BALLET HELP DESK

Full-Time Training Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 98
Total Reviews: 352

Ballet West

Full-Time Reviews

General

Who is Reviewing?

2
3
5

Program

10

Season Attended

1
3
2
4

# Of Levels In School

  • "Academy levels 1-8, and the professional training division has 3 levels above the academy"
  • "The Beginning Division contains 3 levels; A B, and C. The Student Division contains 8 levels; 1 to 8. The Professional Training Division includes 3 women's levels; PTD1, PTD2, and PTD 3, and 2 men's levels; Mens1 and Mens2. The highest level of PTD is the Trainee; including both men and women."
  • "PTD Men has two levels at BWA. Women have three levels."
  • "There are 3 divisions - Academy, PTD, and Trainee. There are 8 levels of the academy program and 3 levels of PTD with level 3 being the highest, followed by the trainees."
  • "There's up to level 8 for community/after school classes, Professional Training Division (1,2,3), Trainees (usually 2 year program), and technically BW II is considered part of Ballet West Academy even though it's tuition free and a paid/contracted position."
  • "PTD has levels 1-3. Trainee 2 years."
  • "PTD Men had only 2 levels"
  • "PTD 1-3 and then trainee"
  • "After school through level 8, then PTD 1,2,3 for women, PTD 1,2 for men, then trainee. Based on age and school grade generally PTD 3 & trainee are postgrad."
  • "primary, Student levels 1-8 (rec), PTD 1-3, Trainee, Ballet West 2"

Dancer Age

1
1
4
4

Hours of Dance Each Week

5
1

Gender

8
2

Company Affliated?

10

Was Student Scholarshipped?

9
1

Please Describe Scholarship

  • "Partial tuition scholarship. Required to fulfill more service/volunteer hours based on scholarship."

Years At School

4
5

Full time or after school?

6

Curriculum

Days Per Week

10

Classes Per Day

5
4
1

Weekend Classes?

10

Weekend Schedule

9
1

Students Per Class

3
6
1

Weekly Repertoire or Variations?

10

Pointe Classes Per Week

1
4
3
2

Live Music in Technique Class?

10

Dedicated Men's Program?

10

Men Taught by Male Teacher?

6

Men Taught Batterie?

2
4

Boys In Level

3
4
1
2

Separate Technique Class for Boys

1
9

Techniques Taught

1
10
1

Technique Teacher Rotation

7
3

Did School Director Teach?

1
6
3

Classroom Corrections

5
4
1

Attention From Teachers

Very Little
2
4
4
A Lot

Quality of Instruction

Poor
4
6
Excellent

Did Technique Improve?

Not at all
1
5
4
Tremendously

Curriculum Comments

  • "We had technique every day, and the level 7-8s in the academy were combined due to closeness in maturity and small class size. We had Pilates once per week instead of pointe, and pointe classes 4 times during the week. Repertoire on pointe was on Saturdays. We had contemporary once a week, also on Saturdays. Throughout the year we had jazz, flamenco, character, and Irish dance on a rotating schedule throughout the year."
  • "Daily 2 hr technique class, followed by 1 hr of pointe. Other classes included were contemporary 2 to 3 times a week, Flamanco weekly, pilates weekly, character 2 to 3 times a week, Pas de Duex 2 to 3 times a week, Variations weekly and Repertoire 2 times a week."
  • "Technique, Partnering, Contemporary, Character and Flamenco were year long classes that have exams at the end of the year. There is one class that is "open" to rotate different genres through for students to gain experience."
  • "For the PTD program, there are 4 classes per day with one 15 minute break; technique (1 hr 45 mins) followed by 2 supplementary classes (1 hr each), which included pointe, variations/repertoire, pas de deux, contemporary, flamenco, character, and pilates. Occasionally, pilates or character was first, followed by the other two classes. The technique taught was pretty general classical, with variation between teachers. Jeff Rogers is extremely European, while Katherine Lawerence was Russian trained, for example. PTD 1 and 2 have their classes from 1:30-5:30 to allow the younger students to go to school in the mornings. PTD 3 had an age range from 14-19, with the majority being around 18, so classes take place at the same time as the trainees, from 9:30-1:30. Saturdays began at 10:30 with technique and one additional class, followed by a 30 minute lunch break and rehearsal until 4:30 for all levels of PTD."
  • "For female dancers - Technique and Pointe daily, plus Pas, Rep, Character, Contemporary, Flamenco, and Conditioning rotated in throughout the week, Mon-Sat."
  • "Every day 1 hr 45 technique (center en pointe 2x) Pointe class 3x/week Contemporary x2 week Conditioning 1-2x week Character 1x week Repertoire 2x week (1 hr Thurs, 2.5 Sat) Pas de deux 1x week"
  • "conditioning, flamenco, character, pointe, technique, variations, rep, contemporary"

