"In the pre-professional division there are three levels. Partially determined by age and partially determined by skill level."
"There are seven levels in the Academy. There is also a pre-professional division with three levels. Pre-pro students attend from 9:30am-3pm. There is also Trainee and Studio Company."
"Elementary Division, Intermediate Division, Advanced Division, Pre Pro Division with 3 levels. Student placement in non-Pre-Pro levels are primarily determined by age. Pre-Pro levels are determined by age, skill level and by class size limitations."
"7 academy levels and 3 levels of pre professional division, as well as trainee (2-4 dancers who are part of PPD3)"
"There are 7 levels and 3 prepro levels."
"The preprofessional program is the most advanced of student training at Colorado Ballet. It is divided into three aged based levels: I, II, and III."
"Prepro 3 is highest level besides trainee"
"7 levels before Pre Pro Division"
"3"
"There are 7 levels of the afterschool academy, and three levels of PPD. PPD1 is for younger students and PPD2/3 was leveled by age this year."
"There are three levels to pre pro"
"The PPD program has 3 levels, the 1s have less hours than the other 2 and are younger. This year PPD 2&3 were separated by age. Some were very upset about this placement but I thought it was good (coming from a student). There is also level 1-7, 7 being the highest/oldest and being the same skill as PPD."
Dancer Age
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Hours of Dance Each Week
21-25 hours
Gender
Female
Male
Prefer not to say
Company Affliated?
Yes
Was Student Scholarshipped?
No
Yes
Please Describe Scholarship
"My dancer was offered a merit scholarship that covered a small portion of tuition, essentially reducing the amount we pay on the monthly payment plan."
"Merit Scholarship was 20% off of total of tuition. Student had to personally request to be considered for a scholarship. Director tends to only freely offer scholarships to boys or dancers picked up at YAGP. CBA offers full scholarship to its 4 trainee (2 boys, 2 girls) students."
"It was a little confusing last year. They had promised a scholarship to me but it was still going through some people however it was past the tuition deadline. They released the deadline for us and eventually figured it out but it was a little nuts.
They have made a new system for this coming year because of things like that so hopefully that works well!"
"The scholarship is 25% for tuition. All male dancers in the program get this as a minimum and many have higher scholarships. Some female dancers have scholarships but not all and they are of lower value generally from what I’ve heard"
"Had to ask for a scholarship and was worth 20% of tuition"
"I was given a merit scholarship worth 20% of tuition but only after a lot of asking and "nagging". I had been attending the school for over a decade and needed help with the cost since we never had much. It took a lot of work to get some financial aid."
Years At School
1 year
4 years
5 years
6 years
7 or more years
Full time or after school?
Full-Time
Curriculum
Days Per Week
5
6
Classes Per Day
3
4
Weekend Classes?
No
Yes
Weekend Schedule
Half day
I did not have weekend class
Students Per Class
10-15
16-24
25-30
Less than 10
Weekly Repertoire or Variations?
No
Yes
Pointe Classes Per Week
3
4
5
Daily
Live Music in Technique Class?
No
Yes
Dedicated Men's Program?
No
Unsure
Yes
Men Taught by Male Teacher?
Yes
Men Taught Batterie?
Yes
Boys In Level
5-10
Less than 5
Separate Technique Class for Boys
No
Unsure
Yes
Techniques Taught
General Classical
Vaganova
Technique Teacher Rotation
Different depending on week
The school rotated teachers on a fixed schedule
Usually the same every day
Did School Director Teach?
Never (school admin was a designated upper level teacher)
Never (school admin was NOT designated as an upper level teacher)
Occasionally
Often
Classroom Corrections
Dancer specific: almost every dancer got specific corrections each day
Dancer specific: detailed but only a few dancers consistently got corrections
Occasionally dancer specific: mostly general corrections were given
Attention From Teachers
Very Little
1
2
3
4
5
A Lot
Quality of Instruction
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Did Technique Improve?
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
Tremendously
Curriculum Comments
"In additi"Choron to ballet they have character for fist semester and contemporary second semester. They do conditioning with pilates and PBT. PPD does performances every 5 weeks and about 20% of time is spent in these "choreography classes" with visiting or in house choreographers."
"Non-ballet classes take place for one semester and swap out with a different class the next semester. Technique was every day, and either pointe or pointe/variations was everyday. Conditioning classes were twice a week, and choreography rehearsals were three times per week. Jazz for one semester, flamenco for one semester, character for full year. No contemporary or modern."
"every day included ballet technique followed by either pointe, variations, or choreography. once a week they had PBT, character, and contemporary. Also pilates/conditioning once per week."
"In addition to pointe and technique, they teach character, flamenco, jazz, PBT, pilates, variations, and life skills. They learn choreography blocks in preparation for quarterly performances in the black box theatre, which includes these styles as well as Gaga. There is also a student choreography showcase, where the kids set their own choreography on peers."
