High School and Ballet

[Anonymous]

That is true. We are at BalletNova and some of our teachers are also teachers at WB. I would say that Ballet Nova is probably a step below WB and MYB. But at the same time, sends a few girls each year to a company and plenty of college dance programs. BN has sent a one or two to Grand Prix in recent years as well. But not a significant male cohort, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We’re looking at a similar decision next year, albeit for a boy, at slightly above intermediate level. Any insights on TWSB vs. MYB in terms of caliber of faculty, placement into pre-pro programs, etc. ? My impression is that a TWSB is going through a difficult period and has lost many good dancers and teachers, while MYB seems to be on the way up. TIA for any insights!

There was a thread on DCUM in the past year or less about TWSB and changes there, I think. Might want to check that out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry, but in the DC area, only MYB and WB are at the top. You want a pre-professional studio that sends students to corps de ballet type jobs, at minimum. You want a history of successful trainees at that location.
And you want to live close by. No amount of tax difference warrants wasting one's life in traffic. Seriously.

+1

If your DD is truly serious, these are the only two you should be considering. Both are in a state of change, however. MYB just changed directors and the program will be changing slightly (to the PP with a male dancer, I would look here). WB has been in a state of change ever since Septime Webre left and Julie Kent came though rumor has it that that may change soon as well.

Some factors for your DD: Who does she want to learn from? Teaching styles are different at each of these. How much and what type of performance opportunities does she want? They are different at each of these studios, personal decision. What kind of SI experience does she want? MYB encourages going elsewhere, WB encourages staying there.

For the parents: commuting from VA to either of these studios on a daily basis would be a nightmare -- lots of unpredictability in the traffic with commutes ranging to over an hour. Car pooling helps, but it really eats into dinner and homework time. Add on rehearsals and performances and you could easily be doing this 6-7 days/week. MD public schools have an abbreviated day option and will work with your DD to be sure she can accomplish all academic and extracurricular goals. I know many dancers from many high schools in most of the surrounding counties who have had no issues at all and carpooling is easy right from the high school. IN addition, for the parents, I would also consider the economics of each studio -- both how it affects the experience your DD would have as well as how it affects your bottom line (tuition + donations).

Good luck.

A high school dancer can be serious at other schools also. OP, if your daughter wants to go professional and that is her only goal, look at these ^^^. If not, some of the other schools mentioned in this thread (such as BalletNova and CBT in VA) also have dancers who are "serious" and teachers who are just as well-trained. You'd be surprised how many teachers will teach at more than one school around here too. It's a small area, as far as ballet is concerned.

This. If she is absolutely sure that she wants a pro career, then WSB and MYB are the strongest. But others also place students well at summer intensives, prepare them for a final year or two at a residential school, send them on to top college dance programs, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here. We’re looking at a similar decision next year, albeit for a boy, at slightly above intermediate level. Any insights on TWSB vs. MYB in terms of caliber of faculty, placement into pre-pro programs, etc. ? My impression is that a TWSB is going through a difficult period and has lost many good dancers and teachers, while MYB seems to be on the way up. TIA for any insights!

There was a thread on DCUM in the past year or less about TWSB and changes there, I think. Might want to check that out.

Thank you. I've searched with no luck. Do you happen to recall the forum it was in? I've searched off topic and classes. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you decide on MYB (and maybe TWSB although to a lesser extent) definitely think hard about the choice to live in VA. Bethesda would make such a difference in your quality of life, and give you more options for back-ups if MYB doesn’t work out. You could think of the tax difference as the price you, the parent or whomever is doing all of that driving, is paying for the ability to have a family life outside of ballet.

Thank you. I do still hope DH and I can reach an agreement on this. I thought I was only looking at a 30 minute commute since it would be on either end of rush hour but if it’s more than that, it would be too much.

To the poster who mentioned Principal Ballet, thank you. Looks like Mrs Redick’s daughter runs it. I’ll look into it.

The American Legion Bridge is notorious for backing up at any time of day, unfortunately. Otherwise, yes you’d theoretically be okay with those times. Would you drive to MYB and stay there waiting for her until 8pm every single day? It’s the going home and coming back part that would be a bear, and also getting her to any rehearsals in addition to classes. I’m sure people who have no other choices for where to live drive much longer, but it would be hard and it would limit the possibilities of setting up carpools to take the pressure off you/the driver. TWSB would be more reasonable from VA, although you may have the same issue with getting stuck in traffic after you dropped her off.