Partnering

Frequency of Partnering Class

4
4
1
1

Partner Ratio

7
2

Who Taught?

9

How Much Partnering Improved

No
1
3
5
Tremendously

Quality of Pas Teaching

Poor
1
2
6
Excellent

How Were Corrections Given?

7
2

Description of Partnering Class

  • "General partnering including lifts"
  • "Instructor for PTD Level 1 partnering was very careful to consider men's developing bodies and to avoid showy/advanced lifts for the sake of doing them in favor of preserving the health and wellness of the male dancer's bodies. Much appreciated as a parent."
  • "In the first half of the year, the PTD 3 girls took class with all PTD men. Usually, PTD 1 girls take partnering with PTD 1 men, and the same for PTD 2, but because there is no men’s PTD 3 level, and because the men come in the afternoons, the PTD 3 partnering class was on Saturdays. There are so many men in the program here that there were actually 2 boys to 1 girl at the beginning. Unfortunately, because there were so many boys and because some of them were not as experienced with partnering, while the girls were, there was an issue with some girls getting injured as a result of some lifts. This led to the PTD 1 men getting kicked out of our Saturday pas class. From then on, things were better but with the amount of people being gone on Saturdays for auditions and those who were injured, the numbers of people and boy-girl ratio was constantly changing. Often, pas would be cancelled due to extra rehearsals on Saturdays for the shows. Jeff Rogers is a wonderful pas teacher but unfortunately there were so many other circumstances that made the class very inconsistent. Lifts were very minimal, the majority of the class was turns and promenades. As someone who has only taken partnering at summer intensive before and who will be entering a trainee program next year, I still feel somewhat behind on my partnering skills. I will say, if you are cast to do a pas in any of the academy shows, you will be getting a lot more partnering experience. Learning and rehearsing pas de deuxs this year taught me more than any of our “regular” classes did."
  • "weekly pas class plus rep class with partnering"
  • "Taught by the men's program director. Tutus owrn. Specific partners assigned and girls mostly worked with same partner unless absent. Exam at end of year."
  • "Two levels of men to three levels of women"
  • "Combined class with PTD 2 Girls and PTD 2 Boys"
  • "Pas class"
  • "taught by the director of the men's program. Overall, the class was very good, my dancer improved and learned a lot."

Additional Comments

  • "No"
  • "Dancer grew a lot during the regular weekly partnering classes and was able to perform skills he did not have prior to this academic year."
  • "See above"
  • "Often, dancers were singled out and yelled at by the instructor if he felt they weren't working hard enough or not being respectful during class."

Other Classes

Other Dance Styles

1
10
1
2
1
1
5
2
1
1

Other Class Quality

Poor
1
4
3
2
Excellent

Contemporary Offered?

10

Types of Contemporary Classes Taught

3
5
7
10

Contemporary Quality

Poor
1
5
4
Excellent

Master Classes?

10

Master Classes Description

  • "Instructors often came from universities around the area, like the University of Utah. Classes were open to any dancer but discounted for BW students."
  • "Mostly ballet"
  • "Various guest instructors were brought in as well as company members and directors taught classes."
  • "A few classes here and there, some with University of Utah instructors, other school directors, and other styles such as hip hop and irish. They were mostly optional and typically on Saturdays after our 6 hour rehearsal day, so not many students took them. One class with the artistic director was offered as a “Master Class,” which academy students still had to pay for. Was not super impressed by that."
  • "Master classes were offered almost monthly from the AD, company dancers, or guests"
  • "Several were offered throughout the year with extra participation fee. Taught by guest artists and artistic staff."
  • "guest artists and visiting teachers"
  • "Master classes with the company AD and visiting artists"
  • "2-3 times per year, master classes were offered by guest artists from other ballet companies, the Ballet West artistic director, or other guests."

