Why Summer Programs Are Important

Every university and business has their interview process; a way for both the applicant and the institution to try each other on for size and see if it's a good match.  For ballet dancers, this process begins long before college and job applications.


I attended my first summer program at San Francisco Ballet School when I was fifteen years old.  I remember the school auditions in January and February--feeling much more confident when the auditions were held at our studio--we had the "home advantage" so to speak.  I remember sizing up the competition, banding with my friends for support and solidarity--but once the audition class started, we were on our own.  We had about an hour and a half to prove to a new set of teachers that we deserved to study at their school.  We pointed our feet until they cramped, and treated each combination as if it were a performance.  In the weeks following, we waited like nervous High School seniors, for letters of acceptance or rejection--possibly a scholarship.  We understood the importance that these summers had on our training and future career. I was thrilled when I got my acceptance letter back from San Francisco Ballet and couldn't wait to go and see what student life was like at California's most prestigious company.

The opportunity to peek into company classes and rehearsals was an experience I'll never forget.  I learned as much from watching those company dancers as we did in our classes which lasted most of the day.  Having use of facilities that were created especially for dance was like a dream come true--and the grandeur of passing the decadent War Memorial Opera house every day felt absolutely marvelous.  Passing Company Members, Ballet Mistresses and Directors in the hallway was both elating and terrifying.  It raised the stakes knowing that I had the opportunity to impress or catch the eye of one of these people--and that it could change my path.  I learned from seminars and Q & A sessions with professional dancers and I became self-reliant and responsible--I explored and budgeted my allowance and decorated my dorm room, I took the bus and had to find my way around the city I wanted to explore--I grew up a lot that summer.

Looking back, I wish that I had started auditioning even a year earlier, but I'm not sure my parents would have been comfortable with me being away from home that young.  At any rate, spending six weeks in a new city with a group of young people who shared my passion was truly a magical experience.  I enjoyed it so much that I returned to San Francisco the following year.  After that I ventured closer to home for an American Ballet Theatre program held at UC Irvine and spent my last  pre-professional summer at Miami City Ballet School.  Each school had a different environment, different teachers with different perspectives and different skills to offer.  At the end of my summer in Miami, I had a choice to make: continue studying with one of these fine institutions or take Sacramento Ballet up on the Apprentice contract I had been offered.  I chose to accept the contract, but am confident that either path would have provided me with excellent training.  I very much look back on these programs now as mini college for my dance career.  I have friends and connections from my summer programs that I am still close with--more so now with the aid of social media.

Now, it is the time of year where I send my students out to audition for their own summer courses.  They will, no doubt, feel nervous, confident, ecstatic, disappointed, relieved, or all of the above.  And for that, I am grateful--because it means they have a chance to go out and experience something that may change their lives.

Top photo courtesy of San Francisco Ballet School © Erik Tomasson
Middle photo courtesy of the School of American Ballet

Bottom photo courtesy of Boston Ballet School