BALLET HELP DESK

Full-Time Training Reviews

Programs Reviewed: 91
Total Reviews: 311

Boston Ballet @ Walnut Hill

Full-Time Reviews

General

Who is Reviewing?

1
1

Program

2

Season Attended

1
1

# Of Levels In School

  • "2"
  • "3"

Dancer Age

2

Hours of Dance Each Week

1

Company Affliated?

2

Was Student Scholarshipped?

1
1

Please Describe Scholarship

  • "We paid for boarding. The rest was merit scholarship. They were light in boys and it was timing to receive this offer coming off Boston ballet SI"

Years At School

1
1

Full time or after school?

1

Curriculum

Days Per Week

2

Classes Per Day

1
1

Weekend Classes?

2

Weekend Schedule

2

Students Per Class

1
1

Weekly Repertoire or Variations?

2

Pointe Classes Per Week

1
1

Live Music in Technique Class?

2

Dedicated Men's Program?

2

Men Taught by Male Teacher?

1

Men Taught Batterie?

1

Boys In Level

1
1

Separate Technique Class for Boys

2

Techniques Taught

2
2
2

Technique Teacher Rotation

1
1

Did School Director Teach?

1
1

Classroom Corrections

1
1

Attention From Teachers

Very Little
1
1
A Lot

Quality of Instruction

Poor
2
Excellent

Did Technique Improve?

Not at all
2
Tremendously

Curriculum Comments

  • "Contemporary, modern, men’s, weight training, partnering technique"
  • "2-3 classes daily in the afternoon, technique and pointe, contemporary, modern, partnering, etc."

Partnering

Frequency of Partnering Class

1
1

Partner Ratio

2

Who Taught?

1
1

How Much Partnering Improved

No
1
1
Tremendously

Quality of Pas Teaching

Poor
1
1
Excellent

How Were Corrections Given?

1
1

Description of Partnering Class

  • "Similar level boys paired with similar level girls"
  • "The director frequently taught"

Additional Comments

  • "No"

Other Classes

Other Dance Styles

2
2

Other Class Quality

Poor
1
1
Excellent

Contemporary Offered?

2

Types of Contemporary Classes Taught

2
1
2
1

Contemporary Quality

Poor
2
Excellent

Master Classes?

2

Master Classes Description

  • "Boston ballet master classes"
  • "Taught by Boston Ballet faculty or choreographers"

Strength & Conditioning

Physical Training Offered?

2

Physical Training Types

2
1
1
1
1

Physical Training Schedule

2

Were Trainers Certified?

2

Physical Training Quality

Poor
2
Excellent

Injuries/Health/ Mental Health

Are Doctors Available?

1
1

How Parents Notified?

2

PT Available?

2

Was There a Recovery Plan?

2

Describe Recovery Plan

  • "It is very comprehensive and the PT is very communicative, even for a minor injury."

Mental Health Therapists Available?

2

Were Students Given Fat Talk?

2

Staff Made Comments About Bodies?

2

Were Students Weighed?

2

Was "Coded Language" Used?

1
1

Performances: Winter Show/ Nutcracker

Performance Opportunities

2

School Winter Show?

2

Company or School Show?

2

Cast in Winter Show?

2

How Chosen

1
1

Winter Show Role

1
1

Were You Paid?

2

Rehearsal Impact on Classes

1

Rehearsal Hours

1

Performance: Ballet Season

Cast in Company Productions?

1
1

Kind of Part Given?

1

How Chosen

1

Was Casting Fair?

1

Did Rehearsals Impact School Schedule?

1

Perfomance Opportunities

  • "Spring showcase, nutcracker, choreographic experience, spring showcase"

Were You Paid?

1

Competition

School Does Competitions?

2

Communication

Formal Orientation?

2

Handboook & Paperwork

1
1

Quality of Communication?

Poor
1
1
Excellent

Who Received Communication?

2

Exams

Formal Exam?

2

Written Feedback?

2

Exam Adjudicator

2

Exam Rubrics Clear?

1
1

Who Attends Exam Meeting?

1
1

Well Prepared For Exam?

Not at all
1
1
Completely

How Heavily Did Exams Weigh in Promotions

Not at all
1
1
Heavily

School Culture

How Supported Did Student Feel By Staff?

Not
1
1
Completely

How Supportive Were Students of One Another?

Not
1
1
Completely

Describe School Culture

  • "Dedicated, passionate, hardworking, friendly, happy"
  • "Very friendly, private school culture with a focus on multiple disciplines"

Placement Notification Timing

  • "At beginning of school"
  • "The following year"

How Dancer Was Notified

1

Dancer Had Mentor?

1

Mentoring Details

  • "Staff is spread very thin at this school so there's little to no mentoring available. If you ask for support, you are told that seniors are priority. Unlike other pre-professional programs where you can get additional support or tutoring, that is not available here. You have to find it outside of the school."

