The Summer Intensive is designed to provide expert training for ballet students through unique exposure to the experience and expertise of Master Teachers from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Classes will be conducted in groups, organized by students' skill levels as demonstrated by their auditions. At the conclusion of the training program all students will undergo final interviews with the Master Teachers, who will provide the students with an assessment of their progress and advice for furthering their training.
A Final Gala Performance will give students enrolled in the six-week and the second three-week sessions the opportunity to showcase their repertoire for invited guests and professional ballet teachers. An open-class which parents are welcome to attend will be held at the conclusion of the first three weeks of the program.
Students will also have priority to audition for enrollment in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Furthermore, two talented student from the Summer Intensive will be selected to go to Moscow to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy at their Final Performance Gala!
Connecticut and New York
As of 2008, the program is divided between two locations:
The Intensive at Westover School in Middlebury, Connecticut will be a full-time, live-in program (though commuters are also welcome) for Beginner and Intermediate Level students 9-15 years old. Intensive ballet classes will dominate most of the students' weekday schedule, however, evening lectures on Ballet History, Performance Skills, Musical Appreciation and Russian Studies will be held throughout the week. On the weekends we will take excursions to museums, theme parks and local music and art festivals.
A parallel Intensive at the prestigious New York University's Tisch School of the Arts is currently being finalized. It is designed for two groups of Advanced Level students ages 15-17 and 17+. The students applying to this program should be mature, focused, and interested in having more independent time outside of class and fewer organized activities. While Russian Language lessons and several weekend theater outings will still be included, the schedule outside of class is much more open than the Connecticut part of the program. Unlike Westover, it will also include Men's Classes and Partnering. Housing details TBA in the upcoming weeks.
An audition is required for placement. Enrollment is limited.
Male and female students of all ages and levels are encouraged to apply.
Student Curriculum
Classical Ballet
Curriculum will be tailored to suit each individual's training level and experience, focusing of basic ballet movements, flexibility and strength. Training will promote the development of a well-toned body and cultivate a high instep and turned out position.
Pointe
Classes designed to help students master the proper position and use of Pointe. Pointe work is undertaken when the student has learned basic technique and her legs and feet are sufficiently developed. In girls, dancing en Pointe emphasizes the dancers facility and lightness. Pointe sessions at all levels will include exercises strengthening lower leg muscles and instep flexibility.
Variations
Students will learn excerpts from classical and contemporary ballets, which are taught by Master Teachers who draw upon their extensive performance experience to help students transform technique into art. The best of the variations may be incorporated in the Final Gala Performance.
Character Dance
This class will familiarize students with the polonaise, mazurka, minuet and waltz as well as some of other formal and folk dances of the past that appear not only in the classical repertory for ballets such as Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty, but also in contemporary works. Although an essential part of many major ballets, there is no school of Character Dance anywhere outside of Russia. Character Dance is a unique form of art that is unknown outside of Russia and that is gradually disappearing.
Repertoire
Staging ballet masterpieces plays a pivot role in the development and the improvement of artistry and virtuosity in a dancer. Emphasis is placed on the student's individuality and their understanding of music and the performance of roles from the repertoire of classical ballet, including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire, Don Quixote, Paquita, Les Sylphides, Raymonda, Laurencia and others.
Folk Dance
This class is a natural extension of the character dance, which examines dance history from the point of view of national traditions and flavor, and besides the expansion of technical armory, it provides students with a variety of cultural experiences.
Workshop
Individual tasks aimed at correction of specific errors and perfection of the weak spots in the dancer's techniques, skills and performance.
Given the time constraints and program intensity, attendance of all classes is mandatory for successful completion of the course, unless arranged otherwise individually.
Dress Code
Girls
- Black leotard
- Pink tights
- Pink ballet slippers and Pointe shoes
- Hair securely fastened and pulled away from face
- No jewelry (small ear studs allowed)
- Black character shoes
Boys
- White T-shirt
- Black tights
- White or black ballet slippers
- Black character shoes or boots
