BALLET HELP DESK

Summer Intensive Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 234
Total Reviews: 1882

School of Philadelphia Ballet

Summer Intensive Reviews

General

Dancer age

1
1
3
7
4
8
3
1
1
1
1

First time at a summer intensive?

28
3

Year of SI

1
2
14
6
8

Weeks available

21
3
7

Weeks attended

1
3
1
21
2
3

Reviewer

6
25

Curriculum

Techniques taught

6
1
2
3
10
22

Partnering (based on age)

9
7
6
9

Dedicated men's program?

1
9
21

# of boys in level

8
23

Other dance genres

1
21
19
1
13
4
15
21

Quality of other classes

Not Helpful
1
1
6
11
12
Helpful

Injury Prevention

Strength classes?

22
1
1
3
1
9
1
2
10
1
5

PT offered?

1
6
24

Extra fee for PT?

14
17

Injury rate

12
13
6

Teaching

Who taught?

11
20

Guest teachers

2
1
28

Year-round teachers taught

10
15
6

Attention from teachers

Very Little
2
5
5
8
11
A Lot

Technique improved?

No
2
5
6
9
9
Yes - Tremendously

Studios

Dance floors

3
1
1
2
25
1
1

Studio space

Cramped
2
4
10
9
6
Lots of Space

Studio cleanliness

Dirty
8
15
8
Spotless

Schedule

Classes per day

3
16
12

Saturday classes

1
30

Saturday class duration

1
29
1

Leveling

Leveling

17
14

Leveling type

26
3
2

Did students move levels?

10
19

Leveling fair?

10
21

Students per class

7
13
5
3
1
2

Performance

Performance?

26
1
1
3

Rehearsals happened

7
15
7

Casting equitability

Uneven
5
3
5
5
11
Even

Rehearsals detracted from class?

Completely
3
4
8
16
Not At All

Housing - General

Housing provided

2
21
8

# of roommates

3
2
16

Bathrooms

1
20

Coed bathrooms

21

Air conditioning

21

Housing comment

  • "Boarders we’re allowed to sign out in groups of three or more."
  • "Bedrooms very small, subway and walk to studios took awhile."
  • "Always traveled in groups of 3+"
  • "No"
  • "N/a"
  • "Clean the laundry machines before using them (specifically under the rubber part, which was full of mold and hair). Plenty of places to go in the evening and close grocery stores. We took the subway to and from class. The RA’s number one concern was our safety. Toilet paper and shower curtains were provided. Fully equipped kitchen in the floor. Be prepared to find a few cockroaches. Our food was from Greek from Greece, it was okay, but limited protein options for vegetarians."
  • "Weekly meetings in the dorm where all info and updates were given (not emailed to parents)"
  • "There is no actual cafeteria. Food is brought in and they distribute it in this room near the lobby. It is decent quality but perhaps a bit repetitive."
  • "The area of town wasn’t the best"
  • "Students lived in suites. 2 per room, 4 per suite. There is a bathroom, microwave & refrigerator in each suite which was nice. Housing was assigned by age."
  • "Very stark and basic, had to purchase trash cans, cleaning supplies, cups, etc. AC sometimes broke, outdated dorms, not very welcoming, no nice group gathering place. More casual evening activities (movies, games, etc) in addition to paid weekend excursions would be helpful."
  • "This year it was at Drexel University dorm."
  • "Drexel U's dorm shared with other programs. They were noisier and triggered fire alarm a could of times."
  • "The housing was at Drexel University, and while the suite was large and comfortable, there was a significant roach problem."
  • "dorm halls have shifted throughout years- may be different next year so i advise to look up the hall your staying at"
  • "The meal plan did not include any breakfasts, nor did it include lunch on Sundays."

Where did they stay?

3
3
4

Housing - Supervision

Curfew

21

Curfew reasonable?

1
20

Room check

21

How strict were dorms?

12
2
6
1

Infraction handling

7
12
1
3

Housing - Cleanliness

Laundry available

21

Laundry free

3
2
16

Housing cleanliness

Dirty
3
6
11
1
Spotless

Cleaning required

21

Meal Plan

Meal plan

21

Food quality

Gross
2
6
8
5
Excellent

Enough food

21

Dietary needs?

