BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 256
Total Reviews: 2350

Royal Ballet School White Lodge

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

2
2
3
3
7

First time at a summer intensive?

15
2

Year of SI

1
3
2
6
5

Weeks available

8
7
1
1

Weeks attended

9
8

Reviewer

3
12
2

Curriculum

Techniques taught

1
1
9
7

Partnering (based on age)

5
1
1
10

Dedicated men's program?

4
4
9

# of boys in level

4
2
4
5
2

Other dance genres

12
1
15
9
3
2
1
1

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
1
3
8
4
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

8
3
7
4
1
1

PT offered?

1
9
7

Extra fee for PT?

5
12

Injury rate

8
9

Teaching

Who taught?

7
6
4

Guest teachers

3
5
9

Year-round teachers taught

6
1
9
1

Attention from teachers

Very Little
9
2
6
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
2
4
5
6
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

1
15
1
1

Studio space

Cramped
1
2
5
9
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
2
6
9
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

2
13
2

Saturday classes

13
4

Saturday class duration

4
12

Leveling

Leveling

1
16

Leveling type

1
15
1

Did students move levels?

14
2
1

Leveling fair?

2
15

Students per class

1
7
8
1

Performance

Performance?

13
4

Rehearsals happened

4

Casting equitability

Uneven
2
2
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
1
1
10
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

1
15
1

# of roommates

1
7
3
1
3

Bathrooms

1
10
2
2

Coed bathrooms

14
1

Air conditioning

12
3

Housing comment

  • "There are some cons to living at a historic facility like this. There is no A/C, so if you end up there during a heat wave it's quite uncomfortable and the rooms are HOT. The toilets were often clogged and the shower situation wasn't great. There is also no place to laundry and handwashing anything is hard because the sinks won't plug. On the bright side, the food was quality and good."
  • "Dorm was about 10 girls to a room. The food was really great and catered well to students from all around the world."
  • "The rooms had air conditioning but it was still warm."
  • "The food was amazing! Lots of great food and desserts. The evening activities were a lot of fun and the students could really bond there. The people at the summer intensive were so friendly!"
  • "Bring own towels & linen."
  • "The room was small"
  • "The RA’s were not well trained. One scared the 10 and 11 year olds the very first night when trying to explain the “Black Alarm” and kidnapping. Her answers to their many questions were truly horrible. Many children stayed up late every night in their large dorm room, making it impossible for the others to sleep and the RA’s did nothing. Not a good dorming experience!"
  • "They provided duvets and pillows but we had to bring our linens and that was so nice coming to the UK from the US for packing purposes! Great dorm parents and staff...my dancer loved everyone here."
  • "House parents are extremely warm welcoming and fun"
  • "Communal showers were quite gross, boys across the hall had private showers in their room. Bathroom does not have fans so smells strong in hallway. Other than bathroom situation and AC, housing plus houseparents and roommate situations were great."
  • "White Lodge and Richmond Park is a special, magical environment and a real treat for young dancers."
  • "The sleep area was one big room with 12 girls in a room"
  • "One hall for all dancers to sleep in, white lodge was very beautiful"

Where did they stay?

1
1

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

15

Curfew reasonable?

1
14

Room check

2
13

How strict were dorms?

6
1
5
1
2

Infraction handling

7
8

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

10
5

Laundry free

4
10
1

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
4
9
2
Spotless

Cleaning required

14
1

Meal Plan

Meal plan

15

Food quality

Gross
1
2
5
3
4
Excellent

Enough food

3
12

Dietary needs?

15

Activities

Weeknight activities

1
14

Weekend outings

10
7

Attended weekend outings

3
3
1

Favorite

  • "None"
  • "There was only one outing to the local town of Sheen where the dancers could visit shops"
  • "a day trip to sheen"
  • "There was only 1: Trip to the nearby town (Sheen)"
  • "She thought they were just ok. It was only 1 weekend."