Thank you. I do expect that I'll have to stay at the school/in the area for the whole evening - doing lots of reading, maybe hit a local gym, and explore local restaurants alone. Lucky for DD, she's the last at home so I don't have to consider sibling schedules too. I'd really prefer to live in NW DC, but I don't know what to make of the public high schools. What I've learned online is mostly negative, but I thought there were some that were doing well now. We've lived in the area twice before and only been in FCPS, APS, and a DC private (can't imagine getting an opening now).

[Anonymous]

OP, you will get a lot of negative reactions about Wilson HS and it certainly does have its challenges, but good students from Wilson do well in college and your child could take a 10-min bus ride from Wilson to TWSB.

[Anonymous]

WB has an excellent program for boys. I would encourage you to talk to the faculty about the training offered for boys.

[Anonymous]

For those of you that claiming MYB or TWSB are the best ballet programs around this area because of their exmission statistics (placing graduates to elite companies and summer intensives), can you commend on whether these successful graduates are products of the programs since young (lifers), or were they transfer students from other studios or even international recruits? I wasn't impressed with TWSB for the younger classes with higher students to teacher ratio and DD didn't learn much from 5-7 years old when she was there. I switched her to a smaller studio after we moved and she has to catch up and re-learn everything from scratch.

[Anonymous]

This is a fair criticism, I think, of Washington Ballet in the early years due to the popularity of classes and high rate of teacher turn-over. At the higher levels, however, the larger schools generally offer more performance opportunities and exposure to teachers and professionals with extensive experience and contacts in the ballet world. Kids that go on to companies tend to be a combination of new recruits and lifers who have worked their way up at the school. But I would also point out that Washington Ballet doesn't really emphasize ballet competitions, as some smaller studios do (not sure about Maryland Youth Ballet), which draw a lot of attention to the school when their kids place well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those of you that claiming MYB or TWSB are the best ballet programs around this area because of their exmission statistics (placing graduates to elite companies and summer intensives), can you commend on whether these successful graduates are products of the programs since young (lifers), or were they transfer students from other studios or even international recruits? I wasn't impressed with TWSB for the younger classes with higher students to teacher ratio and DD didn't learn much from 5-7 years old when she was there. I switched her to a smaller studio after we moved and she has to catch up and re-learn everything from scratch.

One anecdote: My DD told me the other day that someone from BalletNova just left for TWSB because at age ~12, she was 2 or 3 levels ahead of her peers.

I think it may be that the girls who KNOW they have all of the attributes that will allow them to go pro (technique, feet, height, body type, looks), KNOW they have a good chance and therefore place themselves in the best possible school that will help them with placements. For every one of those girls, there are thousands who have just as good technique but are too tall or too short or have flat feet or whatever. They may be just as beautiful and serious dancers, but also know they have a better shot at dancing in college so don't bother making the commute to MYB or WB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WB has an excellent program for boys. I would encourage you to talk to the faculty about the training offered for boys.

I’m the PP with the boy currently at TWSB. They certainly used to have an excellent boys’ program under Septime Webre and Me. Han, but it’s been completely neglected under the new director. The boys at the school are really falling behind what their peers are doing at other schools, which is why we’re considering a switch to MYB.

To another PP, any insights into whether there might be changes in the works at TWSB? We’d love to stay but feel we cannot waste much more time under the current leadership. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WB has an excellent program for boys. I would encourage you to talk to the faculty about the training offered for boys.

This is Op. I’m looking for DD but thank you.

[Anonymous]

OP please let us know where your daughter lands and especially how you end up managing the commute/early school dismissal issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all for the input. It sounds like there are a lot of good choices, and I’m relieved to hear that schools are likely to do early release. It’s so much for them to juggle.

DD asked to audition for Metropolitan, but their school is online and I’m not sure that I’m okay with that. But I am also concerned that doing NoVa academics and a pre-professional ballet program is too much to ask of a child, so I may need to keep an open mind.

We’re going to visit and hopefully take some classes to make sure she gets a good fit for ballet then look for schools nearby too. We lived in the area once before and I definitely want to avoid long commutes. She was much younger though - class was only an hour and homework wasn’t an issue.

For what it's worth, I have a friend with a daughter at Metropolitan School and she's very happy with the dance program and academics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP please let us know where your daughter lands and especially how you end up managing the commute/early school dismissal issues.

I was just about ready to sign a lease on a house in a good location for all the ballet schools but learned that early dismissal permission is done on a case by case basis and by the principal. This makes it more challenging for sure.