First summer intensive auditions!

[redsquirrel]

This is our first foray into out of town ballet summer intensives for ds1.  Deep breaths!!!!

 

 

He has two scheduled for next weekend in NYC, and I am considering a third later this month in PA (but it's for a program not in PA). 

 

The fact is that he's not going to any of them if he doesn't get $$ because wowzer!  I swear to god that I am paying all this money JUST so that ds1 can have the opportunity to live away from home for a month. He...we... need him to spread his wings a bit and learn how to take care of himself just a little bit more. He's never even been to sleep away camp. I keep thinking of college and wondering how the world his is supposed to do anything if he doesn't get a nudge out the nest.

 

 

This is a kid who, earlier this month, got lost walking to school.  The same school he has walked to every school day since September 2014.  He got lost and had to text me and I had to drive the three blocks, pick him up and drive him the remaining 5 so he wouldn't be late. I should mention that getting to school is a big "L".  He walks straight to a corner, takes a left and stops when he gets to the school.  Yeah, he messed that up.

 

Did I mention he's my dreamy artistic child? He's bad at adulting, not because he's spoiled or entitled, it's just that he only occasionally visits this dimension. I  keep thinking this is my kid who will get down to one light bulb and move it from room to room...he just wouldn't see the point of getting more any time sooner.

 

and I am considering paying a king's ransom and sending him to NYC for a month. I am clearly insane

[Joyofsixreboot]

I get it. Food or paints....well duh, paints.

[Farrar]

Not insane! He'll figure it out and if he's accepted to a good one it'll be worth it.

 

The cost is... yeah. I've avoided paying for summer ballet because regular ballet is so expensive. We're lucky that ds gets some free extra instruction time by auditioning for roles with traveling companies (like right now with ABT) but I know that if he wants to stick with ballet he'll have to do summer intensives down the road. Eeek.

[bettyandbob]

Are you getting assistance from your school choosing programs?

[KungFuPanda]

He'll never figure it out. You'll help him along until he has a significant other willing to do the job. He'll continue to be wonderful in other ways that make it worth everybody's while. I've becomes convinced that the nurture argument is crap and people are pretty much who they are barring extreme circumstances.

 

Take heart. I'm sure he'll manage to feed himself and keep the lights on. He probably won't get lost more than a few times before figuring out how to get to school/work/whatever. He'll make up for it by overcompensating in other areas. It all works out :-)

[Farrar]

He'll never figure it out. You'll help him along until he has a significant other willing to do the job. He'll continue to be wonderful in other ways that make it worth everybody's while. I've becomes convinced that the nurture argument is crap and people are pretty much who they are barring extreme circumstances.

 

Take heart. I'm sure he'll manage to feed himself and keep the lights on. He probably won't get lost more than a few times before figuring out how to get to school/work/whatever. He'll make up for it by overcompensating in other areas. It all works out :-)

 

This reminds me of a conversation with a former student. He was a total forgetful mess all the time. Smart, deep thinker, good with computers, but almost no executive functioning skills. We were on the Mall and as I parked the bus, I said everyone take your lunch. I looked every kid in the eye as they exited the bus and said, you've got your lunch? We got over to the sculpture garden. He didn't have his lunch. I had to walk him back to the bus. I said, "Student, what are you going to do? Life is going to be harder if you can't be a little more organized as you get older."

 

He said, "I've thought about this a lot. I think I just need to marry a good woman one day. That's what my father did and my mom is really good at watching out for all of us."

 

I nearly died laughing, but maybe it's just truth. 

[KungFuPanda]

This reminds me of a conversation with a former student. He was a total forgetful mess all the time. Smart, deep thinker, good with computers, but almost no executive functioning skills. We were on the Mall and as I parked the bus, I said everyone take your lunch. I looked every kid in the eye as they exited the bus and said, you've got your lunch? We got over to the sculpture garden. He didn't have his lunch. I had to walk him back to the bus. I said, "Student, what are you going to do? Life is going to be harder if you can't be a little more organized as you get older."

 

He said, "I've thought about this a lot. I think I just need to marry a good woman one day. That's what my father did and my mom is really good at watching out for all of us."

 

I nearly died laughing, but maybe it's just truth.

Yeah, I married that . . . right down to his inability to eat without involving another adult. Men like that can only focus on problems that interest them and worrying about lunch before you're hungry just isn't interesting. Edited January 1, 2016 by KungFuPanda

[redsquirrel]

Not insane! He'll figure it out and if he's accepted to a good one it'll be worth it.

