BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 234
Total Reviews: 1882

John Cranko - New York

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

11
3
4
1

Gender

16
3

First time at a summer intensive?

16
3

Year of SI

9
10

Weeks available

14
4
1

Weeks attended

1
16
2

Reviewer

1
6
12

Curriculum

Techniques taught

19

Partnering (based on age)

19

Dedicated men's program?

2
17

# of boys in level

6
7
3
3

Other dance genres

1
18
2

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
2
1
5
11
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

4
8
2
1
7
1
1

PT offered?

1
1
17

Extra fee for PT?

9
9
1

Injury rate

3
15
1

Teaching

Who taught?

1
18

Guest teachers

14
3
2

Year-round teachers taught

1
14
4

Attention from teachers

Very Little
1
5
9
4
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
4
6
9
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
16
1

Studio space

Cramped
3
6
10
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
5
5
9
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

17
2

Saturday classes

11
8

Saturday class duration

3
4
12

Leveling

Leveling

18
1

Leveling type

11
6
2

Did students move levels?

11
8

Leveling fair?

1
18

Students per class

1
6
7
5

Performance

Performance?

19

Rehearsals happened

15
3
1

Casting equitability

Uneven
3
6
10
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
2
1
1
4
11
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

14
5

# of roommates

2
4
4
4

Bathrooms

2
12

Coed bathrooms

13
1

Air conditioning

14

Housing comment

  • "Co-Ed building."
  • "Students were free to come and go as they wish providing they got back before the 9pm curfew (weekdays) 10pm weekends. Dorms were within easy access to restaurants and Wholefoods was 1 block away, Trader Joe's also within walking distance. The studios were a 20 minute walk away or a bus ride."
  • "Fully functional kitchen where the students could make full meals."
  • "The housing is really nice compared to some other dormitories I've lived in for NYC. It is within walking distance (20ish minutes) of all studios and many restaurants/stores. There is a refrigerator, microwave, and stove top for all suites. So there is plenty of space for everyone to store and cook food."
  • "There was no meal plan, so we had to cook for ourselves. The room sizes also differed. If the suite had more dancers (up to 6 between two rooms), it also had an additional bathroom and larger kitchen/living area. The area around the dorms was really nice and close to the bus and subway."
  • "Good dorm set up for NYC"
  • "It was a little far from where they danced"

Where did they stay?

2
2
2

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

1
13

Curfew reasonable?

14

Room check

1
13

How strict were dorms?

5
6
3

Infraction handling

6
8
3

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

14

Laundry free

11
2
1

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
5
6
3
Spotless

Cleaning required

9
5

Meal Plan

Meal plan

14

Activities

Weeknight activities

8
6

Weekend outings

17
2

Attended weekend outings

2

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
1
1
3
13
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
2
3
14
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
1
1
4
1
2
7
1
1

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
2
7
10
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
3
16
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • "Friendly staff and the friends my child made."
  • "The training was good. The teachers were very good and gave good classes."
  • "Independence and partnering"
  • "The instruction and the organization."
  • "I loved every single one of my teachers and the live pianists that played for each class. Every class had structure and was guided by the teacher and aided by the chaperone that watches the class. All teachers were inspiring and attentive."
  • "Wonderful teachers and high level of skill of dancers"
  • "Incredible training and the schedule was ideally laid out in a supportive environment with world class teachers. The opportunity to take partnering class everyday was rare and very appreciated."
  • "Daily partnering was excellent. Enjoyed the showcase, and rep class."
  • "Our teachers were amazing! I liked that the final class rep included combinations that we would do during our pointe class so the rehearsals didn’t take away from developing our technique. I also liked having so much freedom in the city to explore with friends. I feel like they really trusted us to be independent, but we still had chaperones available to help if needed. I also really loved getting to have partnering everyday! I liked how rigorous the training was while still having time at the end of the day to relax or explore the city."
  • "Extremely strict instruction which my daughter thrived in - excellent technique, high expectations."
  • "Excellent faculty and teaching; serious about learning and growth"
  • "Training was first-class per dancer and communications by coordinating group, A.S.E. Global Bridges were outstanding!"
  • "She made so many friends and wonderful teachers"
  • "The ability to learn and be taught by faculty from an amazing school"
  • "Ability to do something out of the normal which was a great way to start my child thinking about whether or not full time is something for future consideration"
  • "The 3hours of peer meeting we had each day was very helpful as a male with little previous experience."