Strength & Conditioning

Physical Training Offered?

10

Physical Training Types

8
5
1
3
2

Physical Training Schedule

9
1

Were Trainers Certified?

7
3

Physical Training Quality

Poor
1
4
2
3
Excellent

Strength & Conditioning Comments

  • "I would have liked to see all levels have pilates as it prevents injury. Due to scheduling, this was not possible for the PTD Men."
  • "The entire program is based off of one woman who teaches the same pilates curriculum to every class, every year. The classes were not very difficult and I don’t feel they were very beneficial. This particular teacher is leaving this year so it will be interesting to see what happens. Additionally, weight lifting is not offered for the men, occasionally they had men’s conditioning which was not enough."

Injuries/Health/ Mental Health

Are Doctors Available?

3
2
3
2

How Parents Notified?

5
1
4

How Treatment Obtained?

  • "Go to PT to handle or refer out"
  • "School has an affiliation with Intermountain Health. If students are injured, they are taken to the appropriate level of care. Student's personal insurance is used."
  • "Through in-house PT and Athletic Trainer and referred to specialist in same medical group"
  • "PT on staff"
  • "We had to find it on our own. School abandoned my student"
  • "See the PT on site"
  • "there was a Physical Therapist on site"

PT Available?

10

Was There a Recovery Plan?

5
2
3

Describe Recovery Plan

  • "Weekly visits and schedule for recovery"
  • "Students can see a physical therapist on a first come, first served basis. Unfortunately this led to students showing up multiple hours early to see the PT during times when other students really needed it. However, when you were able to see PT it was very helpful and they encouraged healthy recovery and maintenance going forward."
  • "Treatment and recovery plan was coordinated effort with in-house PTs, athletic trainer, and doctor. Faculty received details as well so they were aware of the recovery plan."
  • "We were on our own."
  • "There wasn't one; my dancer had to figure out what to do next, and we went to urgent care. Once we better understood her injury, we shared the plan with the PT and teachers. My dancer felt more punished because of her injury than supported."

Mental Health Therapists Available?

3
6
1

Were Students Given Fat Talk?

10

Staff Made Comments About Bodies?

6
3
1

Were Students Weighed?

9
1

Was "Coded Language" Used?

4
5
1

Additional Comments

  • "I will say that some teachers seemed kind of hypocritical/inconsistent—sometimes they seemed very understanding of injuries and other times it seemed like they were telling students to push through when they shouldn’t. I was thankfully never injured in my time at BW, but I did have some struggles with mental health which in my experience the teachers and staff were incredibly kind and understanding about. All of my “mental health days” were counted as excused absences, which I’m very grateful for as the time off really was much-needed. One teacher in particular would check in with me fairly regularly to make sure I was okay, which was helpful to me in a very difficult time."
  • "BWA has a preferred Sports Psychologist that is close to the dorms and program for students who may need/want those services. Students are not docked for injury or appointments needed during the training day."
  • "Appreciated that the in-house PTs are integrated so well and can refer to a specialist that works directly with Ballet West."
  • "The school looks great on paper, but if they do not like your student, they do not follow the plan. They demonstrated over two years they do not care about my dancer"
  • "My daughter was very aware of several students who had eating disorders and students who had very unhealthy eating habits. Teachers didn't talk about EDs and obviously praised and favored the girls who are considered ballet thin. The academy does not focus on mental health at all. If your student is not well-liked by the director, they will be miserable here. It was obvious to my student who was liked and who wasn't - she was somewhere in the middle."

Performances: Winter Show/ Nutcracker

Performance Opportunities

1
5
4

School Winter Show?

10

Company or School Show?

5
5

Cast in Winter Show?

1
9

How Chosen

3
6

Winter Show Role

2
6
1

Were You Paid?