 

The cost is... yeah. I've avoided paying for summer ballet because regular ballet is so expensive. We're lucky that ds gets some free extra instruction time by auditioning for roles with traveling companies (like right now with ABT) but I know that if he wants to stick with ballet he'll have to do summer intensives down the road. Eeek.

 

 

His regular school has it's own summer intensive and he has gone for several years. It's very good and there are a number of former dancers with the school who have said it was the best summer intensive they ever went to, even after attending the 'big names' and dancing professionally. Plus, he gets lots and lots of hands on attention and that is what it is all about at the intensives. Most of the company members go away for one summer program during high school. Some, who have more financial resources go away every summer, but that isn't the majority. It's just too expensive.

 

So, even if he doesn't get tuition help, he's not losing anything if he stays home. The technique instruction is excellent.  He knows that.

 

I have been told, through the grapevine, that with a boy you can hope, not assume, for half tuition scholarship the first year attending any program. That doesn't count living expenses so that works out to a quarter discount.  If you go back a second year you can hope for full tuition scholarship. I have also known some boys to get no assistance at all, so you can't count on it.

 

 

Are you getting assistance from your school choosing programs?

 

Ha! He got permission from his teacher, that was the best I was hoping for. The most help and direction I have had is from the older dancers and a couple of other parents who have already done this. They have been wonderful and very encouraging. I have added a couple "stretch goals" and decided against a 'safety pick' based on their suggestions

 

 

He'll never figure it out. You'll help him along until he has a significant other willing to do the job. He'll continue to be wonderful in other ways that make it worth everybody's while. I've becomes convinced that the nurture argument is crap and people are pretty much who they are barring extreme circumstances.

 

Take heart. I'm sure he'll manage to feed himself and keep the lights on. He probably won't get lost more than a few times before figuring out how to get to school/work/whatever. He'll make up for it by overcompensating in other areas. It all works out :-)

 

Well, dh has got a whole LOT better than he was at 25 when I met him. He was teetering on the edge of hot mess, lol. He's a fully functional and responsible adult these days, in charge of a 20 million $ budget!

 

But, yes, ds1 is the kid that the teachers adore, but who makes them head/desk on a regular basis. He is a big ball of potential and bad test scores.  His report card is a parade of "A delight to have in class, but he needs to focus more"

[Farrar]

Oh, that's nice to hear about getting assistance! Though still... we're relatively well off... I feel like I can never count on that. It's just that paying for this stuff gets more and more expensive every year.

 

At our school, they're not allowed to go elsewhere for summer dance until a certain level. This summer ds can do the regular intensive for the first time. While the school is good, the summer programs are more for younger dancers - they have a sweet "junior" festival that ds did when he was younger that was adorable but even the intensives and festival kids are on the younger end. My understanding is that once they get to a certain level, they do guide them in terms of where to go and apply. I know they do for the students in the studio company and I know they do a bunch of help later on, helping older high schoolers apply for young companies and scholarships and so forth.

 

Ds says he'd like to try another kind of dance this summer so we potentially have to get permission for that, though I don't think that will be an issue. One of his teachers said to me she thought he would one day be an amazing modern dancer. Which is... um... an interesting sort of compliment?

 

Good luck! I hope he gets in somewhere and doesn't get too lost! It does sound like he has good skills in getting out of any getting lost issues...

[Storygirl]

DD14 is going to be auditioning for summer intensives as well. If she goes away, it will be a new scenario for her. She has attended the same program the last two years. The summer that she was 12, we commuted 2.5 hours one way to get her there (we alternated driving and staying in hotels). That was important for that summer, because we knew we would be moving to that area and wanted her to become comfortable with the idea of going to the new ballet school before she had to be there full time. She loved her old studio, but we knew that it was not good enough to help her become a pro. (Ballet was not our reason for moving, but it was a big plus in our decision-making). Fortunately, she loved the SI at the new school.

 

The summer that she was 13, she attended the same SI after we had moved to the area in the spring. So she was a commuter at her new home studio for the second year, but it is an SI program that people come to from around the country.

 

There are more than a dozen reputable SI programs that are auditioning right at our home studio, so DD14 will have many opportunities to audition. We will have to pick and choose. But of course her first choice program is NOT auditioning at our home studio, and we will have to go out of town for that one.

