Ballet Summer Intensive (Houston)

[Lori C- Texas]

I am wondering if anyone's child has ever gone to the Houston Ballet Summer Intensive? Dd13 has been accepted, she will be 14 next month. She has never been to a summer intensive before. She tried out for intensives last year and got accepted to some but last year we just auditioned just for fun. This year she wants to go. I truly do not know a lot about summer intensives. Wondering what kind of experience other kids have had at the Houston Ballet? She will be gone for 6 weeks which freaks me out but she is all for it! :)

 

She will be staying with family in Houston so we don't have to worry about dorm/roommate issues. What all should I look out for or prepare dd for?? What supplies other than regular ballet class stuff should I send with here?

 

Thanks,

Lori

[Mary in VA]

My dd hasn't gone to Houston SI, but has gone to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's SI. Make sure you send plenty of pointe shoes because she will go through them faster then normal. More dancing = more shoes. And what she doesn't use during the SI will be ready for the fall :001_smile:

 

And even though she is staying with family, if there are planned weekend activities, let her do the ones she wants. The girls in the dorms really bond during the off time. Since your dd won't be there, the activities will help her bond with her class. Half of the fun of a SI is making new friends!

 

Mary

 

ETA: Have you ever been on the ballet board-Ballet Talk for Dancers? There will be TONS of information about SIs. You have to be a member to see the SI stuff, but it is broken down by specific intensives. So you can look at Houston specfically. All you have to do to be a member is register-like here! Here's the link- http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php

Edited February 18, 2011 by Mary in VA

[Lori C- Texas]

I have wondered about how many pairs of pointe shoes to send. Right now she can make it almost 6 months on one pair. Her studio only has them doing pointe twice a week. I was thinking 3 pairs??? Should I send more??

 

She would love to stay in the dorm. We just don't have another $3000 to fork out in dorm costs!:) She looks at this as a 6 week long slumber party and is kind of bummed about not staying in the dorms. But we have told her she can do which ever weekend activities she wants. She is really looking forward to spending a lot of time with girls that are as focused as she is on ballet. I hope she makes a ton of new friends.

[Mary in VA]

I would check with Houston on the pointe schedule. Last year at Pittsburgh my dd had point daily, sometimes for 3-4 hours total! That was split between pointe, variations, and rehearsals. If Houston does have a heavy pointe schedule, you might want to talk to her ballet school about letting her take technique classes on pointe for at least part of the time to toughen up her feet. Make sure you send extra of whatever else she needs like toe pads, tape, band aids, etc. You can always send her another pair of shoes if you need to. Just have her tell you when she starts dancing on pair 3 and calculate if they will make it to the end.

 

I'm sure she will have a blast! My dd was gone for 5 weeks. She was homesick for the first 3-4 days and after that was fine. When we picked her up she said she wished she could stay another month. It is so much fun for dancers to be able to dance so much without having to worry about school work :001_smile: My dd would be in heaven if she could dance, play the piano and do art work all day! To bad academics have to fit in the picture!

 

Mary

[DianeW88]

Depends on the intensive, but my dd usually went through 6-8 pair of pointe shoes per intensive. She usually attended two different intensives each summer. They are a lot of fun and the girls have a blast. I do agree with a pp that it might be a little more difficult for your dd to bond with the other girls if she's not staying in the dorms. I would at least make sure she goes on the excursions and eats at least lunch with the girls in the cafeteria each day. Maybe you could pay for meals or reconsider the dorm situation. They really do have a wonderful time together. My dd never went to Houston, but she did have friends who attended and they enjoyed it.

[Lori C- Texas]

She is very social. She has never met a stranger. Hopefully, that will help her bond. We are buying the catered lunches and we are hoping her grandmother, who she is going to be staying with, won't mind her being gone all weekend on outings!:)

 

6-8 pairs of pointe shoes?? :svengo: I was afraid of that!:) Luckily, her aunt who also lives in Houston has offered to buy all of her attire and shoes. :)

[LibraryLover]

I have a young dancer who would like to attend one of these in the next couple of years, but I worry. One of my freshman suite-mates way back in college was a dancer (she had attended the performing arts high school in NYC- of Fame fame), and she said summer intensives as a young dancer is where she learned to purge (from other dancers). Now, I know that was a long time ago, before eating disorders were on adult radars, but I still think about that.