9

Rehearsal Impact on Classes

1
1
3
1

Rehearsal Hours

6

Performance: Ballet Season

Cast in Company Productions?

4
6

Kind of Part Given?

5
1

How Chosen

1
1
2
2

Was Casting Fair?

3
3

Did Rehearsals Impact School Schedule?

1
2
3

Rehearsal Hours

4

Perfomance Opportunities

  • "2 showcases (winter and spring) 2 contemporary showcases,"
  • "PTD students don’t really get to perform in the company productions, except for Nutcracker (which is optional and if they do, their parts are very minimal) Some were chosen to perform in Beauty and the Beast, which is part of the family series, meaning company dancers don’t perform in it and lead roles are done by Ballet West II and some trainees. These dancers were primarily chosen by height. For academy shows, all students are cast. They put on a winter shoe (late January), and contemporary showcase, and a spring show. This year, winter show was Vespri (PTDs only) and La Fille Mal Gardee Suite (entire academy). The spring show was The Sleeping Beauty Suite, with the trainees performing Allegro Brillante and Airs de Ballet. Each of these shows had three performances with 3 different casts (A, B, and C) The artistic director, Adam Sklute, only watches A cast performances, which are generally Saturday nights. There is a contemporary specific performing group by audition only called “Current” that is new this year and the last. We rehearsed on Friday nights for 2 hours and 4 different choreographers were brought in to set different pieces on us. These were performed in the contemporary showcase along with the rest of the academy, including the trainees."
  • "Academy students can audition and perform in up to 2 company productions per season."
  • "Contemporary showcase Winter showcase Spring showcase Nutcracker (student role in company production)"
  • "Show are the Winter, Spring, and Contemporary Showcases not the company Nutcracker or season rep of the professional company. All students and PTD’s are cast and dance in the Showcases."
  • "Winter Showcase, Contemporary Showcase, Spring Show. You can also audition to be in the Company's production of Nutcracker, but the parts are not great and mostly for very short/younger kids"

Were You Paid?

6

Competition

School Does Competitions?

1
9

Competitions Required?

9

How Many Compete?

1
1
1

% of Students Who Performed

  • "Not a high percentage. I was the only one in level 7-8 who participated in YAGP"
  • "Very small. Only a few students choose to participate."
  • "In PTD 3, there were 4 out 15 students who competed at YAGP."
  • "less than 5%"
  • "Only a few dancers"
  • "only a handful of selected students"
  • "unsure"
  • "Unsure but think a small amount"
  • "maybe 5%"

How Chosen?

  • "You have to write an essay to the school directors stating why the competition is important and helpful to your training."
  • "Students audition for a panel of staff and are told if they are representing the school."
  • "An audition is held but seems mostly for show"
  • "not sure"
  • "Email seeking students interested. Then selection process not sure since our dancer did not compete"
  • "instructor approved"
  • "express interest and then selected by staff"
  • "Unsure"
  • "it's by invitation only. Some students who weren't exclusively invited still did the competitions, but had to compete as independent because the school didn't want them representing Ballet West"

Competitions Cost Extra?

  • "Fees included whatever your chosen coach requested and the actual YAGP fee. You could either rent a costume from the company or buy your own."
  • "Yes. Costume, Studio Space, Coaching Fee."
  • "In addition to registration fees, there is an administrative fee between $200 and $400 depending on how many pieces you are competing. Coaching is done exclusively outside of class and is $85 per hour. Choreography for contemporary solos ranges from $350 to $500 depending on the choreographer. Costumer rental is between $50-$100 (sometimes students get to use old company costumes which are all absolutely stunning)"
  • "not sure"
  • "Yes private instruction fees and comp fee"
  • "students pays fees"
  • "yes, but daughter did not participate so unsure of the exact costs"
  • "Probably"
  • "yes"

Separate Competition Rehearsals?

9

Competition Interfered With Training?

  • "I think it added value. I trained with a principal dancer for my contemporary piece and it helped with my stamina and understanding of contemporary performance."
  • "Student said absent students did not distract from classes."
  • "N/A, did not participate in competitions this year."
  • "NA"
  • "Did not add or detract. Was totally separate"
  • "unsure"
  • "N/A"
  • "No impact"
  • "N/A - I did not do competitions while at BWA"

Communication

Formal Orientation?