Least favorite

  • "They walked to Sheen one day, which isn't fun in a heat wave"
  • "/"
  • "N/A"
  • "not sure"

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
1
3
7
6
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
1
1
5
5
5
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
4

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
1
2
14
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
1
1
5
10
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • "Incredible program in a magical setting."
  • "It's a dream for many dancers to attend WL, so it's worth doing if you have the chance. The classes were good, as was everyone in my dancer's class. It's an inspiring program! Richmond Park was beautiful."
  • "Extremely high level of talent and teaching. Living and training at white lodge is a unique and special experience. Truly diverse and global."
  • "Royal ballet is such an iconic program, my daughter felt so grateful to be invited. The staff were also wonderful and my daughter's technique increased."
  • "The extra activities were amazing! The people from the housing and activities were great with the students. They made this such an exceptional experience!"
  • "The experience of being at White Lodge with such talented dancers and teachers"
  • "Large airy studios, excellent faculty, beautiful surroundings & iconic building. Adequate residential facilities."
  • "Being in the iconic building. A visit from a royal ballet principal"
  • "The iconic location."
  • "Getting to travel internationally to see how ballet is different and more respected! But also to be at this wonderful facility learning a technique not commonly taught in the region of the US we live in and have different perspective. The teachers are really great about incorporating anatomy teaching in the corrections they give and not just generic 'straighten your knee' but how to feel and identify the body for correction"
  • "Fun convivial atmosphere in a beautiful if shabby setting"
  • "The teachers were not scary at all, they were extremely nice and paid attention to all the dancers that clearly were trying. Learned a variety of solos and 1 large piece of repertoire. They were extremely understanding of students pain and other limitations."
  • "The instruction was first rate and because they don't make offers from the SI to the full year program, it wasn't as competitive of some SIs we have been to in the states. That contributed to a very supportive environment where the dancers could relax and just work on improving."
  • "Great environment and supportive teachers. Food was great and dancer appreciated snacks were provided between classes."
  • "Being at Royal Ballet’s school with their teachers"
  • "Welcoming staff and teachers"

Least liked about program

  • "Housing can be difficult if not boarding."
  • "No A/C in the dorms or any studio other than one. No laundry facilities. Only one parent can observe class on the last day. Getting to the school is a logistical nightmare but once you've been in the park and to the school and know to tell the drivers they HAVE TO go into the closed gates on weekends, it gets easier."
  • "Not enough pointe work. Only 2 classes the whole week. At age 12 all of the girls in class were training on pointe but everything else was flat."
  • "Not all of the studios had air conditioning. It was extremely warm in the studios without AC."
  • "For the class that the parents could see, only 1 parent can join. So you can't have both parents watch."
  • "Lack of communication during the intensive."
  • "Not enough food provided for my dancer"
  • "The cost"
  • "The instruction was surprisingly bland. The children all had “good feet,” but many could not dance. Unfortunately, this leaves a number of the students in the level quite bored and uninspired. It felt like a waste of time to my dancer. The RA’s were truly terrible, making the dorming experience a bust as well. And the food was not good. There were quite a few “breaks” planned into every day, during which they served sweet cakes etc. In general, it was not a food plan made for athletes. This was a sadly disappointing SI."
  • "Some seriously substandard teaching both frim the schools facility and brought in with no other link to the institution. Classes canceled for variously poor reasons. Large slow paced classes with too wide a mix of abilities. No sign of the director or any sence that students were being considered for the school. No air conditioning in the studios. Half days on Fridays. Very lame weekend and evening “activities” such as a trip to the local shops . All things considered it’s a jolly old time in a pretty old place, with mostly nice but disinterested and incompetent teachers. Not a course for those who are focused on improvement."
  • "The heat in dorms and studios"
  • "Only 2 weeks. And only 1 parent could watch the parent observation and small showcase at the end."
  • "Dorms were old (which is part of the experience) a few spiders and wasps in the classrooms, some showers didn’t work"
  • "Crowded studios, parking, lack of individualized corrections"