Overall School Culture

Lord of the Flies
1
1
Warm & Inclusive

School Outcomes

Is Student In Upper Levels?

1

Highest Levels of School?

1
1

How Many Promoted Internally to Bridge Level

1
1

How Many Come From Outside to Bridge Level?

1

Where Graduates Who Do Not Get Bridge Level Go

2

How Many Left and Went to College?

1
1

Career Support

2

Building & Surrounding Area

Security Around Building

2

Safety of Area Around School?

Not Safe
2
Extremely Safe

Studio Space

Cramped
2
Lots of space

Studio Cleanliness

Dirty
2
Spotless

Housing

Was Housing Provided?

2

Did Dancer Stay in Provided Housing?

2

Type of Housing Provided:

2

Housing Minimum Age

  • "Freshman"
  • "Do not know"

# of Roommates:

2

Adequate # of RA's?

Not at all
2
Absolutely

Type of Bathrooms:

2

Curfew?

2

Curfew Reasonable?

2

Nightly Room Check?

2

Dorm Strictness

Extremely Lax
1
1
Extremely Strict

How Infractions Handled?

2
1

How Roommate Issues Handled?

  • "Professionally"
  • "Unsure"

Housing Cleanliness

Dirty
2
Spotless

Students Required to Clean Room?

1
1

Laundry Available?

2

Laundry Free?

1
1

Evening Activities?

2

A/C In Room?

2

Weekend Outings?

1
1

Transportation Between Housing and Studios?

1
1

Safety Around Housing

Not Safe
2
Very Safe

Overall Rating of Housing

Poor
2
Excellent

Meal Plan

Meal Plan?

2

Food Quality

Gross
1
1
Excellent

Enough Food?

2

Late Meals Available?

1
1

Dancer w/ Dietary Needs?

2

Academics

How Did Academics Work?

2

Academic Support

2

Did the School Support Academics?

Didn't support
1
1
Definitely supported

Overall Program Grades

Overall Dance Instruction

1
1

Career Support and Placement

1
1

Emotional Support

1
1

Housing & Food

1
1

Performance Opportunities

2

Overall Comments

Program's Best Aspect

  • "Top notch instructors and affiliation with Boston Ballet"
  • "The best part of this program is the integration with academics and high school culture. It's the best of both worlds in that regard."

Program's Worst Aspect

  • "Consistent technique instructor vs rotating"
  • "How hard it is to find support. You would think with it being a large program that students would have a lot of resources and support, but they do not."

What Changes Would Be Helpful?

  • "The program needs a complete overhaul. If I had to guess, Mikko is not aware of all these issues. When asked what I thought of this program, I always steer people away. It is only worth it if your child is a prodigy, unfortunately."

Anything Else We Should Know?

  • "The new male director is wonderful - he gives precise corrections and encouragements"
  • "The ballet program at WH needs significant improvement. The administration must be more transparent and communicative, especially around leadership transitions. Last year’s director only lasted one year, and families were not informed about the search for a replacement until the last minute, even though the school knew months in advance. This lack of planning leaves families with the impression that the program is perpetually “in development” rather than stable and well-established. That said, the quality of the instruction and direction remains very high quality. The most concerning issue is that the program does not provide the level of support one would expect given the high tuition. Like other areas where students require personalized guidance (such as college counseling), the ballet program is spread far too thin in terms of faculty and resources. In the fall, nearly all staff attention is directed to seniors, leaving little to no developmental support for the other grades. This is not the staff’s fault—it is a structural problem caused by under-resourcing. Within the dance program itself, favoritism is also an issue. It is very understandable to put the top students in the spotlight, but the result and reality is that less advanced students receive far less attention, casting, and rehearsal time. This leaves them with far fewer opportunities for growth and experience, creating a cycle where they lag behind their peers, so don't go based on simply how many performances there are. For example, only the strongest contemporary dancers are cast in the extremely limited contemporary pieces, so others literally never have the chance to build skills in this area within the program. Another example is with casting, including only being cast in one show (versus two) or only being cast in one piece (versus multiple) and never ever being cast in a contemporary piece. It is a huge difference. Families then have no choice but to seek outside support—private coaching, audition preparation, help with videos for intensives and other auditions, or additional classes. While this is common to some degree in ballet, at WH the gap is unusually wide compared to much smaller, less expensive programs. Academically, the school is also disappointing. Families should be aware that WH does not offer AP classes, and much of the faculty consists of new teachers with inconsistent standards. This makes the academic experience much weaker than what is expected for the tuition charged. Overall, WH presents itself as a strong, integrated program on paper, but the reality is disjointed and underdeveloped. For many students, a higher-quality pre-professional ballet program combined with a strong academic option would be a better path. Unless WH makes a true investment in faculty, resources, and communication, the program will continue to underserve its students."
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