1
1
8

Handboook & Paperwork

1
5
3
1

Quality of Communication?

Poor
2
1
4
2
1
Excellent

Who Received Communication?

1
9

Exams

Formal Exam?

10

Written Feedback?

4
6

Exam Adjudicator

10

Exam Rubrics Clear?

1
1
5
1
2

Who Attends Exam Meeting?

6
1
3

Well Prepared For Exam?

Not at all
2
5
3
Completely

How Heavily Did Exams Weigh in Promotions

Not at all
1
3
1
5
Heavily

School Culture

How Supported Did Student Feel By Staff?

Not
1
1
2
1
5
Completely

How Supportive Were Students of One Another?

Not
1
5
4
Completely

Describe School Culture

  • "Competitive, professional, diligent"
  • "Supportive and family like"
  • "Produces well rounded students."
  • "Encouraging, sometimes secretive, supportive, happy:)"
  • "Positive environment with excellent training"
  • "Fabulous supportive environment"
  • "baised, preferential, cliques, favoritism"
  • "strong technique taught"
  • "Serious, rigorous, friendly"
  • "old-school ballet, favoritism, competitive, not nurturing"

Placement Notification Timing

Repeated Responses:
  • "May" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "Near the end of the semester after exams, so during May"
  • "End of year"
  • "Usually after exams and some meetings take place. Usually the last month of the school year."
  • "May for PTD placement. There was a bit of a fiasco this year with trainee audition results not being sent out until April 1st (the internal audition was March 2, already very late) Many dancers were very upset about not knowing if they had a place here or if they would need to accept other offers with deadlines prior to April 1st."
  • "End of the school year"
  • "Mid May"
  • "Mid year this year, but end of year the year prior"
  • "mid May typically"

How Dancer Was Notified

1
5

Dancer Had Mentor?

2
4

Mentoring Details

  • "One on one meetings every couple months in addition to sessions about post grad planning"
  • "Dancer's main level daily technique teacher was mentor to her level and held fall student meeting to discuss goals, etc"
  • "The men's director was an amazing mentor to my male dancer. But he was the only one."
  • "Primary Teacher had open office hours to discuss progress and ask questions about auditions etc. This was only this specific teacher it was not done for all levels"
  • "Mentoring was lacking this year."
  • "There was no mentoring, even when my dancer asked for it; it did not happen. Only the director decides which dancers get private lessons and mentoring, it's not an option for everyone."

Overall School Culture

Lord of the Flies
2
2
3
3
Warm & Inclusive

School Outcomes

Is Student In Upper Levels?

1
3

Highest Levels of School?

1
1
1
1
5

How Many Promoted Internally to Bridge Level

2
1
1
1
1
2

How Many Come From Outside to Bridge Level?

1
1
1

Where Graduates Who Do Not Get Bridge Level Go

4
5

How Many Left and Went to College?

2
1
1
1
1
3

Career Support

3
1
3
2

Describe How School Helped

  • "Privates, studio time, videography"
  • "The teachers were very helpful in finding placement if you asked them for it. I asked my primary teacher this year if she had recommendations on where I should audition and she gave me a very thoughtful list with extremely honest advice (saying that I should look for an offer higher than trainee elsewhere and take it if I get it, because dancers typically have to go through 2 years of trainee and 2 years of Ballet West II no matter what here.) I was also in communication with the trainee director about my chances at getting trainee here and the pros and cons of other schools. He was also extremely honest and helpful, giving wonderful feedback about all of the schools I asked about, and again saying he wants to place dancers where they will have the best fit even if it isn’t Ballet West. He even reached out to the director at another company for me where I had an offer and had a discussion with them about where I should go and what would be the best fit. There isn’t a formal method of placing dancers here but the teachers have a wealth of knowledge to share and assist when asked."
  • "The school did not care about my dancer one bit"
  • "Could chat after class if time allows, try to get a meeting, or ask for a letter of recommendation. There is no formal mentorship program."
  • "They did not. Only two girls moved from PTD3 to Trainee this year out of a class of 20+ female students"

Building & Surrounding Area

Security Around Building

2
8

Safety of Area Around School?

