BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 223
Total Reviews: 1727

Chautauqua Festival Ages 13-16 (six weeks)

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

2
3
4

Gender

6
2
1

First time at a summer intensive?

9

Year of SI

5
3
1

Weeks available

9

Weeks attended

9

Reviewer

1
1
7

Curriculum

Techniques taught

7
2
1
2
2

Partnering (based on age)

3
5
1

Dedicated men's program?

4
1
4

# of boys in level

4
5

Other dance genres

9
1
8
3
6
4
8

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
3
5
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

5
1
6
1
3
1
2

PT offered?

1
8

Extra fee for PT?

4
5

Injury rate

2
6
1

Teaching

Who taught?

7
2

Guest teachers

9

Year-round teachers taught

3
1
5

Attention from teachers

Very Little
1
1
7
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
4
5
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

1
1
1
1
2
7
1
3

Studio space

Cramped
1
4
4
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
1
5
3
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

5
3
1

Saturday classes

9

Saturday class duration

1
8

Leveling

Leveling

9

Leveling type

3
4
2

Did students move levels?

9

Leveling fair?

9

Students per class

7
2

Performance

Performance?

9

Rehearsals happened

5
4

Casting equitability

Uneven
1
2
2
4
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
3
6
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

9

# of roommates

7
1
1

Bathrooms

  • One bath shared by two adjoining rooms
  • Private in suite
  • Private in suite
  • jack n jill bath btwn 2 rooms, 4 girls /bathroom
  • Private in suite
  • Private in suite
  • Private in suite
  • There are two dancers in each room and they share a bathroom with a connecting room. Its not really a suite in that there is no common room. A few rooms have their own bathroom
  • Jack-n-Jill/one bathroom for two rooms.

Coed bathrooms

9

Air conditioning

8
1

Housing comment

  • Housing is only a few steps from dance studios.
  • It’s update NY so comfortable in the summer w/o AC.
  • Dorms are a bit old, being remodeled for 2024
  • 10:30 lights out was a bit harsh, ( RA was a bit strict) in room by 10 fine, but with late rehearsals sometimes you needed a bit more time to shower, snack, etc. Picky eater but she managed and says food was OK. Not having AC in dorms was mostly ok with fans, Dorm was 70's lodge style old but cozy.. is going to be overhauled in near future. Steps away from studio is nice.
  • Renovations including a/c expected before next summer.
  • Steps away from cafeteria and very short walk to studio on the grounds
  • I believe they are adding air conditioning by summer 2025. The food is not the best but my dancer found it adequate and rarely supplemented.
  • New, clean dorm rooms.

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

9

Curfew reasonable?

9

Room check

9

How strict were dorms?

7
1
1

Infraction handling

3
4
2

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

9

Laundry free

8
1

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
4
3
2
Spotless

Cleaning required

6
3

Meal Plan

Meal plan

9

Food quality

Gross
1
5
3
Excellent

Enough food

9

Dietary needs?

9

Activities

Weeknight activities

1
8

Weekend outings

5
4

Attended weekend outings

2
2

Favorite

  • There are many things to attend on the campus of Chautauqua. being entertained by the sponsors on their boats or enjoying a home cooked dinner we’re great.
  • Host family
  • Each child has a host family which holds dinners, outings, boat rides, gaming, sometimes for whole community. Student is able to invite friends. Other than that the beautiful environment allows for biking, swimming, and there is a small theatre on the grounds, the amphitheater events are free to students.
  • Chautauqua is special in that there is always something to see or do.

Least favorite

  • N/A
  • None

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
4
2
3
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
1
1
4
1
2
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
1
1
1
5

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
9
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
9
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • Small group, very safe location and zero commute from dorm to studio.
  • Small class size and the full on campus experience.
  • Performance opportunities guest teachers
  • Amazing seasoned faculty who care and connect, the community/grounds provides the most beautiful setting so you can find balance in nature while working hard, everything a teen needs pretty much within the community, Starbucks, snack/ice-cream shops, pizza, little movie theater, beach, gaming, constant events at the Amphitheatre, everything walkable, bikeable, trams and busses as well, hardly any cars, host families for each child provide support, home cooked dinners, outings, trips to grocery and allow for students to use laundry, definitely like a company experience with lots of class/rehearsal/ performance opportunities. Students get to choreograph pieces and the students are in multiple pieces so that's even more dancing. Live piano in studios, chance to mingle with other artists in music, theater, voice, visual art. Performances very professional, staged at the Amphitheatre
  • A great opportunity to experience what it might be like to be in a company. Wonderful training and guest teachers! Choreographic workshop opportunity.
  • The teachers!
  • Caring faculty that looks at the whole dancer, great dance community, lake activities, many cultural events
  • The teachers and performance opportunities
  • Everything!

