That would be funny if they did! She hasn't ruled out PBT but I don't think she is leaning toward it though. Did you know that the dorms aren't air-conditioned (unless you get Byham House which only holds like 20 people)? Ugh! (That's not why she is leaning toward something else, but it doesn't help! LOL) BTW, my DD is turning down Boston too.

That's SO exciting! Congrats to your son! My DD was accepted to PBT (the 5 week, as well as the Company Experience) too. She still plans to audition for Nashville (if she hasn't picked one by then). BTW, she got her acceptance to TWSB this past weekend. No idea where she is planning to go yet though. Has your son decided yet? It would be funny if our kids ended up in the same place this summer! LOL!

I think a two-week program would be a great compromise! Something like RWB or CPYB's August Course would be great! That way they get the best of both worlds. Yes, I agree about the elite programs. Everyone there has been accepted and paid their money, so the teachers should really be giving everyone attention! They can still have their favorites, but it shouldn't mean that they ignore 1/2 (or more) of the class!

Honestly, staying at home is a perfectly valid option if you have good training at home. Summer intensives really aren't "necessary" until your kids get older (and even then they often aren't crucial). For many kids they are just fun (like some kids go to summer camp for weeks) and an opportunity to do what they love in a different place and with other kids who feel the same way. So, it is fun, but definitely not a must.

Thanks for the feedback on Washington Ballet! It is definitely one that my daughter would consider for this summer. She knows someone who went there for the summer and then stayed on as a trainee, She loved in there! Has your son done the SI there? I know that sometimes the year-round training and the SI can be very different. Sometimes the SI is taught by more guest teachers than year-round ones! DD is really trying to look carefully at options this summer. She is not focusing on prestige, but trying to find one that offers great training and that fits her criteria/needs for the summer. Not that prestige is necessarily a bad thing! She attended PNB for the past couple of years and she got great training! But she knows that there are other places that also offer great training without being a 3-letter SI.

I can't think of any to name off-hand. I am only familiar with PNB because my DD attended the summer intensive there for the past several years. I just know that as I've researched company websites, I have definitely seen some places that word the info in the video audition part in such a way that it makes it obvious that they really favor in-person auditions. So, I would look at each site that you are considering and if you don't see things worded that way, I would send the video. Or if you really can't make the live audition, I would send a video even if they do word it that way. All they can say is no!