Not Safe
1
2
4
3
Extremely Safe

Studio Space

Cramped
1
7
2
Lots of space

Studio Cleanliness

Dirty
2
3
5
Spotless

Housing

Was Housing Provided?

10

Did Dancer Stay in Provided Housing?

3
7

Where Did Dancer Live?

1
1
1

Type of Housing Provided:

7

Housing Minimum Age

Repeated Responses:
  • "16" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
  • "16, but exceptions were made"
  • "16, though there were exceptions made for 14 year olds."
  • "15"
  • "16?"
  • "16 i believe"

# of Roommates:

7

Adequate # of RA's?

Not at all
2
2
1
1
1
Absolutely

Type of Bathrooms:

5
2

Curfew?

1
6

Curfew Reasonable?

1
6

Nightly Room Check?

6
1

Dorm Strictness

Extremely Lax
4
1
2
Extremely Strict

How Infractions Handled?

1
5
1

How Roommate Issues Handled?

  • "Students sat down in a meeting, no follow up was done. House meetings done regularly to restate what the curfew was. Still had students staying up well into the early morning hours. Walls are paper thin, so this was a negative for some dancers."
  • "I never had issues but I know some room assignments were changed."
  • "not aware of conflicts"
  • "They weren't handled at all. They were biased depending on how RAs felt about students involved."
  • "Through RA"
  • "Didn’t have any"
  • "by the RA's who were trainees and the same age as most of the PTD's living in the dorms there was no real adult supervision"

Housing Cleanliness

Dirty
1
3
2
1
Spotless

Students Required to Clean Room?

1
6

Laundry Available?

7

Laundry Free?

1
5
1

Evening Activities?

4
3

A/C In Room?

7

Weekend Outings?

7

Transportation Between Housing and Studios?

1
3
1
1
1

Safety Around Housing

Not Safe
1
2
1
3
Very Safe

Overall Rating of Housing

Poor
2
1
1
3
Excellent

Additional Comments

  • "Apartments are what you would expect for 100 year old housing. The wifi was spotty (booster took care of that), the walls are thin, smells older (wall plugs helped), lots of moisture issues in the bathrooms (mold grew on walls and ceilings), water leaks (maintenance was quick and courteous), door locks and is video monitored (a HUGE PLUS!). Overall for a teenager and their first apartment it got the job done and we'd be happy to stay another year after learning how to trouble shoot and prevent some of the issues with the building/apartment."
  • "Housing was new for Ballet West this year and you could tell. I know they are still working out kinks and this year was experimental but having stayed there this year I would not send my own child to stay there. The building is over 100 years and the rooms are decently refurbished, but the issues were endless. The location is horrible and very unsafe, very questionable neighbors right outside the main entrance, and there are homeless people everywhere (including living behind our dumpster and even sleeping in the halls one night). We watched multiple people be arrested just across the street. With all of these issues you would think they would have excellent security protocols, but this was not the case. The front door did not shut properly for the entire year. The key fob system we were promised wasn’t even installed until halfway through, and even then, it only worked half the time. The door would never properly lock, despite being “fixed” about 10 times. Each time the problem was never properly addressed and was fixed the same way every time. The door needs to be replaced entirely but they refuse, insisting that the problem is that we don’t properly shut the door behind us and if only we closed the door, everything would be just fine. There are two RAs who live in the building and seem to do absolutely nothing. Curfew was 10 PM, 11 on weekends, yet almost no one followed it. If you were 18, you had no curfew but were supposed to message and RA if you were going to be out later. Kids would constantly run up and down the hallways screaming at night and the issue would never be addressed. Room checks were done only once and we were given a week’s notice. This was unfortunate because I know there was drug and alcohol use going on in the building regularly but it was never caught. Two kids were dismissed from the program entirely for shoplifting, and another two were dismissed for sneaking out. I know there were many more than that sneaking out but these two happened to get caught because they posted it on public social media. There are only 2 washers and 2 dryers for the entire building, neither of which actually cleaned the clothes, despite having to pay. I will be finding my own apartment to live in next year, and I recommend anyone attending does the same. Maybe they will fix some of the issues from this year, but I really doubt it. Any time issues were brought up, the response was “well these aren’t dorms, they are supervised apartments, meant to teach how to live in the real world, and this is what the real world is like.”"
  • "Cons: Older building with poor ventilation. The wifi is terrible. Pros: Convenient location, pretty well equipped, affordable. Overall recommend the housing"
  • "RAs and Housing Staff inadequate. Very biased, based on how they feel about students. Unfounded accusations against my student in HOUSING held back DANCE progress"
  • "just very lax with little supervision. It did feel secure"

