BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 231
Total Reviews: 1850

Ballet West Choreographic Workshop/ArtEmotion Company Experience

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

2
1
3
1

First time at a summer intensive?

7

Year of SI

1
3
1
2

Weeks available

7

Weeks attended

7

Reviewer

1
1
5

Curriculum

Techniques taught

4
1
2
2
4
1

Partnering (based on age)

1
4
1
1

Dedicated men's program?

1
6

# of boys in level

2
3
2

Other dance genres

5
7
1
1
6
1
1

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
1
3
2
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

6
1
3
1
3
3

PT offered?

1
1
5

Extra fee for PT?

3
4

Injury rate

1
6

Teaching

Who taught?

4
3

Guest teachers

7

Year-round teachers taught

1
6

Attention from teachers

Very Little
1
1
5
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
3
3
1
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

1
7
1
1

Studio space

Cramped
1
3
3
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
2
5
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

1
2
4

Saturday classes

7

Saturday class duration

1
6

Leveling

Leveling

2
5

Leveling type

6
1

Did students move levels?

2
4

Leveling fair?

7

Students per class

1
2
3
1

Performance

Performance?

7

Rehearsals happened

3
3
1

Casting equitability

Uneven
1
2
2
1
1
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
1
6
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

4
3

# of roommates

1
1
1
1

Bathrooms

1
3

Coed bathrooms

4

Air conditioning

4

Housing comment

  • Rooms varied, as did suites. Rooms had 1-4 dancers in each. Every few rooms were together in suites that shared 1-2 bathrooms. The elevator was broken and trips to the 4th floor were exhausting.
  • New this year at Westminster College for Ballet West/ArtEmotion. Dorms were okay, not as nice as previous years at Univ. of Utah, but the food at Westminster was H o r r i b l e.
  • there was a choice between dorms and apartments; dancer stayed in the apartments

Where did they stay?

1
2

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

4

Curfew reasonable?

4

Room check

1
3

How strict were dorms?

2
1
1

Infraction handling

1
3

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

4

Laundry free

1
3

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
2
1
1
Spotless

Cleaning required

4

Meal Plan

Meal plan

1
3

Food quality

Gross
2
1
Excellent

Enough food

2
1

Dietary needs?

3

Activities

Weeknight activities

1
3

Weekend outings

7

Attended weekend outings

2
5

Favorite

  • Amusement park
  • Amusement park
  • Loved the hike in the mountains!!
  • Hiking and Baseball Game
  • 4th BBQ

Least favorite

  • The hike
  • Baseball game

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
1
1
5
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
1
1
3
2
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
4
2

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
2
1
4
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
1
2
4
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • The choreography weeks and performance were amazing
  • ArteMotion performance in downtown SLC!
  • Doing the workshop
  • The choreographic workshop is a unique, amazing, positive, comprehensive program and experience! Very well curated by Allison DeBona and Rex Tilton. Well organized and executed! They do a top-notch job.
  • Supportive environment and exceptional faculty
  • Dancer loved the structure - three weeks of technique and a 2 week company experience
  • The best aspect of this program was getting to work directly with a choreographer in a smaller group and work toward a full performance.

Least liked about program

  • The food was terrible.
  • Westminster/organization this year (last year was great!)
  • Westminster College
  • The food at Westminister College.
  • The food
  • she didn't love all of the extra classes, would have liked more ballet centered classes during the 3 weeks of training
  • I liked the culture at Ballet West the least.

Suggested changes to program

  • Allow the students in choreographic their own track the entire 5 wks
  • Administration could be upfront and have planned out what locations will be used before people pay for the program
  • Nothing. Except better food.
  • The food (it really was horrible)
  • nothing
  • I would hope for more even treatment of dancers. There were a couple moments of clear favoritism for dancers in Ballet West Academy and BW trainees. I would also make it revolve less around learning to cater to the specific preferences of the AD. Also, I would recommend BW accept only the amount of dancers they can accommodate in their main space as the Westminster and Rose Wagner spaces were subpar compared to downtown BW studios.

Culture of program

  • POSITIVE, CHALLENGING, MOTIVATIONAL. AMAZING!
  • professional
  • Very positive, uplifting, encouraging culture at Ballet West and even more so for the Choreographic Workshop. As a student, my dancer found a renewed love for herself and for ballet during the 5 weeks. As a parent, at the observation on the last day, we were in the room when Allison and Rex were talking with the CW dancers. She really focused on giving them encouragement for that evening’s performance, how to work through feelings of nervousness onstage, and even how to engage with a dance/sports psychologist if needed in the future. She talked about how the Ballet West dancers starting using sports psychologists to help navigate the feelings dancers feel. I was ready to jump up and hug her! And the whole 5 weeks, my dancer felt supported, noticed, engaged and happy. Ballet West really does a great SI, and the Choreographic Workshop is the icing on the cake.
  • Supportive, positive, healthy, energetic
  • wonderful and supportive
  • A little unfriendly and cold, but not terrible. ArtEmotion leadership can definitely be overly intense at times. After the first three weeks it depends on what choreographer your dancer is cast to work with.

Other comments

  • Choreographic is fantastic!!!!!
  • Not well organized this year. Have been to it many times before and it has never seemed this disorganized. Non-residence were left out of some communications, and last minute they decided that all groups would have classes at both the Ballet Center and Westminster College - this was the 1st time they have used Westminster and it is not as convenient as The U would be to get to. Classes were mostly on a gym floor. There was lots of confusion the 1st day due to lack of non-resident communication. I read on the intensive Facebook forum that it was often times difficult to get responses from staff. Many questions arrived over year round placements and housing - that didn't seem very organized in my eyes.
  • If you can send your dancer, do it. The faculty at Ballet West and ArtEmotion is amazing for both women and men. If your dancer is old enough and accepted, have them do the Choreographic Workshop. They have choreography set on them by guest and Ballet West choreographers. It is a full-length, evening performance in a professional theatre with full costuming at the end for the CW students. 5 stars.
  • My student loved this program and the faculty so much, she is returning to study there year round.
  • Intense program with incredible performance opportunities. Beware favoritism. For class with the AD and with certain faculty, trainees were giving special stickers for their name tags and told to stand in the front to receive special attention. They were also given featured parts in performances. Also, some students had to take class in the Westminster Gym which they found dangerous and not enjoyable.
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