"The conservatory is separate from the school and includes the pre-pro students, the trainees and the studio co."
"I don't know about the school levels, and I am not 100% sure, but I believe there were 3 conservatory levels. Trainee had 2 levels, i think that it is important to note that the opportunities and attention given to the levels differed greatly. dancers in trainee a often got less teacher variety worse rep to perform. I believe that they consider studio company to be the highest level."
"There are two groups Trainee A and Trainee B. Most come into the trainee A program and it’s based on age. There aren’t really any differences in training or performance opportunities between the two groups. It depends on if you are their chosen one in that group then you will get more opportunities. My daughter received more opportunities in the first year than the second year."
Dancer Age
13
17
19
Hours of Dance Each Week
11-15 hours
21-25 hours
Gender
Female
Company Affliated?
Yes
Was Student Scholarshipped?
No
Yes
Please Describe Scholarship
"It was merit based for school tuition."
Years At School
1 year
2 years
Full time or after school?
Full-Time
Curriculum
Days Per Week
6
Classes Per Day
2
3
4
Weekend Classes?
Yes
Weekend Schedule
Half day
Students Per Class
16-24
Less than 10
Weekly Repertoire or Variations?
No
Yes
Pointe Classes Per Week
4
5
Daily
Live Music in Technique Class?
No
Dedicated Men's Program?
No
Unsure
Men Taught by Male Teacher?
No
Yes
Men Taught Batterie?
No
Unsure
Boys In Level
Less than 5
Separate Technique Class for Boys
No
Techniques Taught
General Classical
Technique Teacher Rotation
Different depending on week
The school rotated teachers on a fixed schedule
Did School Director Teach?
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
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
"ABT curriculum. Technique daily, some days twice a day. Pointe, variations, rep, partnering, contemporary,"
"technique every morning, then either pointe or variations sometimes both then rehearsals if a show is approaching. Saturdays only have technique except during nutcracker season."
"Scheduling was changing constantly. Mostly would get 2 classes a day ( technique and pointe) sometimes no pointe. The first half of the year, there would be rehearsals for those that paid to do competitions (ADC/IBC or YAGP) but for some they would not allow them to compete.
Nutcracker casting determined how many rehearsals you had in the afternoon, so if you had very little casting and were not competing you would only have 2 classes a day."
Partnering
Frequency of Partnering Class
1x per week
No partnering
Partner Ratio
Everyone had to share a partner.
Most girls had to share a partner.
Who Taught?
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
Description of Partnering Class
"Partnering typically every week."
"it depended on the day, sometimes we would do teacher created combinations others we would learn a pas from classical rep."
Additional Comments
"There was often a big skill gap between the boys in the class; it made it difficult for some if they had a less experienced partner. The teacher did his best instruct the less experienced boys but sometimes the skills would be to advanced for their current level"
Other Classes
Other Dance Styles
None
Contemporary Offered?
Yes
Types of Contemporary Classes Taught
Choreography workshops
Improv
Technique
Contemporary Quality
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Master Classes?
No
Strength & Conditioning
Physical Training Offered?
No
Yes
Physical Training Types
Body conditioning
Pilates (mat or reformer)
Progressing Ballet Technique
Stretch class
Physical Training Schedule
Occasionally
Once or twice a week
Were Trainers Certified?
Some were certified and some were not depending on class
Yes
Physical Training Quality
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Strength & Conditioning Comments
"The actual Pilates and PBT classes were good, the "conditioning" classes were often not well structured and frequently included exercises that were just barre steps with high rep counts (like 30 grand battements in each direction)"
Injuries/Health/ Mental Health
Are Doctors Available?
No
Yes, for everyone
How Parents Notified?
My student did not get injured
School called parent
How Treatment Obtained?
"Director gave us the number of the company’s ortho."
"dancer would seek care independently"
PT Available?
No
Unsure
Was There a Recovery Plan?
My dancer did not get injured
Yes
Describe Recovery Plan
"Our dance PT shared all of her plans with the director who coordinated with the teachers. They were absolutely amazing about encouraging a slow and safe return to dance."
"n/a"
Mental Health Therapists Available?
No
Unsure
Were Students Given Fat Talk?
No
Staff Made Comments About Bodies?
No
Unsure
Yes
Were Students Weighed?
No
Was "Coded Language" Used?