"Weekly classes included: Technique (daily) , Pas De Deux (weekly), Pointe (3x each week), Character/ Contemporary, (one each semester) Life Skills (weekly), PBT (3x each week), Choreography (3x each week), Variations (weekly), Jazz/ Flamenco (one each semester), Batterie (weekly), Combined class with Company (weekly)."
"PPD2 and 3 students have 4 classes per day, whcih always includes technique, pointe most days, strength classes (PBT or pilates), special classes like contemporary and character, and choreography. Choreography takes up 3.5 hours per week, and is working towards the blackbox shows every 5 weeks. The teachers are all generally classical, and many of them have affiliations with ABT."
"Technique class is every day with a variety of teachers. At least one teacher was vaganova trained and one was Balanchine. Men’s class only takes place for half an hour each twice a week. Partnering class takes place twice a week. There is also choreography three times a week where partnering is usually involved. The choreography class is for the Saturday soirées and fall feature. Second semester Saturday class with the studio company is required and rehearsals for the end of the year performance take place after it. Males do not have a separate conditioning class but conditioning classes for everyone take place three times a week. We have flamenco and contemporary classes first semester and then character and jazz second semester."
"Ballet class every day, pointe class 4 days a week. We had conditioning 3 times a week. Choreography rehearsals 3 times a week. Non-ballet classes are contemporary/character (1 semester each), flamenco/jazz (1 semester each), pas de deux."
"Technique every day, and pointe mostly every date. Other classes included jazz, character, flamenco, contemporary, pilates and PBT. There was also life skills."
Partnering
Frequency of Partnering Class
1x per week
2x per week
3x per week
No partnering
Partner Ratio
A few girls had to share but most had their own partner.
Everyone had to share a partner.
Most girls had to share a partner.
Who Taught?
It varied based on the week
Male teacher
How Much Partnering Improved
No
1
2
3
4
5
Tremendously
Quality of Pas Teaching
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
How Were Corrections Given?
Attention and corrections were evenly distributed between the males and females
Males were the main focus
The teacher focused on one or two couples and the rest of the students were on their own
Description of Partnering Class
"Children were nit at the same levels trying to partner"
"Ratio of girls to boys was about 5:1 with large variation in ability of the boys. Students had to pair up without involvment of the teacher, which meant the less assertive girls were partnered with very unskilled boys much of the time. Partnering class in this year was taught by a company member with little interest in providing instruction and seemed to be often frustrated by teaching."
"Partners were assigned for the entire year and never changed. The teacher focused on a few students and did not fully explain or teach new lifts that were in combinations."
"Usually an adagio and some jumps, sometimes lifts. Occasionally, pas from ballets are practiced."
"Male dancers from the Studio Company were sometimes brought in to provide additional partners since there were so few PPD males."
"They were for one hour per week, and each boy had at least 2, but usually 3+ girls. This made it hard to get through combos, so usually we did a maximum of four combinations per class, but sometimes spent the entire class focusing on one or two combinations. Would have been better if the class was longer and we could get farther along in it (more lifts, turns, etc)."
"The partner classes are good and they even hire a few of the boys from the studio company to participate."
"Students learn classical pas de deux."
"Partnering class is on mondays first with the prepro 2 and then with the prepro 3. The boys do both classes but the girls only do one. Studio co men are also required to attend so that there are enough men for each lady to have their own partner. If all men are present there is enough for each to have one dedicated partner. Classes typically work on a pas variation (each for a few weeks)."
"There are issues with enough same level parters for the class"
"There aren't enough male dancers, practiced as there was opportunity."
"This year we primarily learned pas de deuxs from classical ballets. This was nice but many students did not feel prepared to do the advanced pas de deux work without being taught it specifically in pas de deux classwork. Each couple got a lot of individual corrections, and we would work one each pas de deux for 4-6 weeks."
"Dancer liked that instructor tried to give corrections individually to everyone in class. Dancer would like more lifts in curriculum."
"The pas classes change a lot depending on who's teaching. This last year (24-25) we didn't do a lot of practicing combinations, instead we learned pas from ballets like Black Swan, Sugarplum, Don Q, etc. That was good in some ways but not so much in others."
Additional Comments
"Well enough"
"As in many of the classes, teachers need instruction in how teach and manage a classroom of students."
"It was mainly focused on ballet technique instead of partnering technique, which is understandable but not super helpful for improving partnering skills."
"Dancer feels they could benefit more from instructor encouragement when feeling challenged or nervous about trying something new."
"Students needing extra instruction/corrections weren't given needed help."
"The class was pretty good quality and the teacher helped both male and female students, but we struggled to make it through many combinations (often just adagio and pirouettes) due to lack of time."
"It’s hard for the teachers to not mostly focus on the males"
"My student is grateful to have the opportunity to take a dedicated partnering class."
