At Boca Ballet, the Summer Program for Job-Seeking Dancers

Attending summer intensives during your prime job-hunting years can feel like putting all of your eggs in one basket. If you’re lucky, one artistic director might see you in a class or performance and offer you a contract. Or, maybe, you spend your time and resources at competitions or cattle-call auditions, hoping to stand out among hundreds.

“It became clear that an alternative to the competition circuit and mass auditions must be found,” says Boca Ballet Theatre artistic director Dan Guin. Together with former Louisville Ballet artistic director, the late Alun Jones, Guin says, “We decided to get the decision-makers and the artists in the same space for a prolonged period, doing what dancers do all day long in a professional environment.” The result? Boca Ballet Theatre’s Advanced Summer Performance Workshop—a unique program that brings in multiple artistic directors to Florida to teach and set work on participants over five weeks. This summer, dancers will work closely with James Sofranko of Grand Rapids Ballet, Nick Mullikin of Nashville Ballet, Mikelle Bruzina of Louisville Ballet, Nan Giordano of Giordano Dance Chicago, and Adam Sklute of Ballet West.

Directors teach four days per week, getting to know the dancers individually during classes and rehearsals. Alongside the rigorous curriculum, participants engage in “dance enrichment”—each day they learn about the industry outside of the studio, covering topics such as dance history, lighting equipment and design, or how a dance company’s board operates. A full-length production concludes the workshop, and current professional dancers are brought in to perform with the students. This year, Sofranko and Mullikin will set new work on the participants, an opportunity usually reserved for professional dancers.

Guin notes that Boca Ballet’s program serves needs on both sides: While it can be hard for job-seeking dancers to stand out in a crowd, artistic directors are also looking for opportunities to spend more time with potential company members and assess their professional readiness. In the Advanced Summer Performance Workshop, Guin says that directors can see “how dancers work in an ensemble and [if] can they make it through the day without the assistance of their parents.” Last year, of the 30 dancers who participated, 12 received apprenticeship offers and two received company contracts.

The program evolved naturally from Boca Ballet’s College Dance Fair, which helps rising junior and senior high school students to meet with and understand the ins and outs of college dance departments. Guin says of the Advanced Summer Performance Workshop: “There is no better way for an aspiring artist to be seen by a prospective employer,” once it’s time to launch their career.

Boca Ballet Theatre’s Advanced Summer Performance Workshop

Program size: Two groups, roughly 15–15 dancers each (36 dancers maximum)
Age range: 16–22. Many participants are juniors or seniors in college dance programs.
Performance opportunities: Everyone in the workshop will be cast in a professionally produced concert with professional dancers.
Tuition: $2,495 (scholarships available)
Room/board: Supervised housing provided, 2025 costs TBD.
Daily schedule: Monday–Saturday, 10 am–6 pm. Classes include ballet technique, pointe, partnering, variations, jazz, modern/contemporary, Progressing Ballet Technique, and hip hop, plus a daily “dance enrichment” course
Alumni: Faith Jordan Candino (Richmond Ballet, Broadway national tour), Claire Churchill (Louisville Ballet), Ruthanna Dalby (Grand Rapids Ballet), Ixchel Gómez Sandoval (Mexico’s Compañía Nacional de Danza), Julian Goodwin-Ferris (Miami City Ballet, New Jersey Ballet), Aurélio Guimarães (Ballet Palm Beach), Emmery Herrmann (Ballet Palm Beach), David Jewett (Dance NOW! Miami), Meghan Kelley (United Ballet Theatre), Jared Kelly (BalletX), Anna Leong (Grand Rapids Ballet)
Additional opportunities: Networking lunch with the artistic directors; opportunities to be considered for apprenticeships and company contracts.
Important dates in 2025: March 1: Audition in Boca Raton (video auditions available); June 30–August 3: Advanced Summer Performance Workshop; August 2–3: Summer Workshop Performances