, which is also 5 weeks. I know this requires a lot of space and they're doing the best they can, but that gym has no air conditioning (at least it didn't in July 2025), and when kids are in class there, they are there for an entire day (9am - 4:15pm). Five classes in a hot gym with teachers instructing using megaphones so they might be heard over the giant fans used to move air was pretty far from ideal. All 3 and 5 week SI students have class there (1-2 days a week, it seems) - even some combined level classes and occasional pas. Not sure about the choreographic workshop. I do give Ballet West a lot of credit that they didn't just stick the younger students in the gym full-time, and instead moved all levels through there - much more equitable."

Suggested changes to program

Repeated Responses:
  • "Food" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Some of the teachers, longer hours, more intense classes, better contemporary and jazz"
  • "Not much! Great program. Good intensive where you get your money’s worth."
  • "Transportation that I mentioned above."
  • "The food, e-mail communication up front was poor/ unresponsive and unclear"
  • "She would want all classes at the ballet centre instead of split between there and the college."
  • "Communication was a little weird sometimes and the dorms were too strict for 17 year olds"
  • "The program could be longer. It would've been nice to also take Saturday classes with other levels. Would recommend that the Choreographic Workshop performance be offered as an activity for students to attend together at the end."
  • "Have better quality food and options."
  • "Better food or the option to opt out of meal plan and still have housing available. Also,, I’d appreciate if resident interns collected their phones before classes and at bedtime- such a huge distraction to learning, socializing with real people and sleep"
  • "Wish it started a week later"
  • "Improve food and add more activities in the evenings"
  • "Less invited or put the smaller groups at westminister"
  • "Stop having classes in a basketball court, foster kindness among students, better outings, better food, clean plates in the cafeteria"
  • "Have a more consistent schedule so teachers actually get to know the class and are invested."
  • "The rotation of technique and pointe teachers"
  • "smaller classes, better food or ability to opt out of the meal plan"
  • "the food situation"
  • "Keep class sizes smaller (maybe max 20-25?)"
  • "Maybe smaller class sizes, especially when they were combining groups, but the reality is that Ballet West is a massive summer intensive and large class sizes shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."

Culture of program

  • "Very predictable"
  • "Supportive, positive."
  • "Very welcoming, the girls in my level all got to know each other and we were all friendly towards one another. I felt very supported by my peers and teachers in the studio setting."
  • "Healthy"
  • "Very professional but friendly!"
  • "Excellent and very supportive"
  • "Inspiring and encouraging."
  • "Competitive"
  • "challenging and supportive"
  • "Supportive and healthy"
  • "Perfect! Very friendly and strict at the same time"
  • "Good, nurturing and friendly"
  • "Positive"
  • "Judgmental and competitive"
  • "A little intense and critical at times."
  • "intense but nurturing. There were fun activities but it was not all about the fun, more for serious students looking to improve"
  • "supportive"
  • "Competitive, teachers are always pushing you to work harder during class"
  • "rigorous, positive, fun, affirming"
  • "challenging, rigourous, affirming"
  • "It's a nice positive environment. Everyone is supportive."
  • "It is an INTENSE intensive, but my daughter said the people were quite nice."

Other comments

  • "Did this intensive in 2019 and LOVED it, it changed a lot for the worse by 2022 but I’ve heard it’s changing again for the better in 2023 so this info may not be helpful."
  • "Ballet West does a great job!"
  • "Highly recommend BW, I felt like I was hitting road bumps in my training and didn’t know how to improve until I went to BW. I can’t wait to go back in the near future."
  • "We really liked the fact that they gave year round placement to everybody at the intensive as well as individual evaluations."
  • "Happy overall. Food was a bummer though . Kids shouldn’t need to go to a “snack room” before bed if the food is good enough"
  • "BW managed to run their SI during the height of Covid. They are detail oriented and determined. They provide a clear network for dancers to use to communicate."
  • "My daughter loved it and was sad to leave!"
  • "No"
  • "Plan on a supplemental food budget"
  • "Technique was not super specific. It’s Adam Sklute’s technique. Levels 4, 5, Men’s 2, and Choreographic Workshop get to have technique class with him, which was wonderful and a great opportunity. Still, the technique is applicable and helpful to any style of ballet."
  • "We will review separately, but due to personal family schedule constraints in June, our daughter only did 3 weeks in Salt Lake City and then two weeks in St George. Those were two very different experiences."
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