Meal Plan

Meal Plan?

7

Academics

How Did Academics Work?

10

Academic Support

10

Did the School Support Academics?

Didn't support
2
1
7
Definitely supported

Overall Program Grades

Overall Dance Instruction

5
4
1

Career Support and Placement

2
2
2
2
1
1

Emotional Support

2
3
1
1
1
2

Housing & Food

2
2
1
1
2
2

Performance Opportunities

3
2
1
1
2
1

Overall Comments

Program's Best Aspect

  • "Teachers and quality of instruction were phenomenal, as well as friends and support within my own classes. Studio spaces are professional and well-kept, and the pianists are incredible as well."
  • "Family atmosphere"
  • "The staff. They are knowledgable and welcoming. They help foster the "family" environment. My student has nothing but great things to say about each one of his instructors. The men all love Jeff Rogers and his ability to make an awful week fun."
  • "The training here wonderful of course, but the overwhelming support and kindness of the teachers is what stood out to me. I have never been an environment where I felt more like the teachers truly cared about me, not even at any of my local studios. They really care for us as human beings and develop a relationship with each student. There are, of course, some issues here and there but overall it has been by far the best training program I have ever attended."
  • "High caliber training in a company environment. AD and all faculty seems vested in the upper level dancers' success."
  • "Excellent instructors and warm encouraging environment"
  • "The Men's Program and Men's Director"
  • "The high quality of instruction and the large men’s program"
  • "The friends my student made while there, and the technique instruction. She definitely grew as a dancer and in her artistry, but her confidence and mental health suffered."

Program's Worst Aspect

  • "Upper academy levels seem to be pretty overlooked/pushed to the side. BW really prioritizes the PTD and younger students. Because of this (and the fact that I’ve been combined with younger levels) felt that sometimes I wasn’t challenged as much as I could be. The school directors definitely show favoritism to certain people. I think it’s fine for them to have something they’re looking for, but I definitely wasn’t that and I wonder how much it’s affected my experience. BW is also growing very quickly, which is great for them, but the growth has all come on very quickly and it kind of seems like they don’t know what to do with all the students they’re getting."
  • "Favoritism"
  • "The communication is lacking. I find this is not unique to BWA. Emails were sent and then not followed up on by said dates. Deadlines often came and were missed by a few days. If you know to expect this it gets a little easier to go with the flow. Some emails were sent out with calls to action that could not be done until after receiving further information from staff. I would love a more organized communication."
  • "The supplementary classes. The same teacher teaches pilates, contemporary, and flamenco. She is genuinely not talented enough or experienced enough to be teaching contemporary at such a high level. With contemporary being so critically important today, they really need to change the program drastically. Flamenco is a seemingly fun addition, but all it really does is waste valuable time we could be using for rehearsal. The same curriculum is taught to all the PTDs and it moves at an insultingly slow pace."
  • "Maybe some of the supplemental non-ballet classes, some didn't feel as valuable as the ballet/contemporary curriculum."
  • "As a parent I could not get answers in a timely manner. School communication was great but my few personal emails with questions took a while to receive a response."
  • "Biased, secretive staff. No communication with parents over any concerns."
  • "Lack of guidance on next steps"
  • "The culture and the favoritism. Several great teachers have left over the past two years. They don't seem to care much about the students or their overall health and well-being. They provide good instruction, but unless you're a standout student with natural talent, you may be overlooked. The current leadership is very traditional."

