What’s Summer Like at Charlotte Ballet? A Trainee, a New Company Member, and a Seasoned Pro Share Their Experiences

Sponsored by Charlotte Ballet
January 23, 2025

For pre-professional dancers, the best summer programs deliver two key experiences: the opportunity to broaden students’ horizons about the possibilities of a career in dance and the individualized attention to make the program personal. Dancers can expect both from Charlotte Ballet’s summer intensive, a program known for just how much faculty members care for each student, individually equipping them with what they need to thrive as a professional—including at Charlotte Ballet, where several recent summer intensive attendees now dance.

“Sometimes when there’s a bunch of people in the room, you don’t get those individual critiques,” says Charlotte Ballet company member Karsen Gresham of her summer intensive experiences at various schools. But during her three summers at Charlotte Ballet, “the teachers were very personalized with everyone—they would focus on you and give you so many corrections.”

Held June 23–July 26 in vibrant Charlotte, North Carolina, and open to dancers ages 11–22, Charlotte Ballet’s goal of nurturing each student results in summer training that is truly meaningful—and that generates lifelong ballet lessons. Here, two previous attendees—one turned trainee and the other now on her first company contract—and one faculty member share their biggest takeaways from the Charlotte Ballet Summer Intensive and how it’s shaped their lives as professional dancers.

Marisol Lockhart, Charlotte Ballet trainee: “I feel more confident as a person and as a dancer”

Summer intensive attendee, 2022–24

Charlotte Ballet trainee Marisol Lockhart. Photo courtesy Charlotte Ballet.

Current Charlotte Ballet trainee Marisol Lockhart didn’t know much about Charlotte Ballet’s summer intensive when she decided to attend in 2022 at age 15. Looking back, though, “It was probably one of the best decisions of my life,” she says. For one, it put her on the path to becoming a professional dancer through Charlotte Ballet’s trainee program. But it also transformed her confidence, both onstage and off.

“One thing I noticed from the teachers straightaway was that they treated us like people, not just like dancers,” she says. “I’ve never felt that way anywhere else.” Being seen as a human made Lockhart “more confident as a person and as a dancer,” she says. “It’s beautiful to watch in other people, too.”

That confidence shows up in how Lockhart utilizes her upper body and port de bras—now she says she feels free to go further, or to be more expressive. It also shows up in how she thinks about her future, imagining herself dancing at companies that she wouldn’t have considered before. “I know that I can do this,” she says. “The teachers here put that thought in me.”

The variety of dance genres on offer at Charlotte Ballet’s intensive also provided a confidence boost for Lockhart. “I’ve grown more open to different possibilities, dance-wise,” she says. Sampling styles like jazz, musical theater, and contemporary made her “more open to the use of my body, which has really helped artistically.”

One of Lockhart’s favorite memories from her summer intensive years was stepping onstage at the end of the program to show off that new confidence. She says: “It was so exhilarating.”

Karsen Gresham, first-year Charlotte Ballet company member: “Something clicks in your brain that makes you want to push more”

Summer intensive attendee, 2015–17

Charlotte Ballet company member Karsen Gresham. Photo by Taylor Jones, courtesy Charlotte Ballet.

Back when Charlotte Ballet company member Karsen Gresham was one of the “little girls” at the company’s intensive, she recalls being called out of class by another teacher to demonstrate some turns for the older students in the “big girl” jazz class.

“I think that was the best moment of my life,” she says. “Everyone was clapping and cheering. And then I had to go back to my little-girl class.” It was an immediate confidence boost. “It felt really good that someone was acknowledging what I can do,” she says. “I just wanted to keep pushing.”

That moment was one of many Charlotte Ballet intensive memories that stand out to Gresham as times when “something clicks in your brain that makes you want to push more,” she says. Another was working with legendary choreographer Dwight Rhoden and learning a piece that he’d previously set on Charlotte Ballet. 

“He’s very powerful, and a powerful person at the front of the room is always going to make me want to work harder,” she says. “He wants you to push your body to the next level, and I still try to do that now.”

Learning firsthand from Charlotte Ballet company members (some of whom are now Gresham’s peers) also lit a spark in her, showing her what was possible if she kept working hard. “It was like, ‘These people are my idols,’ ” she says. “I would love to be there one day, and I know I have to work hard and focus on myself to get there.”

While pushing herself during those summers, Gresham’s pointework progressed “from zero to 100,” she says, as she’d previously been a competition dancer less focused on ballet. She also learned how to tap into her own sense of artistry. “The faculty encouraged us to find out how our bodies move and what looks good on us,” she says. “It was eye-opening for me to find out what I liked, and to create my own artistry.”

As one of Charlotte Ballet’s newest company members, Gresham puts all these lessons to good use. Someday, she hopes to help other dancers follow a similar path by teaching at the intensive. “I would definitely be open to giving other people the same experience that I was able to have,” she says.

Maurice Mouzon Jr., Charlotte Ballet company member: “Seeing their growth is really special”

Summer intensive faculty, 2022–present

Charlotte Ballet company member Maurice Mouzon Jr. in Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16. Photo by Jeff Cravotta, courtesy Charlotte Ballet.

Dancers don’t stop learning when they become professionals. That’s partially why Maurice Mouzon Jr., now in his ninth season as a dancer with Charlotte Ballet, wanted to teach at the company’s summer intensive. “I thought it would be a great idea to start teaching now, because I’m still receiving information,” he says. “It’s important to take what you’re getting from your teachers and pass it on to the next generation. In doing that, I’m learning a lot about myself, too.”

Teaching at the intensives has allowed Mouzon to give students direct access to a working professional dancer—and all the wisdom and inspiration that comes with that—and to keep growing himself. Sometimes, that looks like reminding himself that the corrections he’s giving to students apply to him, too. Other times, there’s a deeper kind of learning, like when he realized that he has to give himself the same patience he gives to his students when trying new things.

Mouzon says Charlotte Ballet intensive students are extremely open-minded and eager to learn, and he loves to see the fruits of that at the end-of-program performance. “You see it in their dancing and how they’re expressing themselves and how they connect their steps,” he says. “It’s impressive because they do it in such a short amount of time.”

Mouzon also relishes hearing about dancers’ successes when they leave the intensive—whether that’s compliments they received from their home studio teachers about how much they’ve improved, audition experiences where they feel confident and prepared, or exciting training or professional opportunities. “To be a part of someone’s life, even for a short time, and to see their growth, is really special,” he says. “It’s so rewarding for them, and for me.”

What has Mouzon found most rewarding about teaching at the summer intensive? “The laughter in the studio,” he says. “The true sense of having fun and loving what you’re doing. I love seeing the smiles on their faces as they’re working hard. It’s the best experience.”

To learn more about Charlotte Ballet’s summer intensive and to register to audition, click here.