Sprung floors with marley but with wrinkles and missing tape
Sprung floors with secure marley
Studio space
Cramped
1
2
3
4
5
Lots of Space
Studio cleanliness
Dirty
1
2
3
4
5
Spotless
Schedule
Classes per day
4
5
More than 5
Saturday classes
No
Yes
Saturday class duration
Full day
Half day or less
N/A
Leveling
Leveling
Assigned after placement class
Assigned when accepted
Leveling type
Ability
Age
Unsure
Did students move levels?
No
Yes
Leveling fair?
No
Yes
Students per class
10-15
16-24
25-30
31-34
Performance
Performance?
Full show
Nothing
Small demonstration
Rehearsals happened
Both in and out of class
During daily class
Outside of class
Casting equitability
Uneven
1
2
3
4
5
Even
Rehearsals detracted from class?
Completely
1
2
3
4
5
Not At All
Housing - General
Housing provided
No
Yes and my dancer lived there
Yes but my dancer did not live there
# of roommates
0
1
2
3
Bathrooms
One big bathroom on the floor
Private in suite
Two in a four person suite
Coed bathrooms
No
Air conditioning
Yes
Housing comment
"Breakfast is not provided"
"Each dancer has their own room but there are four in a suite sharing two bathrooms."
"It was a nice location outside of the city so they could be outside in the evenings on the campus."
"The only adults in the dorms are RAs from the program and from the college, so there's a lot of freedom."
"Amazing"
"In most suites, there is a kitchen and "living room" area, and each person gets their own bedroom with a door."
"About 2 blocks off campus was a little sketchy, but the kids always traveled with a friend"
"Normally the dancers are housed on IU campus, but were on UofL campus this year and were quite grimy and in a bit of an unsafe area."
"Dorms were far from dining and from dance studios"
"Dorms were old school but a common room in the suite was really enjoyed by student"
"There are only stairs to get to your floor of the dorms, and that made it difficult to move in and out. The walk to the dining hall is also very far and includes lots of stairs/hills."
Where did they stay?
Rented an apartment or house
Stayed with local family or friends
Student lived at home
Housing - Supervision
Curfew
Yes
Curfew reasonable?
Yes
Room check
No
Yes
How strict were dorms?
Just about right
Somewhat lax
Somewhat strict
Very lax
Infraction handling
A little harsh
Fair
N/A
Housing - Cleanliness
Laundry available
Yes
Laundry free
No
Yes
Housing cleanliness
Dirty
1
2
3
4
5
Spotless
Cleaning required
No
Yes
Meal Plan
Meal plan
Yes
Food quality
Gross
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Enough food
No
Yes
Dietary needs?
No
Yes
Specific needs
"Peanut allergy"
"Peanuts"
"Food allergies"
Dietary options
Limited
1
2
3
4
5
Lots
Activities
Weeknight activities
No
Yes
Weekend outings
No
Yes
Attended weekend outings
I didn't attend any of them
Yes, all of them
Yes, some of them
Favorite
Repeated Responses:
"Kentucky kingdom" (2 responses)
"Kentucky Kingdom" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
"The outings were only available to the dancers living in the dorms. My dancer would have loved to have joined if that had been an option."
"Kentucky Derby museum and an amusement / water park"
"Oddly, it was a soccer game they attended."
"Pro soccer game"
"Churchill downs"
"She enjoyed both Kentucky Kingdom and Churchill Downs. They did their own outing to the Speed Museum on campus and enjoyed that too"
"Speed Art Museum"
"Outings were only for dancers who used housing"
"Kentucky Derby Museum"
"My favorite was Kentucky Kingdom, a water and amusement park."
Least favorite
Repeated Responses:
"N/A" (2 responses)
"None" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
"All were great"
Logistics
Quality of handbook
Spotty
1
2
3
4
5
Comprehensive
Program communication
Limited
1
2
3
4
5
Comprehensive
Transportation
Covid year…not sure what they did
Parent transport
Private bus
Private Van for Dorm Students.
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
"Small program with lots of individual attention"
"The individual attention, instruction, and kindness of the teachers and staff."
"The dedicated men’s program with weight training and lots of partnering"
"Great variety in staff and teachers."
"My dancer loved the teachers and having a glimpse into the world of professional ballet"
"My daughter felt she received great feedback and improved"
"Lots of partnering for level Professional A, a few times week 1, daily weeks 2-3, none week 4."
"Teachers were nice"
"The men's program is excellent."
"Men’s program"
"The teachers were all very supportive and gave attention to each student, both in class and rehearsals. The partnering was very in-depth and helpful; the conditioning and yoga classes were great; and the musical theater, character, and contemporary classes were very fun and worthwhile. The end-of-the-summer performance was professional and organized, and I loved the pieces we danced in."
"Teachers were engaging and gave all students as much attention as time allowed."