What Changes Would Be Helpful?

  • "A few of the aspects listed above: I would have loved to be a bit more challenged in my classes, and offered a more consistent schedule where I wasn’t often combined with younger levels and got a regular variations class. (Variations was on the schedule every week but often we just got a pointe class instead.) I would like a bit more distinction between academy levels. Dancing-wise it doesn’t seem to vary much from levels 5-8. I would like my combinations and dancing in class to reflect the maturity I’ve gained."
  • "More personal instruction/corrections"
  • "Communication. Clear communication when sending a child away from home is helpful."
  • "I think it’s starting to get a little too big. The addition of housing this year brought in a lot more students than usual but it seems they may be cutting back. Many dancers were not invited to return or moved down a level."
  • "Have parents meet with mentor also (even without dancer)"
  • "I wish I had pulled my dancer. They have an injury/illness policy on paper, but it meant nothing. My dancer had an overnight ER emergency, and they knew about it, and left him alone in a hospital - as a minor Never communicated with us, the family. They failed ."
  • "Within the PTD program development of a mentorship program. Especially since very few will be admitted to trainee or sec company from PTD."
  • "More mentoring opportunities, better communication with parents. More fair treatment of students."

Anything Else We Should Know?

  • "A few things I haven’t mentioned: In my experience BW is very supportive of students auditioning other places, and instructors have been honest about what other places might be better fits for students. However I do know one girl who lost her part in the winter showcase because she left an important rehearsal early for an audition, even though she communicated very clearly about it and as far as I know was in all of her other rehearsals. There is a contemporary group called Current, made up of 12-16ish people, that level 7s through PTD3s can audition for. I’ve not gotten in, but my friends have gained good connections and performance opportunities through this group. It’s fairly new, and there will likely be some changes to it in the future, but if you can get in it is a great opportunity if you want to explore more contemporary work. Students can audition for and perform in company shows like the Nutcracker, but often the roles don’t do much dancing, and they are based on height. It’s a great experience to be on stage with the company, so for that reason I recommend it. However, it’s definitely catered more to PTD students as rehearsals are during academy classes, and you’ll be missing out on a lot of class time if you’re in the academy and doing nutcracker. We do get seminars throughout the year related to resume building, nutrition, that kind of thing. The PTDs get music for dancers, but I cannot speak to what that’s like. I learned a lot about resume building and whatnot, but other than that I will say the seminars were mostly repeats of information I learned at a very young age. Ballet West also has different campuses for academy students. My friends have had a great experience at the Park City campus, but as someone who has danced in downtown SLC I will say that this campus seems to be prioritized more (though my Park City friends may disagree)."
  • "If your child is not self motivated and still needing high school level academics - this may not be the place for you. Students must be self motivated to attend online or hybrid style education programs and follow through with their work. A local high school is available if your student would like a hybrid style of education. If your child is not willing to clean up after themselves, share household cleaning tasks and respect living with other students - dorms may not be the choice for your student."
  • "It’s a wonderful school with great training and an incredible environment. However, I would only suggest moving away to train here if you are invited to PTD 3 or trainee. PTD 1 and 2 are amazing for younger dancers, but for someone who is looking for a finishing school, PTD 3 is most likely to get you placed somewhere. They are primarily given solo roles and can be invited to dance with the trainees. Training in the morning allows for more opportunities and the overall level, dedication, and focus of the dancers is much higher."
  • "There's a pretty wide age range of dancers in the upper levels, 15-20, and placement is by audition not by age. There is also sometimes movement within the levels, but would only recommend relocating for year round if offered a spot in PTD or above."
  • "The housing is a mess. The staff only cares if they like your student. Only the Men's program is worth it."
  • "Good training"
  • "The PDT program has nearly doubled in size over the past couple of years. Classes are large, and students receive little individual attention. They are really on their own to figure most things out. I wouldn't send my dancer here unless they were at least 17 and in the PTD3 program, where they have more opportunities for performances and to build their resume. If your dancer is not on the taller side with a traditional ballet build, they will not be considered for advancement in the trainee program."
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Age: 17, MaleInstruction C
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