Sorry! Things have been crazy here! Ok, these are my thoughts/opinions about the programs you mentioned. A couple I have first-hand impressions of, but not all of them. So, take my comments with a grain of salt. 😉 ABT-- solid training with their own curriculum; very popular so audition classes tend to be very big (the last time DD auditioned for ABT, there were 92 people in her audition class); ABT has multiple locations, so they are able to accommodate more students; there is a hierarchy of the sites, so students are placed according to their levels which means that you might not get your first choice geography-wise (you are able to rank your choices for location, but if you put New York as your first choice, for instance, they might assign you to Tampa if they don't think you would fit well in NYC; since you have multiple children dancing, this could mean that your children are assigned to different sites); my daughter attended ABT in the young dancer program, so I am only familiar with that site; she was accepted to the 5 week NYC intensive a couple of years ago, but chose a different intensive; I have heard that ABT NYC, in particular, tends to concentrate on their favorites (the ones that attend on scholarship) and some people feel that they are ignored if they aren't a "chosen one"-- I do not have experience to confirm or deny this; if your child is accepted to either the NYC site or the California one, they get invites to attend special workshops during the year SAB-- my daughter has never auditioned there because she has had numerous friends who went to SAB and did not enjoy it-- one friend didn't like it when she went, but got pressured by a teacher and her mom to attend for a second summer and she ultimately ended up quitting ballet after returning from the second summer; she was an amazing dancer, but the pressure at SAB is intense, even at the young ages because they start asking dancers to stay for the year-round program really young and for many it feels like a rejection when they aren't asked; dancers are constantly being evaluated there and SAB has a very particular set of criteria (and body types) that they are looking for; I've seen several young girls that are really affected by that level of intense scrutiny (of course it depends on the kid too!); another complaint is that SAB only offers a couple of classes a day and many people think that there is too much downtime compared to other intensives; SAB only accepts 8-10% of the people it auditions in a given year; on the pro side-- great dorms and you are housed right above the classrooms, so it is super-convenient and it is NYC! Miami City-- very Balanchine school; my daughter hasn't gone there but thought it was the hardest audition she has ever had; it is in Miami, so it is really hot in the summer--UGH!; the dorms are pretty far from the school, so there is a long bus ride to and fro every day; my daughter has a friend that went and didn't love it but she was in a higher level and I think the pressure and competitiveness was pretty high which probably isn't an issue in the lower levels; don't know the exact acceptance rate but it is on the low side The Rock-- I have heard that the year-round program is really good (and I have seen some amazing dancers from the Rock at YAGP!), but that the summer intensive isn't impressive at all; they do take most everyone that auditions and unless this has changed over the past year or so, they give acceptances and assign levels right at the audition, so there is no wait for results; not as important and it might have changed in the past two years because I haven't kept up with the Rock since I crossed it off the list, but I have heard that the bus ride to the studio is about 45 minutes each way and the bus isn't always air-conditioned-- ugh! CPYB-- very solid training; very inclusive since there is no audition-- they take everyone and then level appropriately once you get there; very much a "ballet boot camp"-- the focus is completely on ballet; two ballet technique classes a day, plus most levels are offered a third technique class that is optional, but highly recommended; jazz and hip hop classes are available at an extra cost; CPYB also offers something called the "August Course" which is a 1 or 2 week ballet bootcamp (my daughter has attended this) but there is no housing for the August course; Carlisle is a small town and the commute from the dorms at Dickinson College to the studio is walkable Joffrey Chicago-- I don't know much about this intensive except that it is the "real" Joffrey; I know of someone who went to the Young Dancer program a few years ago and wasn't happy with it, but I don't know anyone who has gone to the regular program Don't know much about RWB or Ballet Chicago-- sorry! I hope this helps! Please know that these are just my impressions. Others might feel differently. 😉

I do all of the laundry for the household (although DH or my daughters will do their own laundry occasionally for various reasons). I fold everyone's laundry, including all underwear, and put it in baskets. They are responsible for putting their own laundry away.

I don't think that auditioning via video negatively affects your changes of getting in, in general. Some intensives strongly prefer in person auditions over video auditions, so for those I would be hesitant, but otherwise it is fine. I know of at least one intensive (PNB) that won't accept video auditions at all unless you are overseas. Obviously there are pros and cons with videos vs. live auditions. With a video audition, you can re-record a section if you mess up. However, if you are weaker at a certain thing, it might not be noticed at a live audition (where the adjudicator might not be looking at you all of the time), but nothing would be missed on a video where they are only looking at the one dancer! In general, I think it is best to go to a live audition if it is possible. However, if it isn't, send the video!

How exciting! Performance experience is so valuable... and fun! Yes, I do think that it is helpful to do some auditions for experience. The more auditions my daughter does, the more comfortable she is. She actually loves auditioning! So, if you can fit some in your schedule, I think it could be beneficial. Let me know if you want me to offer my thoughts on what I know about some of the programs you mentioned. I don't want to offer it unsolicited, but I am happy to share my thoughts if you think it would be helpful.

Sadly, no. There are a couple of places that host a bunch of auditions that post a list of ALL of the auditions that are coming to their site, but most don't. So, you mostly have to piece it all together by looking at the individual intensive websites. 😞