"Guest faculty"
"The faculty was incredible and showed everyone attention. Guest faculty were amazing as well."
"Dedicated men’s program"
"Small program especially at the lower levels. High ballet hours - usually 4.5 hours of ballet a day"
"Teachers"
"My dancer felt safe and cared for"
"Such a positive atmosphere with an amazing master class available for parents to view the last day."
"I loved how there was an encouraging environment, but the teachers also gave honest corrections and feedback. I felt that the attention given in class was very fair and well distributed."
Least liked about program
"It was 2021, so not as challenging as 2020, but still impacted by Covid. A lot of things that normally would happen was mitigated for the pandemic."
"A bit of a disconnect between the dancers staying in the dorms and the dancers staying in other living situations."
"Not that many outings"
"No women’s variations were included in the final performance."
"Placement occurred after about 10 minutes of technique class and wasn’t revisited."
"N/A"
"Not much focus on pre professional program, only one boy in whole class, no pointe at demonstration"
"Students are responsible for their own breakfast and catering options for lunch and dinner were limited."
"Age difference in partnering"
"The dinners! While most of the food tasted decent, there were not many healthy options. Most of the meals were junk food. Salad was an option most nights, but not all, and the salads were often not comprised of much else besides lettuce. However, there were at least vegetarian options for meat-focused meals."
"Class length."
"Not too many men"
"The housing situation."
"The food is why we did not choose to dorm. We were told it wasn’t good for those with food allergies and my daughter definitely witnessed that once she saw what the others were eating. The dancers who used the housing all said the lunches were not enough protein."
"Level placements were inconsistent"
"She felt like the ballet was very basic and the dancers in her level had such a wide variety of actual levels that a lot of time was spent teaching the basics. This was also apparent in the observation class and performance. Also students from the school associated w the ballet company were allowed in levels which they were not prepared for, and that took away from time in class bc teachers had to go over basics, repeat combinations, etc, so they didn't have much time for center work"
"The dorms had seen better days (2024)"
"I had heard there were a lot of partnering classes, but I ended up only having seven over the entire four week program."
Suggested changes to program
"More partnering and rep opportunities for all the dancers in attendance, not just a few."
"Longer than 4 weeks"
"I would enjoy a longer program, either 5 or 6 weeks. It’s a strong and well rounded, underrated program."
"My dancer would have loved to try partnering, and to have more pointe time"
"N/A"
"nothing"
"More intense at pre-pro level"
"Greater level of adult supervision in the dorms."
"Longer"
"The food was the only concern."
"Make primary classes longer to allow more time for in depth learning."
"The housing situation. Also offering more non-ballet styles such as modern and character."
"Provide better and healthier food choices for dorms"
"Determine placements after arrival at intensive and move people if appropriate"
"Place dancers after first day of classes or move dancers to diff levels when appropriate."
"Varied exercises in the morning conditioning class instead of the same ones every day."
Culture of program
Repeated Responses:
"Positive" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
"Supportive. They are building professional dancers, not running a camp. You can feel that from the first email. However, they are like our family, and they truly care about the dancer, not just the results. Maybe it’s a little different for us being his “come up home” but they watch out for the kids total health."
"Very positive, warm, welcoming."
"Great"
"Devoted environment that hold expectations for everyone to improve rapidly and works to keep you grounded in your own skills while enhancing more abilities."
"Professional but fairly laid-back"
"Very positive"
"Great environment. Teachers & other dancers were supportive."
"Laid back"
"Understanding, caring, and supportive."
"10/10"
"Supportive, positive, helpful, fun."
"Welcoming and progressive"
"Very positive, the kids were all encouraging of one another. The faculty was also encouraging, easy to approach"
"Very positive! Misconduct was handled well and everyone got along. Everyone was focused on the dance and supportive of one another."
"Friendly"
"Amazing culture. Dancers were so kind to each other. It was established at the very beginning that anyone who did not behave appropriately would be dismissed immediately. They also took injury seriously and did not expect dancers to push thru when they shouldn’t. Instructors were encouraging and kind and provided attention to the dancers and made them feel seen and valued."
"Positive and good"
"Very positive, student centered."
"Very positive and welcoming."
Other comments
"N/A"
"It was nice dancers could wear whatever solid colored leotard we wanted."
"Loved it, would do again, however artistic director resigned after intensive"
"All of the teachers, house and guest, were welcoming, comical, and supportive."
"Very happy with our choice to attend"
"I would highly recommend attending this program!"
"I believe it is a very underrated program. Students in the four week program do a performance after two weeks and then learn all new choreo with the second group who comes in at the two week mark. It is impressive that they are able to put together two shows, each with only two weeks to prepare. We appreciated the live accompaniment during the class demonstration on the last day as well. It was wonderful to have performance in a theater rather than just in studio."