 

My dd loves to dance, and we've been told she has excellent flexibility and natural form. They have advanced her twice in less than two years. I love that she loves to dance and I love that she works hard and is good at it. I cry watching, mostly because I am a wimp. But I worry. When she has asked about summer programming, I have been very vague.

 

Do they come back super- skinny after being gone? I understand that hours of dance a day is going to result in a toned and lean body, but do the adults make sure the kids eat, or the younger kids, at least? Will they call you if your dd seems to have eating/not eating issues? I understand that she could learn this in the waiting room at the ballet school here, but if she is gone for a couple/few weeks, I won't have an opportunity to observe any behavior changes., and address them.

 

I am also OK with expereinced moms telling me that I am being ridiculous and falling for the stereotypical hype.

Edited February 18, 2011 by LibraryLover

[Mary in VA]

I have a young dancer who would like to attend one of these in the next couple of years, but I worry. One of my freshman suite-mates way back in college was a dancer (she had attended the performing arts high school in NYC- of Fame fame), and she said summer intensives as a young dancer is where she learned to purge (from other dancers). Now, I know that was a long time ago, before eating disorders were on adult radars, but I still think about that.

 

My dd loves to dance, and we've been told she has excellent flexibility and natural form. They have advanced her twice in less than two years. I love that she loves to dance and I love that she works hard and is good at it. I cry watching, mostly because I am a wimp. But I worry. When she has asked about summer programming, I have been very vague.

 

Do they come back super- skinny after being gone? I understand that hours of dance a day is going to result in a toned and lean body, but do the adults make sure the kids eat, or the younger kids, at least? Will they call you if your dd seems to have eating/not eating issues? I understand that she could learn this in the waiting room at the ballet school here, but if she is gone for a couple/few weeks, I won't have an opportunity to observe any behavior changes., and address them.

 

I am also OK with expereinced moms telling me that I am being ridiculous and falling for the stereotypical hype.

 

I'm assuming this is the 11 yo you are talking about? If so you have plenty of time to learn about SIs. Most things I've read recommend 14 as a good age to go to an away SI. My dd did summers at her home studio before that. She does not personally know anyone with an eating disorder and she has danced in three studios and been to two SIs. She knew two girls in a professional training program at one of the schools (27 hours a week of ballet) who had eating disorders, but the school addressed the dancers and families and the dancers put on weight. As far as eating at the SI, from what my dd says they ate a lot :001_smile: Dancing 6-8 hours a day makes them hungry! The intensives my dd went to had plenty of healthy food available.

 

I highly recommend the board that I mentioned above - Ballet Talk for Dancers. It has dance professionals moderating it. You can't get access to all the info unless you are a member, but it's worth the few minutes it takes to register. As a parent of a young dancer you really need to check it out. It will educate you AND calm your fears. I wish I had discovered it years before I did.

 

HTH,

Mary

[LibraryLover]

Thank you! That is very helpful. I'll check that out. Yes, it's my youngest. She does summer programming here, and that should be good for a couple more summers, at least. :)

[arghmatey]

Bathing suits and sunscreen! It is so hot here in the summer. Wonderful, but hot hot hot.

[Lori C- Texas]

I was also concerned about nutrition at SIs too. I saw that at the Houston one they are required to take a nutrition class and that their meals are based on what they are learning in class.

 

And thanks for the link to the dance talk forum. Tons of info there!:)

[DianeW88]

My dd is an apprentice at our city's ballet company and is attending a university on a full ballet scholarship. Just for background info.

 

Don't worry so much about eating disorders. The dance world has changed and studios and SIs are very aware of them. Not to mention....not everyone is susceptible. It is more of a mental health issue than just a "dieting" issue. You have to pre-disposed to that sort of thing to begin with. It is actually more of a symptom of lack of control in your life and environment than a desire to lose ten pounds. And, I certainly wouldn't worry about it during a summer program. My dd has gone to two every summer since she was 14 and has never had a problem with eating issues. And, like I said....they watch for that sort of thing.