"The class goes very slowly because after each section we learned two groups of partners go and for each the instructor gives individual corrections to each couple. Personally I find this very helpful"
"n/a"
"not enough males"
Other Classes
Other Dance Styles
Character
contemporary
flamenco
Flamenco
Gaga
Jazz
Modern
None of the above
Other Class Quality
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Contemporary Offered?
No
Yes
Types of Contemporary Classes Taught
Choreography workshops
Repertoire
Technique
Contemporary Quality
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Master Classes?
No
Yes
Master Classes Description
"Madame Olga, Various company members"
"For December and January the choreography classes were replaced with contemporary or master classes. We had someone from the Hamilton ensemble come and had some local contemporary people teach."
"Guest instructors from visiting Musical Theater productions"
"YAGP masters classes, Complexions, Broadway"
"Workshops were offered to learn company rep. There were guest teachers from places like Complexions and Broadway, and Madame Olga usually visits, but those are not curriculum-based. You had to opt in and pay."
"Small things pop up during the breaks mostly as audition/master classes."
Strength & Conditioning
Physical Training Offered?
Yes
Physical Training Types
Body conditioning
Pilates (mat or reformer)
Progressing Ballet Technique
Stretch class
Physical Training Schedule
Once or twice a week
Several times a week
Were Trainers Certified?
No
Some were certified and some were not depending on class
Yes
Physical Training Quality
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Strength & Conditioning Comments
"PBT was great."
"The PBT classes were excellent this year, the teacher was very skilled and constantly provided new exercises so we weren't always doing the same thing. Teacher also cared about student's wellbeing and took workload and stress levels of other classes into account, so the class always felt like a perfect level of difficulty."
"Interested in more strength & conditioning or pilates/yoga/rolling for injury prevention"
"This year the conditioning classes were very focused on recovery, not building strength. We did a lot of rolling out and mobility, but very little strength. In previous years the conditioning felt more productive. Although it is important and necessary to have allotted time for physical recovery, it didn't really feel productive for it to replace what used to be strength focused classes."
"Classes (especially PBT) can get a little too repetitive at times but overall very good training."
Injuries/Health/ Mental Health
Are Doctors Available?
No
Unsure
Yes
Yes, for everyone
How Parents Notified?
My student did not get injured
School called parent
Student told parent. School not involved
How Treatment Obtained?
"Pick my dancer up and take to children’s hospital"
"You could possibly see if the company PT was available, otherwise you would leave to go to the doctor."
"On site PT"
"PT is offered every Monday for an extra fee, but any other medical treatment must be obtained outside."
"Normally the company’s PT takes a look at any injury and if it’s serious enough she’ll send you to the hospital"
"There is an on-site PT every day. She is mainly for he company but in an emergency she will see a student. She then can refer to other doctors that work regularly with Colorado ballet."
"personal insurance, academy PT"
"There is PT offered once a week for $50/ half hour."
"The company PT is available for emergencies. The PPD gets time slots for PT on Mondays for additional cost."
PT Available?
Yes, for extra fee
Yes, it is part of fees
Was There a Recovery Plan?
My dancer did not get injured
No
Yes
Describe Recovery Plan
"PT is very good and communicates recovery needs well - individual instructors don't always support the PT's treatment plan/ suggested modifications, time off"
"I had shin splints that developed into stress fractures. I was referred to an orthopedic doctor who works closely with Colorado ballet. I was told to take six weeks off of dance and then slowly ease back in. I worked with the PT to remain strong while limiting weight bearing and we also made a plan for the slow return to dance."
"PT gave suggestions"
"no recovery plan"
Mental Health Therapists Available?
No
Unsure
Yes
Were Students Given Fat Talk?
No
Staff Made Comments About Bodies?
No
Unsure
Yes
Were Students Weighed?
No
Was "Coded Language" Used?
Maybe
No
Yes
Additional Comments
"The environment regarding body image weight is very positive at CBA."
"The year being reviewed was the first year back after COVID shutdowns. Kids were still masking and testing to participate in classes and company productions. This was hard. On the kids and parents (who never got to see their kids' faces while performing)."
"The teachers encourage students to feel welcome to talk to them. There were a concerning number of students with overuse injuries this season."
"Spoken negative comments about bodies dominantly comes from students, however unspoken negative communication about body type shows in staff consistently giving opportunities (pas de duex, solos etc) to students with the perfect "ballet bodies." It is common to hear students make comments revealing a belief that they only matter if they fit a particular look. This is reinforced (perhaps unintentionally?) by which dancers get picked/ and not picked for roles, trainees, etc."
"There is no negative environment around bodies and mental health created by the staff, but some students project negative ideas. Students are encouraged to speak about mental health, but there is still a culture of fear so most do not. They strongly favor flexibility and body 'potential' (facility) over technique, and consistently reward students with flexible, ballet bodies instead of emphasizing work ethic."