Least liked about program

  • "The students decided who got what parts, not the teachers. If a student volunteered for multiple parts in the show they got it and the distribution of parts were skewed."
  • "The body shaming from the men in partnering class in this program is unacceptable and rampant. Most girls in the class feel uncomfortable and anxious just being in the room with these men, let alone partnering with them. They only try to partner with the “skinny” girls and if they think you are even a little heavier than 90 pounds, they won’t even try to partner with you. They will publicly make fun of girls for their bodies, calling girls fat in the middle of class out loud to their friends. They will refer to their partners as “the fat girl I just went with”. Girls have reported them playing rock paper scissors to try to get the skinniest girl and the loser has to go with the “fat girl”. They were making fun of someone’s thighs in the middle of pas class, and my thighs are bigger than hers so I can only imagine what they are saying about me. They will talk to their friends about their partners and talk about their bodies. It doesn’t help that the “skinny” level is in the class right before us and the guys love partnering them. My partner would not try when partnering me and we could barely do anything together, he is a good partner with other girls so I thought I just became really bad, worse than I thought I already was, but then I went with someone else and he could partner me just fine. They choose to partner with the girls they like because they are skinny. It baffles me how they call their partners fat in the middle of class when a. They are not fat and b. We are all learning and you have no right to comment on the body or skill level of your partner. Pas de deux is my favorite class but I was unable to enjoy it at this program. I was constantly anxious because of the behavior of my peers in the class and I was unable to learn as much as I potentially could’ve without this added stress. Due to the fact that the program is only 3 weeks long, I would’ve much preferred to just do a class viewing for the parents (like we did at bolshoi at the 3 week mark) over a show. I find that we are doing barre in class and then working on our show work the whole rest of the class. I am only in fondus and adagio, so those are the only things I am able to do in class. Sure, I stand on the side and do the other combinations but it is not the same of getting to do it for the teacher and getting feedback. The same goes for pas de deux, we only work on the dance and some people are only in about an 8 count of the whole piece so they stand around for most of the class. I don’t get to do much pas de deux (also a reason why I am upset at the behavior of the men in this program) so I would rather have a full pas class where we learn new lifts and turns instead of just working the same choreography the whole time. This is just personal preference but I wish we had character like there was at Bolshoi over contemporary. I also find that a lot of girls in this program are toxic as well. There are people making fun of other girls for the way they dance in the middle of class. No one is perfect and we are all here to learn. There are some people who think they are worlds better than everyone else in the class and they make fun of others. For an intensive that preaches community, the community aspect was not there and it was quite the toxic community to live in for 3 weeks."
  • "Rehearsals took away from the amount of time spent in Technique class"
  • "Daily partening and exceptional trainging. Lots of emphasis on the whole dancer from staff toward student."
  • "Too short at only 3 weeks"
  • "N/A"
  • "Too many students in technique, pointe and partnering. Main teacher did not speak English and it was hard to understand with the translator. The favoritism by the main teacher was really bad, with over 30 students she spent almost all of her time on 3-4 students."
  • "I didn’t enjoy having to switch between studios throughout the day. It would have been nice to not have to travel so much throughout the day."
  • "Not being from a major city the chaperoning concerned me initially but it ended up not being an issue at all once I got to know the chaperones."
  • "Expensive city"
  • "No complaints. There is a lot of walking between studios depending on your group locations, but the walking was nice for getting a break and staying warm."
  • "Too many kids in one unit. 5 kids share one bathroom and one kitchen"
  • "I wanted to be there longer"
  • "It felt like some kids who knew the teachers previously were highlighted more than others who the teacher had never met before."