16
5

Specific needs

  • "No dairy"
  • "Pescatarian"
  • "Vegetarian"
  • "Vegetarian, dairy free. I didn’t have issues but there were limited gluten free options"
  • "Vegetarian and Gluten Free"

Dietary options

Limited
2
2
1
Lots

Activities

Weeknight activities

14
7

Weekend outings

31

Attended weekend outings

6
5
20

Favorite

Repeated Responses:
  • "Ocean City, NJ beach day" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "NYC to see a Broadway show"
  • "Dinner Cruise and Ocean City Boardwalk/Beach Day"
  • "Beach trip"
  • "The dinner cruise"
  • "Theater"
  • "Ocean city, NJ and king of Prussia mall"
  • "Ocean City!!!!! Dinner Cruise!!!!! Although I did not go to Moulin Rouge, my roommates loved it."
  • "A dinner cruise and seeing a Broadway show"
  • "Ocean City"
  • "Sunset Cruise"
  • "The Broadway musical, Moulin Rouge"
  • "Broadway show and class"
  • "Beach and mall"
  • "Broadway show & class, the mall"
  • "NYC Broadway and dance with the cast"
  • "Broadway Experience including the show, a dance class and dinner."
  • "Broadway experience."
  • "Dinner cruise"
  • "dinner cruise"
  • "Tough choice, but probably the Broadway trip."
  • "Philadelphia Cruise"

Least favorite

  • "n/a"
  • "The phillies game"
  • "Baseball game"
  • "NA"
  • "They were all worth it!"
  • "Ny trip returned way later than scheduled (around 1145) and class was at the normal time the next day"
  • "All were fun!"
  • "Shopping mall, beach day was in heavy rain and not postponed."
  • "None."
  • "Beach day got rained in... but would have been nicer if the weather was good."
  • "prussia mall, fun but kinda a waste to spend 75 dollars on the bus there"

Logistics

Quality of handbook

Spotty
1
6
13
11
Comprehensive

Program communication

Limited
4
7
6
9
5
Comprehensive

Transportation

1
1
1
4
17
1
1
2
3

Neighborhood safety

Not Safe
4
14
11
2
Very Safe

General Comments

Overall recommendation

Definitely Not
6
3
6
5
11
Absolutely

Best aspect

  • "Despite the small number of men (this is a smaller intensive than some overall), they still maintained the men's program and my son thought the teaching was outstanding, both guest and regular faculty."
  • "The amount of progress made"
  • "Being taught by teachers with different dance backgrounds"
  • "Increased confidence"
  • "The quality and amount of classes."
  • "You get a true feel for the program"
  • "The housing"
  • "Roommates"
  • "My dancer became more fluid and stronger. Movements were refined."
  • "The faculty was amazing! It is hard to pick just one thing, but they put the intense in intensive. Going 9-6 each day was hard but extremely rewarding. Many Individual corrections were given. When dealing with an injury, the PT was great to have and every teacher was super understanding, caring, and always checked up on you. Some levels were allowed to sleep in on certain days! Guest artist talks were informative and inspirational."
  • "The training was hard but improving and the different teachers with different styles offered a diversity of techniques."
  • "Your experience all of the teachers."
  • "Learning from the guest artists"
  • "Enjoying big city living"
  • "A couple teachers were very good"
  • "Dancer says the freedom and friends made"
  • "Friends/roommates"
  • "Students were leveled by ability, not by age. There was a wide range of ages in every level. Students did move levels after the initial placement class as well. My dancer felt very challenged & pushed. Days were long, around 9-5 with only a one hour break for lunch. She loved many of the year round teachers as well as the guest teachers. While I was worried about the subway and the huge amount of freedom given to the dancers, it was one of the best aspects of the program. She loved the independence, learned to navigate the subway with friends, and truly enjoyed exploring the city with friends during evenings & weekends. Overall it was a very cool experience offering growth on so many levels. Quality of the food I think was better than other intensives as well. They did not use the college dining hall, healthy dinners were catered and served buffet style at the dorms. Lunch was catered as well and delivered to the studio. They were responsible for their own breakfast which was fine too. While we didn't use PT, it was offered & accessible for dancers to sign up for a session on-site."
  • "The other dancers, a diverse and friendly (for the most part) group."
  • "Since she was in a pre-pro class, sometimes she could take classes with the second company members and professional dancers."
  • "Exposure to both Vaganova and neo-classical styles. Balanced faculty (both seasoned teachers and current company principal dancer)."
  • "The size of the program is very nice. It's large enough that you can find your friend group, but small enough that you don't feel like a number in a cattle call."
  • "Quality of teachers, corrections, attention and productive feedback, guest faculty, positive atmosphere"
  • "Variety of rep taught before they began learning the performance rep. Complexity of pieces chosen for the final showcase. Even the lowest levels performed a classical piece, a contemporary piece, and a character piece while the upper levels performed three separate scenes from La Esmerelda with full pas de deux, solos, and codas as well as supporting casts. A truly exceptional undertaking in just a couple of weeks."
  • "we were local"
  • "teaching"
  • "Attention to and correction of technique"
  • "Instructor quality, individualized attention, performance opportunity"
  • "Teachers (guest and year-round faculty) brought an infectious energy to the studio. It wasn't about competing or conforming - beyond the reasonable expectations of the art form - but about challenging yourself to be slightly better each day. Mistakes were handled with grace; at moments, the correct pressure was applied to get dancers into gear, but because of the overall atmosphere, we rarely needed that. Every teacher saw us as an individual first and foremost and it was refreshing that that thought process guided what they did with us each day."
  • "The exceptional SPB Faculty and SPBSI performances"