"The school is very kind about injuries. If you are injured they urge you to take time off instead of pushing you to perform."
"Many class injuries this year and I hope it's something the school looks into for future prevention."
"schedule is over-full, but students are blamed for injuries"
"There was a toxic culture regarding food and body image this year. Many students ate nothing or very little throughout the day, and students that did eat would feel the need to explain their 'being a fatty'."
"It seems like there has been an increase in students with mental health issues, and it is not being addressed at all at an administrative level. It seems a little bit like "don't ask, don't tell." The favored kids create the culture, and it can be very exclusionary."
Performances: Winter Show/ Nutcracker
Performance Opportunities
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-12
School Winter Show?
No
Yes
Company or School Show?
Company affiliated production and the students perform certain parts
Cast in Winter Show?
No
No, my level typically does not perform in winter show
Yes
How Chosen
Audition
Chosen by school director or the company artistic staff
Winter Show Role
Dancing part
Were You Paid?
No
Rehearsal Impact on Classes
4
Rehearsal Hours
1-2
Performance: Ballet Season
Cast in Company Productions?
No
Yes
Kind of Part Given?
Dancing part
I had both types of parts
How Chosen
A few students are chosen by the Artistic Staff
All students allowed to audition
All students allowed to AUDITION
Students are chosen to audition by Artistic Staff
Students chosen for roles by staff - NO AUDITIONS
Was Casting Fair?
For some but not all
No
Yes
Did Rehearsals Impact School Schedule?
2
3
4
5
Rehearsal Hours
1-2
3-5
Perfomance Opportunities
"Well enough but dance to tall"
"There are 5-6 school productions that all PPD students are cast in and rehearsal occurs during regular schedule about 5 hours a week. There are also 3-4 company productions for which students within the height requirements for a given production may audition if they choose, including Nutcracker. For dancers above 5'5" there is virtually no opportunity to dance with the company since most castings are for small children and cut off height at 5'3". About 8 dancers are selected from PPD 2 & 3 by the company AD to dance Snow in the Nutcracker. Each of these dancers dances in 2 out of the 27 & 3 boys are often asked to participate in the company production in non-dancing or minor roles."
"The PPD program has monthly performances on new choreography that each level learns over the choreography block. Younger students that meet the height requirements can audition for Nutcracker and some company productions depending on the season. Typically a few students from the highest level are chosen to do snow with the company for Nutcracker."
"Danced multiple roles in Nutcracker and danced in one other company performance that season. Was too tall to audition for other company opportunity."
"Younger students can audition for company productions, including Nutcracker and any other ballets requiring kids (like Coppelia this year). Older students are usually too tall so cannot participate in company productions, except a few PPD3 students chosen to do snow with the company. PPD students have performances in the blackbox every five weeks, with new choreography each time. At the end of the year, the entire school does a full length classical ballet at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, and all students get a part in it."
"The company normally has Nutcracker and another production that are academy heavy.
Prepros have they’re own small shows about every 5 weeks"
"Colorado Ballet offers academy students opportunities to audition for company shows. In addition, the academy produces its own monthly performance opportunities as well as its own end of year full length ballet production."
"There is one Saturday soirée and one fall feature in the first semester and two Saturday soirees and the end of the year performance isn’t he second. There are generally no soloist roles in the soirées and fall feature, everyone is cast equally. For nutcracker only 6 prepro girls are chosen to perform is snow and the trainees are cast in various roles."
"Company performance opportunities are audition-based and depend on height. Students over 5'5'' typically are too tall to audition for any company productions. 6-8 PPD students are chosen to do snow with the company in Nutcracker. There are a few blackbox performance opportunities throughout the year which all PPD students are a part of. At the end of the year, the entire academy does a full-length classical ballet at the opera house."
"The company often has shows other than Nutcracker with academy roles: Alice, Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty etc."
Were You Paid?
No
Competition
School Does Competitions?
Yes
Competitions Required?
No
How Many Compete?
all
All are allowed
All are allowed. If you audition, you get to participate.
All PPD students can do YAGP
All you want to
Any
Anyone who wants to participate can
Anyone who wants to perform can.
As many as would like.
No limit, there were 70+ in YAGP this year.
No limit. Most students in the PPD program participate in YAGP.
% of Students Who Performed
Repeated Responses:
"90%" (2 responses)
Unique Responses:
"95"
"85-95%"
"90-95%"
"95%"
"95+%"
"I’d say about about 50% of the whole school participates"
"5%"
"I think the majority of the prepros participate but I do know a few of us who are not"
"75%"
"92%"
"In PPD2, there was not a single student who did not do a competition, and only one student did not do YAGP. 3-4 PPD3s did not compete, which means about 93-95% of PPDs do competitions. YAGP is baked into the culture of CBA and there is a widespread culture that you must do YAGP do be taken seriously. This costs $6,000-$9,000 extra."
"95 or more"
"97%"
How Chosen?
