Houston Ballet Academy would like to introduce its 2022 Summer Intensive Program. Scheduled for June 27 to July 30, 2022, the program connects serious ballet students with distinguished faculty and guest artists at Houston Ballet’s Center for Dance, the largest facility specifically built for professional dance in the United States.
“You’re not only getting an amazing training opportunity that is going to stay with you into your professional career should you pursue a career in dance, but you’re also making life-long connections with friends that are going to be your colleagues, your friends even if you don’t pursue a career in dance,” says Dustin Shaw, Houston Ballet Academy Programs Manager.
Class Offerings & Instructors
When attending this program, dancers can expect to take classes including ballet technique, pointe, partnering, repertory, and variations. In addition to learning from the world-class Academy instructors, students can take classes taught by some of the most accomplished dancers in the company, such as principal dancers Karina González and Connor Walsh. As Houston is known for its robust dance scene, students can look forward to professional dancers in musical theater, contemporary, and jazz teaching in the program.
Beyond strictly technique classes, the program prioritizes dancers’ well-being and injury prevention, “so as they are getting all this amazing experience as ballet dancers, they are also getting classes in body conditioning, body rolling, and several other classes that basically cross-train their bodies so that they can dance longer and stronger. One of the things that sets our Summer Intensive Program apart from others is both the strength of our performance training program and our health and wellness program. With our partnership with Houston Methodist, we’ve lessened the number of chronic injuries in both our students and our dancers,” says Jennifer Sommers, Houston Ballet Academy Director of Education.
Dancers are provided with support to explore and discover different techniques and variations to better shape their artistry. This support can make a difference providing dancers with more freedom to be creative.
“I strongly believe that the Summer Program gives students creative license to explore their technique, their artistry, and their understanding. I believe, too, that when you trust in the person delivering that information to you, you’re going to grow as a dancer. You will certainly leave with more technical stability, stronger technique, an understanding of artistry and the confidence, I believe, to explore different ways of approaching your dancing to see what works for you,” says Houston Ballet Principal Instructor of Ballet and Character Cheryne Busch.
Master Classes
This year’s tour is different than previous audition tours because Houston Ballet Academy, in conjunction with Education and Community Engagement, will provide dancers the exclusive opportunity to take master classes directly with Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet’s first African American Principal dancer and Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement, at Duke Ellington School of the Arts in DC and Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
“Every time I walk out the door and teach at anything like a summer intensive somewhere, I have the lens — would they be a good fit for Houston Ballet? Who here would we not only benefit from but would benefit from us? I am an ambassador for Houston Ballet. I never took classes anywhere else except for Houston Ballet. I’ve done every Summer Intensive Program since 1976,” says Houston Ballet Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement Lauren Anderson.
Performance Opportunities
“A pillar of Houston Ballet Academy is our commitment to performance programming, so every single student that participates in our intensive has an opportunity to learn throughout the day, be coached by an elite core of teachers, and have an opportunity to perform,” says Sommers.
This summer, a total of six end-of-summer performances will be held for students in Levels 5-8, and students in Level 8 have the opportunity to collaborate with the American Festival for the Arts and work with young composers to produce original works in both dance and music. This unique experience is invaluable to aspiring dancers and choreographers wanting to improve their artistry and choreographic skills.
“These student choreographers are choreographing on their fellow dancers in the program, so not only are they getting the opportunity to work with a composer who’s crafting this for them, but they are working with their peers and getting that hands-on experience working with dancers,” explains Shaw. Learn more about the AFA Choreographic Experience here.
Other performance opportunities dancers can look forward to include learning how to partner with other dancers. This is valuable for students that may be dancing in smaller studios where they may not have the opportunity to learn pas de deux because there aren’t enough dancers.
“It really is a program which has developed over the years that stands many tiers above many other Summer Programs. I’m saying that because now that I have been here for so many years going out to see students in different auditions and different dance schools from which they’re coming, it’s very easy to notice the difference and really appreciate our strengths in our students,” says Busch.
Residential Experience
Outside the studio, dance students in the program have the option of living at the University of St. Thomas (UST) dormitory. Breakfast and dinner are provided daily, the dorm is chaperoned 24 hours, and students are transported to class in vans and buses. In the evenings, students can partake in dorm activities such as crafting and movie nights, and on Sundays, there is an option to participate in organized field trips. Past Sunday activities have included shopping at the Houston Galleria, Splashtown Waterpark, NASA Space Center, and Schlitterbahn Waterpark.
This residential experience allows dancers to build a sense of community and form lasting memories with their fellow dancers. “Five weeks is a long time to live, and work, and really spend 24/7 with your peers, and to be around people who love this art form as much as you do, that residential life component is great to have a release, but also continue to allow students to bond outside the studio. Ballet friends are your forever friends. People make friends in their summer programs that they stay connected to throughout their dancer lives,” says Sommers.
Beyond the Summer Intensive Program
By participating in the Summer Intensive Program, dancers can enhance their artistic abilities and launch their ballet careers. For dancers interested in further opportunities with Houston Ballet, auditions are held in the middle of the Summer Intensive Program for the year-round Pre-Professional/Professional Program.
“We have an elite training program, 64 percent of our current company dancers came into Houston Ballet via the Summer Program. So it is a program that connects the next generation’s dancers with opportunities to perform in companies either here or around the globe. It’s an essential tool for us to get the very best and brightest, the future of ballet, to Houston,” says Sommers.
2022 Audition Tour
Interested in the 2022 Summer Intensive Program? In-person auditions will take place in 13 cities between January 8 and February 6, 2022. For those unable to make it to an in-person audition, video auditions will be accepted starting January 8, 2022.
Read more about the 2022 Summer Intensive Program and the Houston Ballet Academy at houstonballet.org.
by Jordan Campos