Long Beach Ballet’s Ambassadors to China Summer Intensive Gives Pre-Professional Dancers an Opportunity to Train in China

Summer intensives are an opportunity for dancers to expand their horizons, but at Long Beach Ballet’s Ambassadors to China summer intensive, the cultural exposure is on another level. The unparalleled program includes three weeks of training and rehearsals in Long Beach, California, followed by two weeks of performances, master classes, and sightseeing in China.

“It is important for every American to experience other cultures, but especially someone on a path to being a professional ballet dancer,” says Long Beach Ballet artistic director David Wilcox. “Visiting other countries exposes students to diverse cultures, broadens perspectives, and fosters empathy. It enhances problem-solving skills, cultural competence, and language abilities while inspiring creativity and self-discovery.” 

While in China, the exchange is truly cross-cultural: Intensive students collaborate with dancers from local Chinese ballet schools in three different cities on a full-length performance of Wilcox’s Coppélia, and are immersed in the Chinese style of ballet as well as traditional Chinese dance. Studying with Chinese dancers and teachers, including principal dancers from the Guangzhou Ballet, comes with major technical benefits: Wilcox says that Chinese ballet is “ballet in its purest form, and there’s no better way to uplift an ambitious young ballet student than to witness and share such perfection firsthand.” And traditional Chinese dance, he says, “emphasizes storytelling, fluidity, and cultural heritage, like classical ballet.”

Spending two weeks traveling and performing in China lets the students experience what touring as a professional might be like, says Wilcox. (Don’t just take his word for it: Alumni of the program include Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman, who toured with Wilcox twice! ) It also fosters lasting friendships. “Working day-in and day-out on the joys and the hardships of being a professional dancer, combined with the excitement and challenges of navigating a completely foreign culture, is profoundly life-changing,” he says. 

While the China tour is reserved for advanced students, dancers who wish to attend only the three-week portion of the intensive in Long Beach may do so. “Many return the following year and are accepted for the tour,” says Wilcox. The fact that ballet transcends languages and cultural differences is at the heart of the program. “Classical ballet is universal and requires no verbal communication,” he says. “It’s based on universal truths.”

Long Beach Ballet Ambassadors to China Summer Intensive

Program size: 85 students
Age range: 14–21 
Performance opportunities: The Long Beach portion concludes with a show where all students perform ballet, contemporary, and Russian character dances. In China, students perform a full-length production of Coppélia in three cities.  
Tuition: $2,100 for three weeks in Long Beach, $3,100 for the full five-week intensive with China tour (does not include airfare to China)
Room/board: $1,800 for the California portion, in the dorms at California State University, Long Beach. Room and board for the China portion is included in the $3,100 tuition. 
Daily schedule: Classes and rehearsals from 9 am to 4 pm, six days a week. Classes include ballet, pointe, Russian character, contemporary, jazz, and Pilates. Once abroad, dancers also study traditional Chinese dance. 
Additional opportunities: A welcome beach barbecue and optional excursions to Disneyland and Medieval Times in California. Sightseeing highlights in China include Lotus Mountain, the Great Wall, museums, and historic parks, as well as exploring the streets of rural China. 
Alumni: Past participants of Long Beach Ballet intensives include Misty Copeland (American Ballet Theatre) and Hannah Neeleman (Ballerina Farm). Students have gone on to dance with companies including San Francisco Ballet, Ballet West, The Joffrey Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Dresden Semperoper Ballett, Bayerisches Staatsballett, and Milwaukee Ballet.
Important dates in 2025: March 9: Auditions end and registration closes; June 30: Start of intensive; July 18: Departure for China; August 4: Return to Los Angeles Airport and end of intensive.
To learn more about Long Beach Ballet’s Ambassadors to China summer intensive, click here.