"Audition, selection, payment"
"There is a formal group audition and casting for large and small ensembles for YAGP."
"An audition to plan casting for ensembles, but anyone that wants to participate can."
"Audition, but really that is just a formality. All our accepted."
"Audition and then get placement by the director."
"Summit your interest - guaranteed to participate"
"There is an 'audition', but anyone who wants to do it can."
"There is an audition but everyone is accepted"
"Audition."
"There is an audition but it mainly serves as a way to see what variations they would feel comfortable with giving you."
"There is an audition for ensembles, and for solos/duets/trios there is a sign up form"
"Anyone can participate"
"There is an audition at the beginning of the year but anyone who wants to compete is allowed to."
"audition, but everyone can participate who wants to"
"You go to an "audition" where everyone gets cast in something."
Competitions Cost Extra?
"Privates, costumes, flights, hotels"
"Students must participate in a large ensemble in order to do a solo. Cost for ensemble is in the range of $500, solos are addition $1000 each with a discount on additional solos, costumes are included."
"Yes, students who do a solo for YAGP have 30 minutes of private coaching per week, and are required to do an ensemble. The cost of a solo is about $1000 in addition to tuition."
"Yes. Coaching, YAGP fees, costumes, travel"
"Costume rental and travel. Coaching fees and all entry fees are built into the payment schedule based on how many pieces the dancer chooses to take."
"all students are required to do an ensemble (cost $695), solos($1325) and small ensembles ($900) are optional costume fees ($50-300)"
"Yes, it costs significantly extra to participate in YAGP, mainly due to the private coaching."
"Yes. You’ll have costume fees, rehearsal fees, registration fees, and if you are doing contemporary solo an additional choreography fee."
"Yes."
"I am not participating so I am not sure. I do know that costumes are taken from wardrobe for free"
"Yes it is all fee based"
"Yes. Extra fees for each ensemble and each solo"
"Yes. Everyone competing is required to do an ensemble, which typically goes to YAGP finals. Solos cost $1000-$2000 per solo, and many PPDs do 2-3 solos (multiple classicals, a contemporary solo). Some students also do duets, trios, or pas de deuxs which are another several thousand dollars. If you add in travel costs for YAGP finals, it can easily cost $10,000+."
"yes! costumes and travel, ensemble is required to have a solo and that costs $500-600. solos are well over $1000. you will also pay for coaching. this year, they added a choreography fee on top of coaching."
"You are required to participate in at least 1 ensemble which costs a certain amount. Additionally and for additional cost you can have classical and contemporary solos as well as duets, trios, and pas. There will also be a costume fee and you need to anticipate travel costs because they always make it to finals."
Separate Competition Rehearsals?
No
Yes
Competition Interfered With Training?
"Added, more time to train"
"Although fun, overall participation in YAGP felt like an expensive and big distraction from my students' training. The amount of attention and time devoted to it by the school leadership would be better spent overseeing the standard and process of teaching in regular classes. However, the school always dominates at the Denver YAGP competition, and the large ensemble always goes to finals. For those who would like to experience finals but might not make it with a solo, this is a way to get there."
"Adds because it provides an opportunity for private coaching, but some may find it distracting from training."
"neutral"
"It opened up opportunities for performing, coaching and travel. It could be tiring. Dancer might not have chosen to compete if it weren't encouraged so much by the director."
"Added value due to additional one on one private coaching and ensemble experience, additional time commitment exhausted dancer and caused overuse injuries."
"Private coaching is a great opportunity, but with all the ensembles many students were stressed out, injured, and overworked. Sometimes students would use pointe classes to perform variations for each other, which takes away the pointe class and is frustrating for students not competing or doing a solo."
"It’s overall really great to participate in YAGP but around the competition time it tends to take over all the classes"
"Participation in competitions gives Colorado Ballet Academy students opportunities to learn additional repertoire and performance skills. It also builds camaraderie."
"I did not participate"
"Adds value if students are interested in the competition process"
"Depends on the coach you received"
"Students had to wait until 7:30 pm every week for the large ensemble rehearsals. With most students doing multiple solos and ensembles, many students were exhausted and burnt out. The director's response to this was to take away blackbox performances to reduce workload, when a much more effective solution would have been to stop allowing students, especially PPDs, to do so much for YAGP. The coaching is fantastic (assuming you get a good coach), but it's hard to say if it is worth thousands of dollars and burnout."
"It has increasingly become a distraction from training, and seems to be the director's priority. It has led to burnout and injuries, and participation does not feel optional. New students are being recruited into the program based on past YAGP success and their potential to win at YAGP."
"I think it both adds and detracts. Getting solo coaching is always amazing and even if you are just doing an ensemble there is so much experience to gain from it. However it takes a lot of energy. The rehearsals take a lot of time out of your day and also take place during some of the schools breaks. If you do a competition you will not have much rest or recovery time."