Suggested changes to program

  • "I would make it two weeks instead of one."
  • "Offer an option longer than 1 or 2 weeks. Add fans or portable A/C units to the residence halls."
  • "Too short! Next year will be eligible for the 2 week program. It’s a long way for not too many days but the experience is hard to compare with!"
  • "Smaller class sizes would be preferable."
  • "Give both parents the possibility to watch."
  • "Offer more food & snacks"
  • "Perhaps a better entry gauge or anything that would let the fairly large class be somewhat at the same spot in their dance development."
  • "That it was longer!"
  • "The quality of the teaching and the intensity and quantity of lessons."
  • "This may sound dumb but I would want there to be ice for water because during the program ice was reserved for only injuries even though there was a very big ice machine and in the very hot non-air conditioned studios the warm water that we had was not very refreshing."
  • "Longer, and a comprehensive evaluation after the program ends."
  • "Newer facilities"
  • "Bigger studios, more individualized corrections, pointe classes for girls already en pointe"

Culture of program

  • "Kind, warm, encouraging, inspiring."
  • "Supportive and inspiring. There was some competitiveness/cliqueiness amongst the dancers but mine was able to mostly avoid that."
  • "Warm environment with high level of talent and teaching. Detail oriented."
  • "Very supportive culture and nice dancers. It was a great experience!"
  • "Really supportive and fun culture."
  • "Inclusive and multicultural"
  • "It can feel a little elitist but not much time to make friends as the course is so intense & focus needs to be on the ballet"
  • "About half the kids had a summer camp mentality and half were there to train."
  • "Supportive, friendly, serious, developmental"
  • "Convivial"
  • "Most of the kids were extremely nice and welcoming as well as the teachers and houseparents. There was only a bit of drama towards the end of the program but kids forged lifelong relationships."
  • "Very supportive. Dancers from all over so it is very eye opening as well."
  • "Very good culture among students"
  • "Supportive, positive"
  • "All teachers and staff were very welcoming and caring."

Other comments

  • "This was our second year at White Lodge. The teaching is amazing. It’s a beautiful setting and idyllic for young dancers. Can’t say enough about it."
  • "It's a special experience and the pros of the historic setting outweigh the cons."
  • "My daughter got injured toward the end of the week and the physio team, house parents and staff took incredible care of her. She was able to finish the week and was still very included in classes even though she couldn’t dance. They were incredibly communicative with me. She still gained so much out of the last day and half she was sidelined."
  • "White Lodge is challenging to get to because it is a building in the middle of a large public park. It's a beautiful location and White Lodge itself is stunning but Ubers refuse to drive into the park. You have to preschedule a taxi from Royal's list they send out in their handbook in order to get to White Lodge."
  • "The location is amazing! It's a huge park with deer running around."
  • "It’s a bit unfair students are chosen from photographs & not through an audition process"
  • "Arrival and departure must be well planned. The location is beautiful, however, getting there is tricky!"
  • "My daughter didn't want to leave! I think what's so great too is that this isn't a program to feed into the year round so there is less drama/pressure because of that. Students are genuinely excited to be there and learning vs trying to show off like in some of the US SI's"
  • "I felt robbed!"
  • "It was such an amazing summer and I came back to my teachers telling me that I look great, came back better, and there is a clear difference from a few weeks ago."
  • "It is probably the best one my dancer has been to, and she has been to SAB and ABT- NY. She loved it, improved a lot in 2 weeks, and thought every single teacher was exceptional and nice."
  • "Very short, dorms were cool but not the newest, many international students which was cool"
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Age: 12
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Attended 2026
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Age: 13
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Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing
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Age: 12
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Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing
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Age: 15
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Attended 2026, Stayed In Housing
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Age: 11
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Attended 2026
4 out of 5 rating
Age: 15
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Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
4 out of 5 rating
Age: 14
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Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 15
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Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating
Age: 14
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Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
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Age: 13
Overall Rating

Attended 2025, Stayed In Housing
5 out of 5 rating