Least liked about program

  • "Administrative staff responsiveness to email, very late in providing details prior to start of SI."
  • "They had to provide their own breakfast"
  • "My daughter was at a disadvantage only being there for week 2 in learning rep choreography that most other dancers already knew from the week before and instructor was hard on her about it."
  • "It was a COVID year and the time of the intensive was terrible (it has since been changed to a better time of day)"
  • "My child was in a level that was supposed to be split in 2, but several times the levels were combined with 35+ students"
  • "Highly disorganized and attention focused on only a few dancers"
  • "The leveling"
  • "Wrong level; was not challenged; did not grow as a dancer"
  • "The leveling. She and a number of others were leveled lower than her skills. Classes were “boring” and she learned “nothing new”. While I am her mother and biased as such, I do know where her current level of training and skills are. This did not meet it. They gave her a 50% merit scholarship but leveled her down. It makes no sense."
  • "The class size was on the larger end, especially level 6 (40 of us total, 20 in 6A and 20 in 6B). The food wasn’t great and we had to make our own breakfast."
  • "Some long breaks in between classes, for example 2 hours."
  • "Too many guests teachers."
  • "Lack of early communication"
  • "level placement. There is a 'junior' program within the SI that wasn't advertised in that manner"
  • "They told a few dancers they were going to get moved (as it was clear they were in too low a level) and they never ended up moving them."
  • "Class was way too big- 33 people. After 5 weeks they didn’t even know my dancer’s name. The end performance showcased a handful of students. Very disappointing"
  • "Extremely large class size/favoritism"
  • "Class size was enormous, 32 in level 6 and similar in level 5. Four was smaller. Level 7 & and pre-pro were much smaller and really focused on featuring the advanced dancers in the final performance. There was not a lot of individual attention given in class in level 6 but the instruction was still excellent & my dancer feels as though she made tremendous progress. Evening out the numbers in the levels would have made it fairer for all dancers to have the opportunity for more individualized corrections. Also, there were VERY FEW boys. They only had partnering a few times & I believe there were 6 girls to each boy."
  • "Ovweheard one of the female staff in charge rudely criticizing a dancer with eating disorder history for eating chips, and commented on her food choices in general. Dangerous and irresponsible. A person who does this should not be with teen dancers in any capacity unless they’re willing to get trained in eating disorders and learn not to ever speak to a person this way, particularly someone you’re in authority over."
  • "Lower level classes may not have been very selective."
  • "That the school director was absent for an international exchange program for a free weeks."
  • "The communication and organization of the program - both the residential and the instructional aspects - was poor. On the residential side, there was very little in the way of evening programming, and the RAs were pretty disinterested in the students. Compared to other intensives, the RAs just didn't seem to enjoy being there. On the dance side, communication leading up to the program was sparse. I had to reach out to find out when info would be coming. Then when it came time for the end-of-program performance, they released tickets via email at 10:35 on a Saturday, did not tell us in advance it would be coming, and then the tickets for both shows were sold out by 2 pm. They apparently have been doing some construction and the space available for the performance is quite small, but they didn't think to limit the number of tickets people could purchase so that more families could get them, and they also didn't think to look for a different performance space. They also could have just shifted to an observation day. Many people were locked out of tickets, so they added an extra performance, giving people just two days to switch their schedules around. It was a bit of a disaster."
  • "Not sure, walking to the lunch location"
  • "Contemporary classes were uneven"
  • "The use of a seperate studio and the students walking to the main studios daily. It is not a great area of Philadelphia and a lot of homeless. I did not like my young daughter at the time walking back and forth. A lot of down time and unsupervised."
  • "my dorm room all the plumbing was messed up but that was just my room and it was still like fine"
  • "Traveling between studios"
  • "Daily use of the inner-city subway amidst rather serious drug-related physical and mental health problems throughout the city."
  • "Scheduling did prove difficult. While the software was flexible enough that we could operate it, class assignments would sometimes change a few minutes (sometimes 5) before the class started. As a result, it was sometimes a guessing game where you were supposed to be. Thankfully teachers were very understanding, but the unsettling changes as you're trying to get your bearings were not beneficial. Due to soon-to-be-alleviated space restrictions. those scheduling challenges often played out with oddly large breaks in the day. This didn't particularly detract from the overall program for me, but it did interrupt how you planned keeping yourself warm or ready for classes and rehearsals (which did get difficult towards the show)."
  • "Nothing"