Communication
Formal Orientation?
Yes
Handboook & Paperwork
Adequate but missing several key pieces
Comprehensive and complete. I knew what to expect for the year
Fairly comprehensive but missing a few pieces
Vague and incomplete
Quality of Communication?
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Who Received Communication?
With parents and students
With parents only
Exams
Formal Exam?
No
Yes
Written Feedback?
Yes
Exam Adjudicator
Internal
Exam Rubrics Clear?
Agree
Disagree
Neutral
Strongly agree
Strongly disagree
Who Attends Exam Meeting?
No
Yes and parents were included. The meeting was with my teachers.
Yes and parents were included. The meeting was with the Artistic Director
Well Prepared For Exam?
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
Completely
How Heavily Did Exams Weigh in Promotions
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
Heavily
School Culture
How Supported Did Student Feel By Staff?
Not
1
2
3
4
5
Completely
How Supportive Were Students of One Another?
Not
1
2
3
4
5
Completely
Describe School Culture
"Kind students, favoritism, political ,"
"Students control the atmospher, so it is depend on specific students"
"Generally positive, kind staff, some mean students"
"Mostly supportive but strong favoritism"
"Competitive, community, rigorous, dedicated"
"Desires to be positive."
"Generally positive, some students toxic"
"Favoritism is strong"
"Colorado Ballet Academy has a fantastic culture."
"Friends support friends and not really other people."
"Favoritism is strong. Mean student behavior goes unchecked"
"solid training, favoritism, lonely"
"Friendly with quite toxic foundation."
"Blatantly exclusionary at all levels."
"Strong favoritism and quietly competitive."
Placement Notification Timing
"After tryouts"
"PPD1 vs PPD 2/3 is given with acceptance to program; PPD 2 vs 3 given after 2 days of placement in August."
"You recieve an email in March or April to hear if you have been accepted into PPD for the following year, but placement is not determined until the end of the first week."
"about a month before end of term"
"Email invitation to return to pre-pro came in February. Placement is tentative, and finalized the first week after return to classes."
"Within the first two weeks of the beginning of the semester. Students may get moved up or down due to class size, not skill"
"February"
"Around April, plenty of time before the next school year"
"Spring semester."
"In May."
"unsure"
"Second week into the start of the 1st semester"
"Feb/March"
"Yes"
"I'd say maybe March?"
How Dancer Was Notified
Written communication via email or regular mail
Dancer Had Mentor?
No
Yes
Mentoring Details
"informal mentoring pursued by the dancer"
"There is no formal mentoring program. Some teachers take a supportive approach to the classes and offer a lot of advice, but some don't. Sometimes it feels like most of the teachers are not aware that they are the main adult influence of teenagers, and see their only role as being a ballet teacher. You can schedule meetings with the academy director but her advice rarely takes the student's best interest into account."
"Dancer felt certain teachers were helpful when asked for recommendations, but, overall, strongly lacked any kind of guidance. There were routine meetings with the director that usually ended up creating more confusion and less clarity. Transparency is seriously lacking, In some cases, dancer actually felt like the director's advice was against their best interest. It was always vague at best. Director lacks the vision to see and nurture potential in all types of students. Only a small elite are mentored. Student did, however, feel supported by the teaching staff, and liked all teachers."
"There are a couple teachers who really pay attention to their classes as a whole and as individuals. They will take people under their wing if they notice a change of behavior. Most other teachers don't seem to notice/do anything."
Overall School Culture
Lord of the Flies
1
2
3
4
5
Warm & Inclusive
School Outcomes
Is Student In Upper Levels?
Yes
Highest Levels of School?
Studio Company
Trainee
Trainee, Junior Company, Studio Company
Trainee, Second Company
Trainee, Studio Company
How Many Promoted Internally to Bridge Level
10%
2
2 boys, 2 girls - often around 16 years old
2 female trainees and 2 male trainees are selected each year. They train with PPD 3. 5-6 students are also taken into the studio company which is not part of the school.
20%
3 for trainee
4-6
5
Every year, 2girls and 2boys are selected by the company director to be trainees for the next season. Others can be accepted into Studio Company.
The trainee program only involves 2-4 dancers, which are usually selected with the intent to be hired for studio company the following year. About 5 dancers (including trainees) are taken from PPD to studio company each year.
Three out of four trainees were taken into studio company. Three students were picked to be trainees next year.
To me it seems that about half of the pre pros come from the school and the other half comes from outside. Each year it’s probably only one or two but the highest level of the school only has maybe ten people in it.
Unsure
How Many Come From Outside to Bridge Level?
0
0 for trainee
Each year it’s probably about fifteen given that a lot of people remain in the program for many years.
I believe a majority of studio company is from outside the school.
N/A
None
Studio Company is mostly hired from outside, and trainees are only selected from current PPD students.
