BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 256
Total Reviews: 2345

Louisville Ballet

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

5
3
7
8
2
3

Gender

22
6

First time at a summer intensive?

22
6

Year of SI

2
10
5
7
4

Weeks available

28

Weeks attended

10
1
17

Reviewer

12
16

Curriculum

Techniques taught

1
2
1
4
14
13

Partnering (based on age)

2
8
7
7
4

Dedicated men's program?

5
23

# of boys in level

4
16
8

Other dance genres

1
2
8
1
15
1
6
10
1
22
28
1
1

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
2
1
7
17
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

25
17
6
5
6
27

PT offered?

1
6
21

Extra fee for PT?

11
17

Injury rate

9
17
2

Teaching

Who taught?

25
2
1

Guest teachers

2
1
25

Year-round teachers taught

10
1
10
7

Attention from teachers

Very Little
3
11
14
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
1
1
3
11
12
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

3
26

Studio space

Cramped
2
11
15
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
1
7
20
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

3
14
11

Saturday classes

1
27

Saturday class duration

2
25
1

Leveling

Leveling

4
24

Leveling type

20
2
6

Did students move levels?

19
2
6

Leveling fair?

3
25

Students per class

10
11
5
1

Performance

Performance?

23
1
4

Rehearsals happened

6
13
8

Casting equitability

Uneven
2
3
10
12
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
7
21
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

1
18
9

# of roommates

1
10
3
4

Bathrooms

8
9
1

Coed bathrooms

18

Air conditioning

18

Housing comment

  • "Housing was clean and basic dorm housing, with double rooms (so each dancer had one roommate or, for some, no roommate) and a floor bathroom with showers. Floors were all-girl or all-boy. There was a dorm kitchen and lounge areas for group use. The dorm is older but totally serviceable (at Bellarmine University--this has changed over the years so YMMV.)"
  • "Dorms were fairly lax but there weren't usually major problems."
  • "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."
  • "The walk to the dining hall was pretty far"
  • "It was always super cold or super hot because the ac and heater were very strong"

Where did they stay?

2
2
6

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

18

Curfew reasonable?

18

Room check

5
13

How strict were dorms?

8
5
3
2

Infraction handling

1
10
6
1

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

18

Laundry free

3
15

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
2
3
10
3
Spotless

Cleaning required

12
6

Meal Plan

Meal plan

18

Food quality

Gross
2
7
8
1
Excellent

Enough food

1
17

Dietary needs?

13
5

Specific needs

  • "egg and dairy free"
  • "Peanut allergy"
  • "Peanuts"
  • "Food allergies"
  • "Vegetarian"

Dietary options

Limited
1
2
2
Lots

Activities

Weeknight activities

2
16

Weekend outings

1
27

Attended weekend outings

10
14
3

Favorite

Repeated Responses:
  • "Kentucky kingdom" (2 responses)
  • "Kentucky Kingdom" (3 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Kentucky Kingdom amusement and water park"
  • "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."
  • "Only went to the Kentucky derby museum"

Least favorite

Repeated Responses:
  • "N/A" (2 responses)
  • "None" (3 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "n/a"
  • "All were great"

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
2
6
18
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
1
2
7
18
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
1
1
24
1

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
3
3
14
8
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
1
1
3
23
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • "This was a great first intensive for my daughter. It was nurturing and age-appropriate, but treated students seriously. Her technique improved immensely--I waited until we'd been back in session at her usual studio to write this review so I could honestly assess that she had made improvement. The teachers were supportive and seemed to provide corrections and attention to each student. The variety of styles provided a good mix with ballet and pointe tech classes. The intensive seemed committed to small classes, breaking a larger level into two cohorts so that classes never got too big. The handbook and communication were complete and thorough. I felt like I could have reached out with questions anytime, but I never needed to! The living situation was, in my view, a perfect mix of independence and supervision for her age (13 at the time). There were room checks and students had to stick with a group, but could walk around campus, use the lounge, went to meals in the dining hall on their own."
  • "The instructors, professional expectations, and supportive environment."
  • "The teachers!"
  • "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."
  • "The smaller classes allowed for more personalized attention"
  • "The levels are small so you get lots of attention from teachers. The leveling is also fair based on ability and technique. There is a full show at the end with a repertoire, modern, and musical theatre piece. The repertoire was really fun and it seemed to be the right amount of difficulty for the level I was in."
  • "The variety of teachers and classes, and also the environment - it was one of the healthiest and most encouraging/motivating I’ve experienced (coming from a dancer who has been to four other intensives!)."

Least liked about program

Repeated Responses:
  • "N/A" (3 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "These weren't huge drawbacks, but I think parents should be aware: The lower levels (C and D) are housed in a separate studio from the upper levels. The dorms are basic--this is not luxury living, which I think is fine (and my kid who's been to rustic summer camp thought was amazing in comparison!) but be apprised, it's not upgraded suite-style space. There is a short demonstration class and program at the end of the first two weeks and a longer show at the end of the second two weeks/full four weeks. Teachers do change throughout the program--who you have the first week may not/probably will not who you have the second week, for example, which may be a positive or a negative depending on your perspective."
  • "The dorms."
  • "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."
  • "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."
  • "Some students were toxic"
  • "Levels C and D are in different studios that are a little smaller. Levels A and B are in the large studios."
  • "Conditioning (NOT including Pilates, PBT, or yoga) and repertoire classes."

Suggested changes to program

Repeated Responses:
  • "N/A" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Overall, no major changes!"
  • "My dancer would have loved more partnering opportunities."
  • "Go back to University of Louisville for dorms."
  • "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"
  • "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."
  • "More coffee shops or availability to leave campus more frequently (ex: going with an RA to the store)"
  • "The only thing I would say is the studios for the lower levels are sprung with marley, but they do have some peeling tape. (For the upper levels in the other location, the marley doesn't have tape in one studio and in the other the marley is taped well)"
  • "The way conditioning and repertoire classes were taught."

Culture of program

Repeated Responses:
  • "Positive" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Supportive, nurturing, but rigorous enough for serious dancers."
  • "The culture is encouraging, supportive, yet challenging. There is an emphasis on health and safety."
  • "Good! Everyone cared a lot."
  • "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."
  • "Very good and welcoming"
  • "Very uplifiting, supportive, and overall very positive with the teachers and dancers."
  • "I was equally motivated and pushed, and I feel that both mentally and physically/technically I got so much stronger."

Other comments

  • "A very well-run, student-centered, organized program. I felt totally safe having my daughter there."
  • "This was a great first intensive for my dancer. It was the right balance of feeling challenged, but not behind. My dancer's technique improved over the two weeks she attended, and there were lessons and corrections she took into her year-round classes. The instructors are attentive and supportive, and the overall environment is encouraging and professional."
  • "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."
  • "Teachers were patient and kind"
  • "The lunch program worked very well (2024)"
  • "No"
  • "This is a really good summer intensive especially if you want individual attention. You will improve a lot at Louisville Ballet summer intensive."
Reviews
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Age: 13, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 13, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2026
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 16, Male
Overall Rating

Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing, Special Diet
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 13, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
3 out of 5 rating
Age: 16, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15, Female
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing, Special Diet
5 out of 5 rating