dance parents -- how do summer intensives work?

[Anonymous]

DD 8 is taking a level 1 ballet class at Citydance and they said she can sign up for the summer intensives they have for the younger age group.
Is this akin to summer camp for this age group - ie open to whoever interested - or only serious dance students? I don't know much about the dance world and the "pre-professional" label on their conservatory program kind of suggests kids who are a lot more serious? She likes the class a lot but we haven't been dancing since age 4 or anything like that.

[Anonymous]

Ask them, OP. Usually it's not very (or at all) competitive at the younger ages, especially if it's an in-house summer intensive.

[Anonymous]

At 8 years old, all of the SI's are like camp.
They start getting more serious around 13, and really pick up at 15

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 8 years old, all of the SI's are like camp.
They start getting more serious around 13, and really pick up at 15

Exactly-especially if is at the home studio.

[Anonymous]

The CityDance conservatory has summer intensives for more serious younger dancers -- see the young training program options toward the bottom of the page:

https://www.citydance.net/sac/conservatory/summer-intensives/

[Anonymous]

It's more serious than "camp" but not only the most advanced dancers at that age. They would not for example take someone with no prior experience or talent. But she doesn't need to have professional aspirations either. For a more campy experience you would look at Citydance studios. The Intensives are intensive dancing (not playing games).

[Anonymous]

Found this when searching for something else and if OP is still wondering….My daughter, age 13, dances there and has participated in Citydance summer intensives. Yes, they dance all day so it is not a “camp” in the sense that they do arts and crafts mixed with dance. But it is not at all competitive at that age. If a dancer is enrolled in one of the school-year classes, they will be invited to the summer program. Once the dancers show up the first day, they are sorted into groups with others of similar abilities to make it a good experience for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The CityDance conservatory has summer intensives for more serious younger dancers -- see the young training program options toward the bottom of the page:

https://www.citydance.net/sac/conservatory/summer-intensives/

Don't waste you money. These intensives are terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The CityDance conservatory has summer intensives for more serious younger dancers -- see the young training program options toward the bottom of the page:

https://www.citydance.net/sac/conservatory/summer-intensives/

Don't waste you money. These intensives are terrible.

Do you have experience with this? If so, please elaborate. My YTP dancer had a good experience. And I was truly impressed by the end-of-session performances by the advanced groups.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The CityDance conservatory has summer intensives for more serious younger dancers -- see the young training program options toward the bottom of the page:

https://www.citydance.net/sac/conservatory/summer-intensives/

Don't waste you money. These intensives are terrible.

Don't listen to this bitter poster, OP. S/he chimes in at any mention of CityDance. DD16 has done CD summer intensives for the past several years and has had a great experience. She's also done summer intensives at MYB and TWSB. CityDance's intensives are well run, challenging, and fun. The sorting process can feel a little disorganized, and some kids are disappointed with their placements initially, but the goal is to ensure that everyone has a good time. If your dancer is interested in contemporary, in addition to ballet, there's no better summer program in the area.

[Anonymous]

We found them Unpleasant, disorganized, and impersonal.