Trainees always come from inside (although there are a max of four of them), and most of the studio company comes from outside.
Trainees typically come from the academy.
Unsure
Where Graduates Who Do Not Get Bridge Level Go
A few find positions elsewhere but most leave ballet
All find bridge level positions at other ballet schools
Some find positions elsewhere and about half leave ballet
How Many Left and Went to College?
1
10%
2
20%
25%?
30%
At least one, maybe a couple more.
handful maybe
I don't know.
I have no idea
I’d say about 2 in 20?
none
Unsure
Career Support
I was not looking for new placement; was staying in program
Received lots of help
Received no help - I was on my own
Received some help
Describe How School Helped
"Meetings with director"
"student was 14 and planning to stay"
"If you are not looking for a job yet, the school will encourage you to stay in the program instead of considering different schools."
"Director offered some guidance when asked."
"Student received some direction after pursuing it from a specific instructor, the director/program did not help"
"They do not help at all unless you specifically ask, and even then it is not very helpful."
"There is a dedicated program for preparing for auditions and auditioning for new schools or programs or companies is a part of that."
"School did not help in any way"
"The academy director tends to give advice without considering the student individually. She generally advises against any institutions that may be of competition to CBA (other mid-sized companies), and offers limited helpful advice. It is best to seek out help from an individual teacher."
"Student got recommendations when asked. Student was not considered for bridge levels at school. There was no mentorship for next steps. They set their sights on the people they want immediately and everyone else is left to fend for themselves. If they don't see you for their company, they don't treat you like you belong."
"The director offers meetings to help look for companies and placements but they were never helpful for me so I stopped taking them. I never wanted to follow a traditional ballet route and I was told that I was on my own to figure that out. If you don't want to be in ABT or CB they "can't" help you."
Building & Surrounding Area
Security Around Building
No
Yes
Safety of Area Around School?
Not Safe
1
2
3
4
5
Extremely Safe
Studio Space
Cramped
1
2
3
4
5
Lots of space
Studio Cleanliness
Dirty
1
2
3
4
5
Spotless
Housing
Was Housing Provided?
No
Yes
Did Dancer Stay in Provided Housing?
No
Yes
Where Did Dancer Live?
Lived at home
Type of Housing Provided:
Apartment of some type
Housing Minimum Age
"14"
# of Roommates:
1
Adequate # of RA's?
Not at all
1
2
3
4
5
Absolutely
Type of Bathrooms:
Private in room
Curfew?
No
Curfew Reasonable?
Yes
Nightly Room Check?
No
Dorm Strictness
Extremely Lax
1
2
3
4
5
Extremely Strict
How Infractions Handled?
My student had no infractions this year (as far as I know!)
How Roommate Issues Handled?
"There was a meeting with the parents"
Housing Cleanliness
Dirty
1
2
3
4
5
Spotless
Students Required to Clean Room?
Yes
Laundry Available?
Yes
Laundry Free?
Yes
Evening Activities?
Yes
A/C In Room?
Yes
Weekend Outings?
No
Transportation Between Housing and Studios?
It was up to the student. Personally I took a Lime scooter but some drove and some walked
Safety Around Housing
Not Safe
1
2
3
4
5
Very Safe
Overall Rating of Housing
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Meal Plan
Meal Plan?
No
Academics
How Did Academics Work?
Separate e.g. online, independent study, etc.
Academic Support
There were no formal study requirements. Students were on their own
Did the School Support Academics?
Didn't support
1
2
3
4
5
Definitely supported
Overall Program Grades
Overall Dance Instruction
A
A-
A+
B
B-
B+
C+
Career Support and Placement
A+
B
B-
B+
C
C-
C+
D
Emotional Support
A
A-
B
B+
C
C+
D
Housing & Food
B
B+
C
N/A
Performance Opportunities
A
A-
A+
B
B+
C+
Overall Comments
Program's Best Aspect
"The dancers in thee program"
"I love seeing the students perform regularly."
"The positive environment and all of the staff feeling very approachable. There has never been any pressure around bodies, and it is a good atmosphere for mental health."
"Small class size (only 7 in PPD1)"
"Tight-knit community"
"Very good instructors. opportunities to dance with company"
"Positive and non-abusive environment, good quality teaching that emphasizes technique and artistry, not tricks."
"The teachers and students are very kind and talented and I love all the opportunities to perform and learn choreography,"
"I had never been in a day program before so I really liked the number of hours"
"The staff is incredible. They are supportive, experienced and great at growing strong dancers."
"Specific instructors"
"The teachers. There were a few new teachers this year that were absolutely fantastic and had so much advice and wisdom to offer."
"Proximity"
"The teachers are really amazing and there are so many performance opportunities, especially for the PPD."
Program's Worst Aspect
"The politics"
"Teachers and school leadership had no ability to contain student behavior during classes, so class atmosphere was dependent on the specific students in the room. For my student this meant a lot of wasted class time due to chatting, distraction and students negotiating for easier classes. There was also one teacher who routinely used cruel humor that insulted specific dancers."