Suggested changes to program

  • "The program has probably changed since a new principal came on board, so I can’t speak to this."
  • "Offer different transportation..maybe bus? The subway was very sketchy."
  • "I would have liked feedback from the teachers on how my dancer did (maybe they do that for higher levels)"
  • "Transpiration chaperone for longer than 2 days."
  • "very little pointe work"
  • "The way they level students"
  • "Correct placement on day one; smaller class size"
  • "The school needs to communicate sooner and more thoroughly with parents. Many things were last minute and needed clarification."
  • "The food options."
  • "A more consistent daily schedule in the aspect of ending times for the day."
  • "I would prefer an observation class instead of the full show."
  • "More partners"
  • "Assessing level placement at the beginning of the program."
  • "Home studio dancers get generously leveled and the opposite seemed to occur with some of the visiting students"
  • "Smaller class sizes, not giving preferential treatment to students who attend the program year round"
  • "Class size was massive, once they combined 5/6 to have 56 kids in one room. Classes in the performance garage didn’t have enough barres we had to use the wall. Impersonal and discouraging… one teacher told us she didn’t like us at all but loved ballet"
  • "Smaller levels & more individualized corrections."
  • "The staff who was rudely shaming a dancer’s food choices. The lack of casual gathering place and social options on weeknights. Housing closer to studios , but the dancer did learn how to navigate subways in a big city which was empowering."
  • "N/A"
  • "Consistent attention from the school director."
  • "They need better general program administration."
  • "On performance days, allow more time in between class time and actual performance for dancers to reset and prep. Limit ticket purchase to 1-2 per dancer."
  • "Have Davit teach more"
  • "Organization and better classes."
  • "handbook says you only need black leo’s but you can wear colors on the weekend and for showcase"
  • "Dorm proximity to studio"
  • "Overall, the program is really finding its stride. I've attended many years in the past and found this year to be the most enjoyable and well run. The only change I could see making is adding partnering classes more often. Some students (myself included) haven't had comprehensive partnering prior to the program and would benefit from more consistent training to grow accustomed to partnering mechanics."
  • "Nothing"