Maybe
No
Additional Comments
"The school handles the rare injury with grace, and is very supportive of the dancer’s mental health and physical safety. We were very impressed."
"There weren't body comments in classes, but the wardrobe lady during nutcracker made a lot of questionable comments to the dancers. The costumes for nutcracker are all very small, like corset tight on even the thinnest girls. one girl in my class almost got taken out of a roll because all of the costumes that fit the colors and style that the teacher wanted did not fit her, she was not large at all. The costume situation was uncomfortable for most of the dancers"
"There is blatant favoritism which leads to the remainder of the trainees feeling defeated, tossed aside. These girls are away from home. They do not have their normal family support system there with them. So the saying,” misery loves company”, is spot on in this situation. The others start to complain to each other and it really creates a very damaging/ toxic environment. I know several families were dealing with their dancer feeling like no one cared about them.
The kids who want to go to these programs have dreams of going further in ballet, but this kind of environment can rob them of the love for ballet that they once felt.
I know the faculty knew kids were feeling this, but the environment never changed. So the program itself does not care about their mental well being they promote this atmosphere"
Performances: Winter Show/ Nutcracker
Performance Opportunities
1
2-3
6-7
School Winter Show?
Yes
Company or School Show?
School puts on it's own production and students dance all the parts
Cast in Winter Show?
Yes
How Chosen
Chosen by school director or the company artistic staff
Winter Show Role
Dancing part
Were You Paid?
No
Rehearsal Impact on Classes
2
4
5
Rehearsal Hours
1-2
3-5
Performance: Ballet Season
Cast in Company Productions?
No
Yes
Kind of Part Given?
Dancing part
How Chosen
All students allowed to AUDITION
Was Casting Fair?
Yes
Did Rehearsals Impact School Schedule?
3
Rehearsal Hours
1-2
Perfomance Opportunities
"Nutcracker is a school performance, there are multiple outreach venue opportunities throughout the year, auditions for company performances and a spring show as well."
Were You Paid?
No
Competition
School Does Competitions?
Yes
Competitions Required?
No
% of Students Who Performed
"half"
"around half"
"50%"
How Chosen?
"Whoever would like to compete may compete."
"any dancer can choose to compete"
"You must be willing to pay and they must feel you are strong enough to represent the program"
Competitions Cost Extra?
"Yes, a lump sum."
"yes, I can't remember for how much, but they offered a competition package that included all coaching sessions"
"Yes, you pay a lump sum of $1800 for shared private coaching. For a select few they would get private coaching. They don’t specify how many sessions, when they are or which teacher they are with."
Separate Competition Rehearsals?
Yes
Competition Interfered With Training?
"I think it added because it created more training time, and the time spent was quite beneficial for my technique and understanding of my artistry."
"yes, during the season the teachers spent a lot of time preparing for competition, every thing else fell to the back burner and if you weren't competing you weren't doing much dancing apart from just classes"
"If it wasn't for this my dancer would only be receiving 2 classes a day of dance or dance related classes. This is less intense training than what she had at home with her local studio."
Communication
Formal Orientation?
No
Unsure
Yes
Handboook & Paperwork
Comprehensive and complete. I knew what to expect for the year
Fairly comprehensive but missing a few pieces
Quality of Communication?
Poor
1
2
3
4
5
Excellent
Who Received Communication?
With dancers only. Parents not involved
With parents and students
Exams
Formal Exam?
No
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
"Friendly, supportive and professional."
"mixed depending on the dancer"
"Only care about favorites"
Placement Notification Timing
"End of year assessment."
"April - May"
"At the end of the year"
How Dancer Was Notified
In-person meeting with school director/staff
Dancer Had Mentor?
No
Yes
Mentoring Details
"The assistant director is amazing about mentoring. It is informal, but she seemed always available and eager to help with questions and guidance."
"very informal, some teachers were more receptive than others, overall they all wanted to help you succeed, but the dancers have to seek out advice"
"There was none"
Overall School Culture
Lord of the Flies
1
2
3
4
5
Warm & Inclusive
School Outcomes
Highest Levels of School?
Trainee, Studio Company
How Many Promoted Internally to Bridge Level
Unsure
Where Graduates Who Do Not Get Bridge Level Go
Some find positions elsewhere and about half leave ballet
How Many Left and Went to College?