[Mary in VA]

My dd is an apprentice at our city's ballet company and is attending a university on a full ballet scholarship. Just for background info.

 

Don't worry so much about eating disorders. The dance world has changed and studios and SIs are very aware of them. Not to mention....not everyone is susceptible. It is more of a mental health issue than just a "dieting" issue. You have to pre-disposed to that sort of thing to begin with. It is actually more of a symptom of lack of control in your life and environment than a desire to lose ten pounds. And, I certainly wouldn't worry about it during a summer program. My dd has gone to two every summer since she was 14 and has never had a problem with eating issues. And, like I said....they watch for that sort of thing.

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

I re-watched the movie "The Turning Point" a couple of weeks ago. It was made in 1977 and had many professional dancers it in. The women looked TERRIBLE. My dd and I have seen lots of professional ballets over the last fiew years and the only dancers I've seen that looked that bad were from the Kirov and Bolshoi. I think American dancers generally look healthier than they used to and that philosophy filtered down to dance schools. Of course they are still skinny by average standards, but not emaciated!

 

Mary

[Sonshine]

It seems that different ballet schools have different emphases as far as weight. My close friend's daughter attend the Houston Ballet's school when Ben Stevenson was the director of the Houston Ballet. All was good. When the new director took over, he preferred very skinny girls. On her first day of intensives she arrived expecting to be in the class where boys lifted her. She wasn't. She was told to lose weight. She truly wasn't at all overweight, but wasn't ultra skinny. She did develop a serious eating disorder, among other serious mental health issues, not blamable entirely on the dance school, but made worse related to her experiences there. We are not in the dance world, but from my observation, this is something serious you need to be well informed about.

[Green Vixen]

Hi Lori,

 

Congratulations to your daugher on being accepted into Houston Ballet Academy summer school! I actually attended this when I had just turned 16, so it's been quite a while :lol:!

 

When I went through the summer school, I went through a pair of pointe shoes a week. So how many pairs she needs will depend on how long she'll be there and what level she is in. I am sure they will send her a list of items she will need, probably the basics; pointe shoes, slippers, character shoes, jazz shoes, leotards, tights, etc.

 

I stayed in the dorms and they had lots of activities for us to do. I am sure she can join whichever activities she is interested in. Plus each day is usually 6-12 hours so she'll have lots of opportunities to get to know everyone.

 

Ben Stevenson was the Director when I attended, and skinny was in then as well. We had lots of girls being told they needed to lose weight, and lots of eating disorders were hidden from the teachers and staff. I think that is probably true in most of the competitive ballet world. If you haven't already I would discuss this with your daughter and would give a heads up to the family she is living with on the signs of anorexia and bulimia.

 

I hope she has a great time!!!

 

Marisa

[Mejane]

I have a young dancer who would like to attend one of these in the next couple of years, but I worry. One of my freshman suite-mates way back in college was a dancer (she had attended the performing arts high school in NYC- of Fame fame), and she said summer intensives as a young dancer is where she learned to purge (from other dancers).

 

We had the opposite experience. Dd attended Boston Ballet's SDP last year and came back ten pounds heavier. Apparently, the food was spectacular. :001_smile:

[DianeW88]

We had the opposite experience. Dd attended Boston Ballet's SDP last year and came back ten pounds heavier. Apparently, the food was spectacular. :001_smile:

 

:lol: My dd gained weight at Kaatsbaan, too. And, ABT.

[Lori C- Texas]

I am pretty sure my dd will gain at Houston SI. She is an eater and if she is dancing that much she will be eating even more. She also has a HUGE fear of throwing up. I am not to worried. Plus, my MIL and SIL, who she is staying with, eat out all the time. What I am most worried about is her coming home expecting to put in her order and have it delivered to her. :)

[LadyR]

Mary in VA, my dd was at PBT last summer also! It was her 2nd summer in a row. She LOVES PBT!