 

I have mixed feelings about having her go away for the summer. Last summer I loved having her home in the evenings for once, being able to participate in our family time. I hate to send her away. She can get good training at home, so an away program will have to offer something special to make it worth doing. If she doesn't get into a dream program, she may just stay at her home studio for another summer.

 

I am interested to see what programs she can get into. She is a top student at our studio, but you never know if that translates to being good enough for placement in other programs until you try. Her dream program is highly competitive for admission, so if she gets in, she will probably go.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Storygirl

[bettyandbob]

 

 

 

 

Well, dh has got a whole LOT better than he was at 25 when I met him. He was teetering on the edge of hot mess, lol. He's a fully functional and responsible adult these days, in charge of a 20 million $ budget!

 

 

 

 

Interesting. It may be different for boys. At my dd's school they must get permission. The permission includes advice on specific programs. The director has stated that it's important not to send a dancer to audition "too soon". She says that judges remember the dancers and if a dancer did not do well (not necessarily accepted, but some definition of well) the previous year, the judges won't really watch the audition--they've already made up their minds and won't look for improvement. For that reason the director of dd's school gives students who are auditioning a list of which programs for which they can audition. The list may be different for each student. The approach seems to work--girls who are interested in dance careers are making it. 

 

My guess is the process for boys might be a little different. I haven't needed to pay attention to differences there. I do know the best male dancer we've had in recent years is truly amazing to watch, but he doesn't do summer intensives. His first goal is to play baseball--so that's what he does in the summer. He followed his sister into the dance studio when he was little and didn't give up dancing because it was clear to him and his dad that ballet was excellent training for him. 

[redsquirrel]

Interesting. It may be different for boys. At my dd's school they must get permission. The permission includes advice on specific programs. The director has stated that it's important not to send a dancer to audition "too soon". She says that judges remember the dancers and if a dancer did not do well (not necessarily accepted, but some definition of well) the previous year, the judges won't really watch the audition--they've already made up their minds and won't look for improvement. For that reason the director of dd's school gives students who are auditioning a list of which programs for which they can audition. The list may be different for each student. The approach seems to work--girls who are interested in dance careers are making it. 

 

My guess is the process for boys might be a little different. I haven't needed to pay attention to differences there. I do know the best male dancer we've had in recent years is truly amazing to watch, but he doesn't do summer intensives. His first goal is to play baseball--so that's what he does in the summer. He followed his sister into the dance studio when he was little and didn't give up dancing because it was clear to him and his dad that ballet was excellent training for him. 

 

I don't think it's that different. As I said earlier, my son had to get permission from the director, and I know she won't give it if she thinks a student isn't ready. That doesn't mean some don't do it anyway though, its not like she can stop them. I do know there are some specific schools she doesn't recommend b/c they have a name, but they are more about making money, not actual instruction. However, it isn't difficult to find that out by doing some research.

 

My son didn't do summer intensive at first, because he wanted a break, he wanted to be out in the woods with his friends. It wasn't  until he was a little older that he wanted to spend the summer in the studio. I didn't push it b/c we just didn't have the money during those years.

 

The difference can be in assigning of roles in the regular season. Girls who attend summer intensive and make progress are going to get the bigger roles. If there are only three or four boys in the whole company, well, then not attending summer intensive isn't going to be as important...at first. It will catch up with them. My son didn't attend and a couple other boys did.Over time it was clear that they were getting better roles in the shows.  When ds1 showed up for summer intensive, not only did it make him a better dancer, but he got more parts. If he were the only boy in the company, something that isn't that uncommon in some places, then it wouldn't matter at all if he went to summer intensive or not. He would get the parts and that would be that. However, that would change in a bigger pond.

 

One thing we have noticed is that as dds1 gets older, there are more and more boys showing up at auditions and they are all very, very good. When he was 9 and 10 he was the only one. That isn't the case any longer.

 

[mamakelly]

Interesting. It may be different for boys. At my dd's school they must get permission. The permission includes advice on specific programs. The director has stated that it's important not to send a dancer to audition "too soon". She says that judges remember the dancers and if a dancer did not do well (not necessarily accepted, but some definition of well) the previous year, the judges won't really watch the audition--they've already made up their minds and won't look for improvement. For that reason the director of dd's school gives students who are auditioning a list of which programs for which they can audition. The list may be different for each student. The approach seems to work--girls who are interested in dance careers are making it. 