10%
Unsure
Career Support
I was not looking for new placement; was staying in program
Received no help - I was on my own
Describe How School Helped
"I am not looking for new placement next year, however the faculty have been very helpful answering questions and helping me schedule a short term I received for next fall, so I would imagine they are quite helpful when asked!"
"They sold a package to the dancers to help with preparing audition materials, due to poor planning this did not happen as advertised. They said that they would help with dancers with filming class work, variations, and photos. Nothing happened for photos and they did give us generic combinations to film for class work, but it ultimately fell on the dancer to film everything themselves. They did, however, help coach and film the variations, but there was very limited time allotted for this. Not every dancer got the opportunity to rehearse at every session that they signed up for (they were group sessions). If you asked a faculty member to look review your video for feedback, if they had the time they would be receptive"
"They offer a paid program to help put together your resume and video audition material."
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
Where Did Dancer Live?
Lived at home
Rented an apartment alone or with other dancers
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+
Career Support and Placement
A-
B+
D
Emotional Support
A
C-
D
Housing & Food
N/A
Performance Opportunities
A+
C
D
Overall Comments
Program's Best Aspect
"The teachers, the solid curriculum and the culture."
"They had some very good teachers, the technical training is very strong"
"Being near the ocean and numerous beaches.
The program is relatively small in size"
Program's Worst Aspect
"Nothing, really."
"The school is VERY disorganized. The program director is unsuited for leadership and often does not follow through on his promises to students. I cannot count how many times the other teachers were left to fix a problem caused by his poor planning. The facilities are small and not maintained well. The main studio had no mirrors and the 2nd largest studio had severe warping, to the point that they stopped holding classes there for a month. They later decided that they weren't going to fix the floors and resumed classes on a dangerous floor. The other studios are far too small to hold full classes in. We would often have to angle just to fit everyone at the barres. Overall, the program does not, in my opinion, provide students with the opportunities and resources needed to be completive in the job market. It is not the best place to build an impressive resume and gain performance experiences. The trainees got very little opportunity to learn alongside the company, which is quite odd for a trainee program. I would only recommend this program if a dancer was still young was looking for a place to build solid technique before competing or going to a different upper level program."
"Lack of opportunity"
What Changes Would Be Helpful?
"I am happy with the program."
"Even though this is a Trainee program they are really just a part of the school. Everyone is paying the same amount of tuition to be there; therefore training and development opportunities should be equal. The inequality breeds distrust.
Every kid should feel that the program is there to help them grow and prepare them for the next steps in their dance careers. Some kids will leave there with a great resume of performance opportunities while others will not. It’s too bad.
There also needs to be some published curriculum objectives for year one and year two. I’m not sure what the difference between the two year is? Year two felt a lot like year one from the classes to the casting in nutcracker, it was all the same."
Anything Else We Should Know?
"The faculty is amazing and care so much about the students. Their corrections are so helpful."
"The training is strong, but they do have favorites that get more attention than the other dancers. They focus a lot on Yagp, so if that is not something that you want to prioritize maybe consider other programs. Also, they have a preference for younger dancers, if you are older than 19 maybe look elsewhere."
"Favoritism is very obvious here and be prepared to feel ignored at times.
There is very blatant casting inequity; for a chosen few, multiple roles/ opportunities are given in various performances , private solo performances for donors were bestowed. The first year, it’s all new and you are lulled into thinking that if you put in the time, next years opportunities will be more and you will explain away the feeling of not being seen by your lack of seniority.
It became difficult to keep in shape with so little class time and no opportunities. For competition rehearsals, the chosen few would have private lessons with teachers while others would have shared time. All paid the same fee for these “private lessons” lessons. This was brought up to the director and the explanation given was they were all shared privates, but the other dancer may have been in another rehearsal at that time. A rehearsal that was an extra that others didn’t have the opportunity for!!
This left the remaining trainees feeling tossed aside, confidence levels drop. Many of these kids are living away from their families and without that support system it can be very difficult for them to process.
In the second half of the year, very little goes on. They do add in a contemporary class once a week
These problems are not unique to Sarasota and unfortunately are far too common in the dance world. It was difficult to help our daughter remain positive while she was away and it was hard to see her love of ballet slip away. These programs attract dedicated students and very supportive families. A huge investment is being made financially for the parents and emotionally for the dancers. The program works for those that are deemed exceptional. If you live nearby it’s a studio to consider, but for those being on their own for the first time and not standing out as exceptional be prepared to have a less than ideal experience."