Suggested changes to program

  • "Having more sections so that there isn’t a large disparity of skill level in the same class."
  • "Less rehearsals more technique (but the final show was very well put together!)"
  • "Adding addtional weeks."
  • "To make it longer and to add weight training."
  • "There is nothing I would change about the program, I wish it was a five-week program."
  • "Fewer students per level. 3 weeks was too short."
  • "It would be nice to have a little smaller class sizes"
  • "Nothing it was excellent."
  • "Different location outside of NYC for older dancers"
  • "Put three or four kids in one unit. Two in a room."
  • "I loved it as it was offered"
  • "Have more performance rehearsal and two performances"

Culture of program

  • "Relaxed atmosphere."
  • "Lots of toxic people attend this intensive. It can be a competitive environment and very clichey"
  • "Fun and vigerous"
  • "Demanding with high expectations, but also encouraging."
  • "Intensive, serious, high level of expectation, but cultivated a family feel."
  • "I found this program very useful and enjoyable. I was cared for and comfortable while still working diligently in difficult classes. I found the spirit of the teachers to be the same."
  • "Collaborative and high-performing"
  • "The talent level was high, but it was refreshing to be in a community-based intensive with many student activities. The administration made an inclusive culture a priority and encouraged a supportive environment."
  • "Positive and supportive peers. Supportive and communicative staff. Teachers were very knowledgeable and encouraging students to improve."
  • "It was very supportive. Everyone got along well and the teachers were very encouraging."
  • "Positive, Intense, High Standards"
  • "Serious"
  • "The staff does a great job of emphasizing a supportive and non-competitive environment encouraging kids to lift each other up in and out of the studio. Further, being an international program, the dancers are motivated to learn from each other's different perspectives and cultures."
  • "It’s mixed, kids make friends from all over the world"
  • "This program aspires to be an encouraging filled with talented and dedicated dancers. The staff and teachers care for each student and attempted to see each dancer as they are and help guide them to the best of their ability. It is a challenging program but I found it to be inspiring."
  • "Inclusive and inviting"
  • "The culture teachers children and spaces provided were all fantastic"
  • "It was over all pleasant, I wish there were more bonding activities placed in for students to get to know each other."

Other comments

  • "Would recommend for more mature students as this is basically a non-chaperoned program."
  • "Great teaching staff and very well managed from an administrative perspective. Limited cooking facilities in dorms (2 electric rings and a microwave, full fridge / freezer) . You need to take all cooking / kitchen equipment. My daughter had a wonderful experience!"
  • "I thought it was very organized and they provided answers to any questions that arose."
  • "Exceptional communication throughout the entire process."
  • "I want to emphasize the fact that this program has pas de deux classes for all levels each day. The other classes (outside of technique and pointe) alternated, which allowed for there to be growth in these areas without overworking all styles everyday. I found that I grew a lot during this program and I will be attending again this coming year."
  • "Highly recommended for all dancers."
  • "Highly recommend it - one of the best intensives out there for anyone who wants to train seriously in a supportive environment."
  • "Students need to be mature and independent. Students purchase and cook food. There are chaperones but most students move around the city by themselves in small groups. My daughter loved it and was able to successfully manage it."
  • "It was an excellent program and I feel like I improved a lot. I loved how much stage time we all got in the ending performance- we were all in about 5 pieces plus the finale."
  • "This was a fabulous intensive for my daughter - out of the many she has done this was her favorite."
  • "Definitely recommend both parent and dancer"
  • "Our dancer has grown so much in this program in technique, artistry and confidence. As parents, we can't speak highly enough about A.S.E. Global Bridges and the staff of the JCS. This is a well thought out program. We knew exactly who to reach if needed, and our dancer was given the tools they needed to navigate dorm living and city life confidently allowing our dancer to focus on learning while there. Highly recommend."
  • "The organizers are wonderful!"
  • "I had an amazing 3 weeks and I love the teachers and school. The environment an faculty helped me grow as a dancer."
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