She does get the opinion of teachers, however DD and I will make the ultimate choice based on a number of factors (which will partly include the thoughts of her teachers). DD does consider the audition itself and whether or not she enjoyed the class, but she also knows that she might not have that particular adjudicator at all at the actual intensive, so that only tells her a little bit about the program itself. Obviously she researches usually several ballet websites and talks to anyone she knows who might have gone there. Style can certainly be a factor, but it isn't a deciding one. Her home studio is primarily Vaganova, so she has been training in Balanchine in the summers. She likes exposure to different styles, but she wouldn't rule out a Vaganova intensive if she felt that it had everything she wanted/needed for the summer. This summer, she really feels like she wants a program that offers enough partnering opportunities since she doesn't get them at home. She also wants an end-of-session performance since the intensive she has been attending doesn't have that. She, of course, will be considering class sizes and leveling. She doesn't want to go someplace for the name and the "prestige" if she is going to be in a large class and not get any personal attention. She wants to consider the schedule of each program and evaluate the amount and types of classes offered. Then, to a much smaller extent, she will be considering things like: what is the dorm situation like? are the dorms air-conditioned? how long of a bus ride is it from the dorms to the studio? is the environment super-competitive or is it friendly and supportive? are there things to do with the free time? etc. Overall, it is a tough choice because if she invests the time and money to go away, she really wants to come back feeling like she has gained something. As for your teachers not offering a lot of advice, I don't think that is uncommon unfortunately. A lot of ballet teachers don't seem to have a lot of knowledge about many of these summer intensives. Or they might know a bit about a few of them (normally the well-known ones) but not much else. The summer intensive world has expanded rapidly in the past several years alone and hardly existed at all when many of the teachers were school age. So, a lot of them don't know that much about them unless they have invested a lot of time to research the various programs. I don't necessarily agree with your Ballet Master that your children should go with the 3 letter ones. (And I say this as someone whose daughter has spent the past 3 summers at a well-known 3-letter program and loved it and got a lot out of it.) I think that the 3 letter programs (and those that are also in that category, like Houston Ballet) can be very good, but they can also be over-crowded (in some cases) and have a super-competitive feeling within the intensive. Some also offer inconsistent training based on whether you are a "favorite" or not. A 3-letter program can be a great choice, but I do think that there are some smaller less well-known programs that can be a better fit and a solid choice for some people (or even just for some years of the training). I also think that the type of training method doesn't actually matter that much as long as it is quality training. I can see where you might want to go someplace with the same type of training as your home studio if your child is young or just beginning ballet so they can have a consistent foundation. But later on, they probably benefit from being exposed to different styles. I have found that most kids easily adjust from style to style going from home studio to intensive (although adjusting to spotting front can be a bit of a challenge at first!). Audition season is exciting!!! (And anxiety-provoking and tiring and patience-testing....LOL!) My DD loves auditioning, but I will be glad when it is over and she has made her decision! What auditions are your children doing this year?

Thank you! It is a nice feeling, but I don't think she will end up going there. Her list this year includes Houston Ballet, ABT, Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Austin Ballet, Orlando Ballet, and Miami City Ballet. She has not attended any of these places before. She decided that she did not want to return to the place that she attended for the past several years. So, she didn't even audition for it at all. She still loves it and may audition again in the future, but decided that she really wanted to try someplace new this year. I am interested in where she is going to go too! In the past she always knew what her top picks were. This year it is wide open! I have no idea where she is going to end up.

DD has two auditions last weekend. They were backups though and not very important to her. She has only heard back from one of them so far (she was accepted with a scholarship). The other one should come in this week. This weekend she traveled to another city for three auditions. Surprisingly, none of them were cancelled! They had emailed warnings that they might be cancelled, but fortunately they weren't. These 3 (well, 2 of the 3) were more important to my daughter, so I'm so glad that she was able to do them. Next weekend she has one. It will be her safety. The following weekend she has 3 and then she'll be done. If she gets an acceptance prior to then that she wants to attend, she will likely not do any of these last 3. Last year she knew that she wanted to go to 1 of 2 places. She auditioned to them both early (the first and second weekend of January), got accepted to both, and was done auditioning. This year she really isn't sure where she wants to go, so she is auditioning much more widely. She is auditioning to a bunch of places that she's never auditioned before. I'm curious where she will end up this summer! Good luck to everyone else who is in the midst of audition season!

I have a high-end, newish dishwasher, but it does not actually clean the dishes. In fact, I have never had a dishwasher that actually cleans the dishes. I always joke that our dishwasher just sterilizes the dishes. Our dishes need to enter the dishwasher completely scrubbed clean. If we leave even a speck of food, the dishwasher won't remove it, but will instead "bake" it in.

I drive a Volvo XC90. It seats 7 pretty comfortably, but probably not for a long trip. I definitely don't think it would be big enough for 6 people, 2 dogs, and luggage. DH used to have a Honda Pilot and that sounds like a lot to even fit in that. DH now has some giant Yukon Denali XL or something like that. It is great for trips, and I feel like we fill it up pretty nicely with just 4 people and luggage!

