Informal ranking of DMV ballet studios?

[Anonymous]

I have a serious dancer currently participating in a pre-professional program in the DMV. DC is happy at this studio but I'm thinking about the future and whether it would be advisable to switch to a more prestigious school at some point. It seems like Washington School of Ballet and Maryland Youth Ballet are considered the top 2 in the area. Is everything else the next level down? Is there some sort of formal or informal ranking of local programs? For other parents of serious dancers, how did you decide which school/studio to enroll your DC in?

Thanks so much for any advice! I want to balance DC's happiness and chance of future success with work and other family commitments.

[Anonymous]

You might put this in the sports forum for more eyeballs.

[Anonymous]

How old is your dancer and has she auditioned for / participated in any summer intensives? ( possibly Covid interfered…)

And where are you located?

[Anonymous]

(Adding from above) It can be hard to rank because there’s also an element of “fit” between dancer and school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How old is your dancer and has she auditioned for / participated in any summer intensives? ( possibly Covid interfered…)

And where are you located?

DC is 9 and has been dancing for over 4 years. Doing a summer intensive this year for the first time, but locally.

We are in NOVA (which is why I'm wondering if I'd even be able to juggle everything to move to one of those "top 2" studios).

[Anonymous]

Washington Ballet is internationally recognized. Nothing else comes close.

[Anonymous]

Washington Ballet.

Until recently, Maryland Youth Ballet was also excellent, but ever since their former artistic director retired, they've had some issues at the top, have let their current artistic director go (he was a complete mess), and as a result, their conservatory has shut down. Your daughter is too young to belong to one anyway, but there's enough flux at MYB that you might want to go elsewhere.

Kirov has shut down for financial reasons (plus they always had those murky ties to the Korean Moon cult).

So... there's only Washington Ballet that I can recommend. They're not perfect, they have long been dogged with accusations of nepotism and favoritism in performances, but their classes are objectively of high quality.

[Anonymous]

The training at ballet nova is very good. Is that where she is now?

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but I have a suggestion and a question:

Can the OP try to get a read from DC's summer intensive faculty on the quality of the training she's had so far?

If that training is solid and a move is not urgent, is there an optimum age to move to a higher-profile school like WSB? My guess is that age is not 9, but another summer or two of intensives might give some clarity about the best course moving forward. Genuinely curious what folks have to say about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington Ballet.

Until recently, Maryland Youth Ballet was also excellent, but ever since their former artistic director retired, they've had some issues at the top, have let their current artistic director go (he was a complete mess), and as a result, their conservatory has shut down. Your daughter is too young to belong to one anyway, but there's enough flux at MYB that you might want to go elsewhere.

Kirov has shut down for financial reasons (plus they always had those murky ties to the Korean Moon cult).

So... there's only Washington Ballet that I can recommend. They're not perfect, they have long been dogged with accusations of nepotism and favoritism in performances, but their classes are objectively of high quality.

Munoz is gone? We were a family that left during his tenure. Agree he was a mess (but with great vision, too bad) but it was really the bullying, drugs and eating disorders that made us leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Ballet.

Until recently, Maryland Youth Ballet was also excellent, but ever since their former artistic director retired, they've had some issues at the top, have let their current artistic director go (he was a complete mess), and as a result, their conservatory has shut down. Your daughter is too young to belong to one anyway, but there's enough flux at MYB that you might want to go elsewhere.

Kirov has shut down for financial reasons (plus they always had those murky ties to the Korean Moon cult).

So... there's only Washington Ballet that I can recommend. They're not perfect, they have long been dogged with accusations of nepotism and favoritism in performances, but their classes are objectively of high quality.

Munoz is gone? We were a family that left during his tenure. Agree he was a mess (but with great vision, too bad) but it was really the bullying, drugs and eating disorders that made us leave.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP here, I'm hesitant to say where DC is now b/c on the off chance someone from the studio sees this thread I don't want them to feel bad that one of the families is thinking of 'shopping around' a bit.

I will definitely ask after the Summer Intensive, and I'm thinking that maybe closer to age 12 or so would be a better time to determine if DC is ready/willing for a step up in terms of seriousness and commitment.

Interesting info so far on the acknowledged top 2 studios in the area, thanks! And I haven't seen many others mentioned so it's reasonable to think that I'm not missing the boat on any top-tier studios in the area...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Washington Ballet.

Until recently, Maryland Youth Ballet was also excellent, but ever since their former artistic director retired, they've had some issues at the top, have let their current artistic director go (he was a complete mess), and as a result, their conservatory has shut down. Your daughter is too young to belong to one anyway, but there's enough flux at MYB that you might want to go elsewhere.

Kirov has shut down for financial reasons (plus they always had those murky ties to the Korean Moon cult).

So... there's only Washington Ballet that I can recommend. They're not perfect, they have long been dogged with accusations of nepotism and favoritism in performances, but their classes are objectively of high quality.

Munoz is gone? We were a family that left during his tenure. Agree he was a mess (but with great vision, too bad) but it was really the bullying, drugs and eating disorders that made us leave.

Drugs? Care to elaborate? I never heard about that. I know about the one dancer bullying others and being protected by Munoz, though. The eating disorders are not better or worse than at other high-level ballet programs, I'm sorry to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:...it's reasonable to think that I'm not missing the boat on any top-tier studios in the area...

I think this is right.

[Anonymous]

There are others who also train top tier students but don't have the resources or performance opportunities of those two. If you have a serious student, move them as soon as you can manage to -- it does make a difference in long term opportunities. If interest wanes or talent or physical health is not enough to sustain a pre-professional program, you can always move later and still have a fulfilling experience.

FYI, for competitive Summer Intensive opportunities, it would be better to be at one of the top two sooner rather than later. Many of those applications inquire not only about the number of year in training but also where and with whom specifically (the teachers).