Least liked about program

  • It’s in the middle of nowhere.
  • No AC
  • Expensive to visit your child within the institution
  • Nothing to really dislike
  • Far away in upstate NY
  • Location is more secluded, and difficult than others for mass transit commercial travel.
  • There is limited communication before the program compared to some other programs. I was fine with that but some parents may dislike this aspect.
  • Nothing. This program is so special.

Suggested changes to program

  • Providing a professional video of the performance.
  • New sprung floors
  • PT was only available 1x/week, so more PT availability would be great, Better AC in studios,
  • None.
  • That it wasn’t so far away! Chautauqua is fairly hard to get to for most dancers but its such a magical place it is worth it.
  • A little more variety and seasoning of the food.

Culture of program

  • Very laid back. Strong instruction and lots of free time in nature.
  • Familial and caring.
  • Caring, encouraging
  • Super Professional yet laid back, supportive, kind atmosphere, just magical
  • Healthy, inclusive & friendly.
  • Very open and welcoming.
  • It is a performance based program. There would be 3 performance dates at the Amphitheater, 1 studio showing of Student Choreography pieces, and 1 more studio showing for the local dance community. The culture feels like a congregation of dancers at a dance festival or workshop. The School of Music is nearby, and Chautauqua also has their Visual Arts summer program. It feels like an artists' retreat.
  • Warm and inclusive
  • Supportive, caring and amazing.

Other comments

  • This was my son’s second time at this intensive and he loves it even more now.
  • Fantastic program with amazing teaching
  • Students performed with Chautauqua symphony and Houston Ballet 2 in the final gala. Having Julie Kent to watch student choreo was special. Having HB2 in residence for a time was exciting.
  • A great opportunity to learn from a variety of amazing instructors from all walks ver the country and be a part of several performances, including with a live orchestra.
  • The floors are newly sprung, and there is a project underway to renovate or add on to the existing performance spaces and dorm. The Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra provides live music for one of the performances. Students perform from 5-8 separate works throughout the 6 weeks. My dancer spent her first residential intensive there, but it was her third intensive that lasted over a month, and so she knew how to pace herself, and enjoyed every moment of it. Because of the longer length of the festival intensive and the longer hours, it's a better experience for the dancer when they have had prior intensive experience (either shorter weeks in a residential workshop or full 4-5 weeks dorming/commuting).
  • Chautauqua is only a summer program so some of the questions about year round faculty versus summer do not apply. All students in the festival program take classes together so there are no levels. The boys do have some separate classes and they do divide them alphabetically for partnering and into small groups for at least one private coaching class. The faculty is outstanding. It is such an amazing opportunity to learn Balanchine choreography from Patricia McBride, for example. This program is best for independent teens. There are a few week day activities that are camp like (think scavenger hunt) and then each dancer can sign up for a host family. The host families all vary but some of them take the students on their boats, invite them to go swimming at their house, take them to dinner, cook them dinner, take them on target runs, or let them do laundry at their house. My daughter loved the host family aspect of the program. Most importantly, chautauqua institution is a place people go to live for the summer or vacation, so there is always something going on even if the dance program doesn’t organize it. For example, there are many concerts throughout the summer the students can attend for free and dance performances from visiting companies (Paul Taylor and Houston Ballet for example were some of the companies this year). Highly recommend Chautauqua
  • Chautauqua is amazing training full of caring teachers and an artistic setting that is unbeatable. My dancer saw Houston Ballet II, opera, an aerial silks show, Laufey perform on her tour and more. Taking classes from Patricia McBride was also a special experience. This summer intensive is one of a kind.
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