"There is a lot of favoritism and teachers tend to focus on a few students only for corrections. A few teachers were very unprofessional and clearly did not want to be teaching and allowed anything but dancing to happen during class time."
"The COVID restrictions. This particular level didn't get much attention from the director. This level was not invited to participate in any of the "life skills" classes offered to the PPD2/3 levels despite the ages/school grades overlapping, and that all the kids in PP1 were doing remote school just the same as the upper levels with similar career goals. There were no boys and no partnering that year."
"Favoritism"
"Attention is not equally given. Favoritism is a problem."
"Favoritism, only a few students consistently get individual corrections"
"There is a lot of favoritism towards a select few dancers and the schedule is too much with school, productions and competition and has caused a lot of injuries this year."
"The students were very competitive and some of the older dancers were catty and talked behind each others backs."
"The student environment is often toxic with seemingly no real plan or incentive for improving behavior. Having a peer-supportive culture or mentorship could make an incredible difference in the dancers experience, confidence and growth."
"favoritism, lack of support"
"1. Toxic environment around food amongst the students this year. Several students lost significant weight and the overall culture was that eating is not normal and is for the weak.
2. The director is completely unaware of her impact and power over the morale of the students and program. She consistently makes decisions without thinking about the interest of the students, and does not realize that the culture and morale of the school is up to her. Her main focus is YAGP, not the wellbeing of the students who are spending 25+ hours at the studio each week."
"Culture - it is eroding and it is not supportive of all"
"Extreme favoritism that's existence is ignored."
What Changes Would Be Helpful?
"Better training"
"I would like leadership to embrace the role of running a bone fide vocational school including implementing a detailed student evaluation and feedback system, developing robust policies for student behavior (that are enforced), articulating and implementing a teaching a philosophy and teaching standards, as well as evaluation of teachers."
"Less emphasis on YAGP, more equal attention from teachers, and more serious contemporary and modern classes."
"More structure and consistency in the syllabus. The classes seemed like a free for all - just what ever that particular teacher chose to teach that particular day."
"School-wide Nutcracker would be nice."
"More opportunities for contemporary, all students given opportunities at solos and pas"
"A stronger environment of a school that fosters young people, not just a ballet program. Also, the director being more involved and caring about the students as a whole, not just as a number in the program."
"Create a lighter or more gentle schedule and stop praising the select few dancers that are favored"
"Nothing"
"Less favoritism would be good. The same students are often cast and/or highlighted, and in a school environment, allowing all students some opportunity to rotate and be showcased should be the norm"
"All students should be supported in their pursuit of a dance career. Improv and more contemporary classes are needed."
"The staff, especially director, needs to have more awareness of the impact of her decisions and actions on the students. The PPD students' lives revolve around ballet, and anything she says or does holds significant meaning for the students. It would really benefit the program if she considered how invested the students are, and made decisions on the basis of the entire PPD's interest, not the interest of one or two of her favorite students.
Additionally, the teachers and institution need more awareness of the emotional health of the students. It is a common occurrence for students to be crying in ballet class and teachers to ignore it and act like it is not happening."
"It should support every student. Elitism should not be encouraged. Toxic behavior should be eradicated."
"Overall, it's built very well. They need more diverse and additional contemporary classes. Slightly opposing that --- the schedule is too much and overuses the dancers to the point of constant injury."
Anything Else We Should Know?
"Favoritism is out control."
"Unless your family lives in Denver, be mature or prepared to grow up fast. You'll be on your own as it pertains to housing and school."
"There is a bias toward a certain body type. Not everyone feels seen. The culture among students is close-knit, but not always inclusive. Gil Boggs, AD of Colorado Ballet and former principal at ABT, attends many of the student black box performances."
"CBA has incredible and caring staff. Being affiliated with a company is definitely a bonus. There were a significant amount of injuries among the pre pros this year due to overuse."
"Yagp plays a big part in the environment of the school. It doesn’t make it competitive but if you are not participating it can feel like you are missing out on a big part."
"The training is excellent, your dancer will grow and improve."
"Understand that most students will be on their own."
"It is a solid program with great teachers, but the organization consistently fails to recognize their role as the PPD students' main school. They ignore the importance of academics, emotional support and wellbeing, and morale."
"This goes beyond competitive, which is expected in elite sports/ arts. This school will make students without advantages feel invisible, and there is no point asking for better treatment. You will not get an honest dialogue. It is certainly the case that the bigger your scholarship is, the better your chances here. If you feel ignored, don't wait for that to change. Move on."
"The favoritism is very blunt. The select few get amazing opportunities, but if you are not one of them, you will not gain anything from this program.
Additionally, the students are all very kind and sweet, but are not supportive of one another. A lot of unnecessary drama here too."