 

 

It's different at my dd's ballet school. They do not need permission to audition for an intensive. Our director encourages all of the mid to upper levels students to audition. There are a few auditions that are held at our school, and she encourages them to audition, even if only for the auditioning practice. I've never been told that they remember girls negatively. I emailed her and asked for suggestions for my dd, but they don't tell you what program you can audition for. I was thinking about having Marlie audition, but I think we've decided that 14 is a little young for her to go away for so long. (She is not headed for the professional ballerina tract.) Our school has a very good advanced level intensive that is 3 weeks long from 9-3pm. This is the first time she will be at the proper level, to take this intensive so I think I'll have her do it, and audition next year. Oh and our school has scholarships that will help pay for intensives, which I think is awesome. I wish more schools did that. 

Edited January 2, 2016 by mamakelly

[amsunshine]

Red squirrel: have fun! You are not crazy - he will be just fine in nyc if he goes. And he will have a ball. These intensives are typically run very well with great RA's and chaperones, so he should be well looked after! My dd14 went away for 6 weeks when she was 12 and was happy as a lark! I, on the other hand, was a wreck, I missed her so much. Last year, I went with her to her 5 week intensive and decided I liked that much better. This year, I'm lobbying to have her stay home, lol. We can only afford to send her on scholarship, so it really depends on that. She's been fortunate to have very good offers 2 years in a row. We'll see what happens this year....

[K&Rs Mom]

Wow, some of you must be at some amazing big-city schools!   My 13yo is navigating this process for the first time, and planning on an audition in a few weeks in the nearest mid-size city.  If she doesn't get a scholarship through that, she has a second choice that will accept a dvd audition because it's far from here.  Her teacher has't had much advice, though.  She's mostly looking at the SI websites and the articles in Dance Spirit.  

[amsunshine]

Wow, some of you must be at some amazing big-city schools!   My 13yo is navigating this process for the first time, and planning on an audition in a few weeks in the nearest mid-size city.  If she doesn't get a scholarship through that, she has a second choice that will accept a dvd audition because it's far from here.  Her teacher has't had much advice, though.  She's mostly looking at the SI websites and the articles in Dance Spirit.  

 

Teachers are not always much help with audition choices, for various reasons.  For more info, have a look through the website "Ballet Talk for Dancers" which is a forum that has threads about all the national intensives, including reviews.

[Farrar]

Wow, some of you must be at some amazing big-city schools!   My 13yo is navigating this process for the first time, and planning on an audition in a few weeks in the nearest mid-size city.  If she doesn't get a scholarship through that, she has a second choice that will accept a dvd audition because it's far from here.  Her teacher has't had much advice, though.  She's mostly looking at the SI websites and the articles in Dance Spirit.  

 

Because we're in a largeish city, there are auditions held here for a lot of prominent places for the summer intensive so we don't have to travel to get to audition for places all over the country. Kids in the ABT performance with ds were all scrambling to figure out what to do because they have to miss auditions for the performances. Ds was like... should I...? I was like, no. Absolutely not. We have to save money so you can consider an intensive in a couple of years! I doubt he's good enough for his school to give permission anyway. They like the younger dancers to do theirs for a year or two and then go out and audition.

[Storygirl]

I'm wondering how it is going with everyone else.

 

DD14 has had four auditions so far, and she will likely do at least two more. There are many ballet schools that use our school's studio space for auditions, so she can try out for many programs while on her own home turf. Of course, her number one choice is not coming anywhere near our city, so she and DH drove seven hours each way two weeks ago for that one. We have several more weeks to wait to find out if she was accepted, because they tend to notify everyone at the end of the audition tour instead of right away. Waiting a month to find out is no fun!

 

She got the results from her first audition -- accepted, but she is unlikely to go there. Two other auditions were just this weekend, so no word on those yet.

[The Governess]

This was our first audition season as well. Out of seven programs, dd11 was accepted to four, waitlisted for one, and declined for one. She is pretty happy with herself. :) We are still waiting to hear from the last one and have some decisions to make. She had a great time but I wasn't prepared for how stressful waiting for these emails and trying to coordinate deadlines was going to be! ;)

[edelweiss]

DD12 is done auditioning for the year.  Now is the hard part-- deciding which one to attend.  She is fortunate to have been accepted to all that she auditioned for (5 total).  She already turned two down.  She really, really wants to go to the other three (all of them, LOL!), but they all conflict, so she needs to make some tough choices.  I am ready for her to decide so that we can stop agonizing over it!!