My girls (10th and 12th grades) are very happy to be homeschooling high school and wouldn't have it any other way. They love it. My oldest tried a private school for the first semester of her freshman year, but was miserable so we brought her home. I really wish that it had worked out differently for her. Honestly, I am not convinced that I made the right choice continuing to homeschool them through high school. In many ways I do believe that they would be better served having gone to school. I did the best that I could, but I don't believe that the education that they received was/is better than they would have received from the private school. However, I do believe that they will turn out okay. Fortunately my older daughter is only applying to one college and it is not very difficult to get into. I am hopeful that she will be accepted, especially since we are not requesting any financial aid or scholarships. If she is not accepted, she will have to go to community college and then we will try to transfer her later. I am planning to have my younger daughter do more dual enrollment, so that she will be able to prove herself to colleges. She won't apply to any super-competitive schools, but I do want her to have some choice. Good luck on your decision! it is a difficult one. Many many people on this site have homeschooled high school successfully, so they have great advice. I will say that I have enjoyed every single second of having my girls at home. We are very very close. I suspect that eventually I will feel nothing but positive about homeschooling high school.

I feel for you! When my DH started his own business 8 years ago, it was such a stressful time. I wasn't working (still don't), and it was nerve-wracking. However, we knew that his business had a very high chance of success and that it might just be tight until everything got started. I took the whole household budget to the bare bones. We had savings, plus we got a small business loan to handle the purchase of the equipment. DH and I are both very business-minded (accountants and I also have an MBA), so we really thought through everything. Even so, it was so scary! It has been the biggest blessing though! He started making money almost immediately and was able to pay his business loan off in only 4 months. However, my DH's business is very different. He works from home so he has minimal overhead costs. His clients are other businesses. His employees are all highly educated and professional, so he has no turnover. He has very specialized knowledge and a good reputation within his industry, so he is able to maintain and add clients. His business is also pretty recession-proof. I understand that this isn't the case for many businesses. I don't know what kind of business your DH is starting, but I wish you the best for success! If it works out, it will likely be the best thing. We would never be in the position we are now if my DH hadn't taken the plunge.

I also have the goal this year to drink more water. I bought a water bottle with markings on the side of it to indicate hourly water "goals" (there are quite a few options for these on Amazon). If I have a regular water bottle just sitting beside me, I won't drink from it enough, but since this option gives me intermediate goals along the way, I end up doing it.

The best place to research various summer intensives would be the website Ballet Talk for Dancers. But just be aware of their rules there. They are VERY strict about them and will give you a good scolding if you break them. For instance, don't ask for a comparison of programs. You can definitely get information there and ask for opinions here though. 🙂 Columbus has a professional company and an attached summer intensive. It is called Ballet Met. https://www.balletmet.org/academy/summer/summer-intensive/ Cincinnati also has one at Cincinnati Ballet. https://www.cballet.org/academy/summer-intensive/

This is what I'm referring to. https://www.nbs-enb.ca/Professional-Ballet/Summer-School

There are definitely benefits to experiencing different teachers and styles (Balanchine if you primarily study Vaganova, etc.). No doubt about it. But if you are asking if it is necessary for your children at this point, it really isn't. Even your oldest is on the the young side. Like I said, my daughter has gone away to an intensive every year since she was 10 years old. Did she gain a lot from her experiences? Absolutely. But was it necessary? Not at all. She will be 16 this summer and I do think that it is necessary for her now. I don't regret her going to "away" intensives at a younger age and it was not a financial hardship for us to send her but, in hindsight, I really don't think it was necessary.

Honestly, I don't think it is important for anyone to go away for a summer intensive until they are older (maybe 14 or 15) if they have good options for summer training. And I say this as the mom of a daughter who has gone to summer intensives since she was 10 (she is 15 now). CPYB is a great place for training if you decide to go that route. But if you have excellent training at home, which it sounds like you do, I wouldn't be concerned about doing an "away" intensive at this point unless you just really want them to experience that.

Oh, that's so special! It sounds like a fun and supportive place for your daughter. Those aren't that easy to find!

Ah, ok! Hope she loves her new pointe shoes! I remember how excited my daughter was when she first got hers!