Culture of program

  • "Supportive, excellent training."
  • "Intense, in the right way"
  • "My daughter felt many of the dancers, at least at levels 7 and 8, weren't really happy to be there..didnt have the same passion for dance she has. The teachers were mostly very nice and caring."
  • "My dancer had fun and made a few friends. She thought some teachers were nice and others were "scary" (but she thinks the same of her home studio and she was only 10). Everything seemed age/level appropriate."
  • "Very serious, excellent personal corrections, encouraging."
  • "Negative environment"
  • "Unsure"
  • "Positive"
  • "There were no issues with the other kids. No issues with body shaming etc. it sue feel supportive and the teachers gave good corrections"
  • "Supportive and caring. The dancers were kind, dorm life was wonderful and so many life long friendships were formed. It was very hard, but everyone was supportive and right there with you!"
  • "Everyone in the intensive is very welcoming and nice and you will always feel safe and appreciated in the studios."
  • "It’s quite a negative environment. Favoritism with no rhyme or reason causing dancers to tip toe through their day"
  • "Healthy"
  • "The lower level placements were all year round students"
  • "Friendly dancers and most of the teachers were nurturing."
  • "Positive and professional but big and impersonal. Obviously very talented and great teachers but hard to give personal corrections"
  • "Toxic"
  • "Very professional!"
  • "Great friendly dancers, great dance teachers, some really lovely RAs, but a lack of programming for residents/not much thought into helping them connect after classes. And some intimidating and rude behavior towards certain dancers from one if the heads of the program."
  • "Very caring and attentive."
  • "Nurturing and positive."
  • "They say they have a focus on injury prevention and wellness in their materials, but we didn't see that necessarily. Many of the wellness classes were canceled at the last minute. Generally, the program is pretty serious-minded. The caliber of the students is high, but there isn't snobbery among the levels."
  • "Positive, professional, and friendly/ welcoming!"
  • "Supportive and friendly"
  • "Not very positive enviroment"
  • "serious intensive, calm dorms"
  • "Excellent"
  • "Positive, encouraging, and professional"
  • "The culture definitely varied from level to level. Most of that was due to maturity but, generally, the culture was a very hard working one. Very few students exhibited a blase attitude I've experienced in programs before and it was refreshing to be surrounded by so many dancers pushing for that next level. Many were absolutely lovely and you could start to understand why each dancer had been selected for the program by the end. The teachers were warm and I didn't experience any of the condescension I've experienced at other programs."
  • "Very encouraging"

Other comments

  • "If your dancer is strictly a classic ballet technique dancer, this is a great intensive for you. If you're looking for other experiences, she loved the modern and jazz classes, but most of the other dancers did not. They were clearly only there for the ballet."
  • "We came back this summer so I'll review this years after she is done."
  • "I wish we had received information much sooner, because it made planning difficult. When we did finally receive it, it was very thorough and further communication was excellent. For younger students in housing (maybe 12-14), a parent orientation regarding housing/transportation/studio space would have been extremely helpful."
  • "No"
  • "N/a"
  • "I wasn’t impressed. Neither was my daughter. She wont audition for them again."
  • "Some guest artist we had were Tiit Helimets, Ana Novoa, Rolando Sarabia, and Jacqueline Callahan."
  • "Teachers and administrators gossip about the dancers. They even share private, personal information."
  • "Pointe work is not allowed until level 4"
  • "The academy has undergone a lot of change in leadership, and perhaps they need some time to regain their footing. The general level of talent was not what we expected."
  • "This was my dancer’s least favorite SI out of 3. And she’s not one to complain. Which makes me wonder if it was worse than she made it out to be."
  • "It was clearly a moneymaker to fund facility upgrades. Do not recommend. Faculty didn’t know anyone’s name in level 6 by the end of 5 weeks. favoritism/year round acceptance was based largely on body type."
  • "I would recommend this program most for very advanced dancers. Advanced dancers seemed to have more opportunity both with smaller class size as well as casting in the performance. I'd also recommend this for dancers really wanting to explore life in a big city! Mine loved that aspect but others may not!"
  • "Since Davit Kalapatyan took over the school in 2022, it seems that the culture of school had shifted for the better. Faculty are not allowed to mention body weight or figure of students. There is very positive atmosphere."
  • "Mentioning body or weight was prohibited both for teachers and dancers. Packed Lunches (that you can order the week before) and dinner catering were healthy and high quality."
  • "They are moving to a new, larger studio next year which sounds like everything will be in house. Personal attention and feedback in a positive manner makes all the difference!"
  • "The experience was far superior to more "prestigious" intensives attended. Highly recommend for advanced dancers."
  • "Wait until you are older. Not truly for younger ages. ai could see it being benefical for the 14/15 yr old age group."
  • "helped my turns a lot"
  • "My daughter enjoyed the SPB SI so much she wants to return next year."
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