"Students under 18 were not allowed to leave the dorms without an RA unless checked out by parents. They had to walk to and from the studios and every meal in a large group, which often meant a lot of waiting around for everyone to be ready. This felt pretty restrictive to my rising junior (16 almost 17) who has been able to leave the dorms at other intensives if she was in a group and had parent permission. Her main complaint about the intensive was that after classes she was just stuck in her room every night."
Where did they stay?
Rented an apartment or house
Housing - Supervision
Curfew
Yes
Curfew reasonable?
No
Yes
Room check
Yes
How strict were dorms?
Somewhat strict
Very lax
Infraction handling
Fair
Housing - Cleanliness
Laundry available
Yes
Laundry free
No
Housing cleanliness
Dirty
1
2
3
4
5
Spotless
Cleaning required
No
Meal Plan
Meal plan
Yes
Food quality
Gross
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Enough food
Yes
Dietary needs?
No
Activities
Weeknight activities
Yes
Weekend outings
No
Yes
Attended weekend outings
Yes, all of them
Yes, some of them
Favorite
"The outings are mandatory for students under 18 at the dorms. She liked Santa Monica Pier."
"I'm not sure if this counts as an outing, but they held a Complexions-style photoshoot, and I had a great experience with that."
Least favorite
"There were only 2--Santa Monica Pier and a museum"
Logistics
Quality of handbook
Spotty
1
2
3
4
5
Comprehensive
Program communication
Limited
1
2
3
4
5
Comprehensive
Transportation
Drove with parent
Walked with chaperone
Neighborhood safety
Not Safe
1
2
3
4
5
Very Safe
General Comments
Overall recommendation
Definitely Not
1
2
3
4
5
Absolutely
Best aspect
"The training. My student thought the teachers and the training was challenging and beneficial."
"I feel I grew so much from learning Nique and Dwight Rhoden's choreography. It was a very, very challenging program, and it very much put me out of my comfort zone, but I'm so glad I did it."
"Time with family traveling there"
Least liked about program
"It was unorganized. I wasn't sure what time the show started or long it would last. Afterward, we weren't sure if my student could go back to the dorms to check out or if we had to wait for an RA. Once we got back we waited again for someone to show up to check her out. Also, we had to pay for the tickets to the closing show. They were $15 each. I feel like that should be included."
"The class sizes were pretty large, I would say they were at least 30-40 people."
"No attention given to individuals, not well planned choreography to showcase all dancers at the final performance"
Suggested changes to program
"I think students who have parent permission should be allowed to leave the dorms in groups of 3. That's pretty standard for all summer intensives."
"I wish we had the option to dance en pointe more."
"That they treat them dancers as individuals and help them grow"
Culture of program
"Seemed friendly and supportive."
"The culture was a bit more competitive than other intensives I've attended, partially because the class sizes were so big, and partially because a lot of comp kids attend. Some of the teachers also tend to cultivate a more competitive environment. I still thoroughly enjoyed this intensive, but the atmosphere could be a bit intense."
"Cold"
Other comments
"The instruction and the teachers were great."
"I was unclear about whether or not pointe was included for everybody when I signed up for this program, but I discovered it's optional, but available to anyone who wants. The program is split into two levels, but each day, there was an option to either take an en pointe repertory class, or to take the alternative class. The alternative classes rotated between hip hop, yoga/stretch, and pirouettes/allegro classes."
