by Jennifer Heimlich | Jul 1, 2026 | Health & Body, Nutrition, Pointe+, Summer Study
For dancers, summer means sweat. Even if you’re not performing outdoors directly in the sunshine and heat, you still might end up soaking your leotard by the end of the day. “Most dancers at summer intensives are dancing quite a few more hours than they’re used to,...
by Sponsored by Next Generation Ballet | Feb 18, 2026 | From Our Sponsors, Summer Intensives
As the new artistic director of Tampa’s Next Generation Ballet (NGB), Antonio Douthit-Boyd says he brings a “smorgasbord of all the things”—Vaganova and Balanchine training, a prestigious career with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and...
by Amy Brandt | Jul 21, 2025 | Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
American Repertory Ballet dancer Emily Cordies-Maso remembers feeling self-conscious during hip-hop class at her first summer intensive. “I was very shy, and I didn’t want to do it,” she says. The instructor would teach a combination and then turn on the music, asking...
by Gavin Larsen | Jun 30, 2025 | Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
Not long after Mississippi-native Annelise Fagan arrived at Colorado Ballet Academy for her first summer intensive, her excitement about attending the three-week program changed. She was sad, lonely, and desperately missed home. “I didn’t know anyone, not even my...
by Sponsored by Oklahoma City Ballet | Nov 12, 2024 | From Our Sponsors, Training
There is no magic hairdo. No trendy leotard or lucky audition number that will earn you a spot in a summer intensive program and then—if the pre-professional path is your dream—into a year-round traineeship, second company position, and an eventual job with...
by Chava Pearl Lansky | Jun 21, 2024 | Higher Ed, Summer Study, Training
Last summer, Kirsten Smerud, then 20, had just finished a traineeship at BalletMet and was preparing to join Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company. She wanted to keep up with her training, but she found that she’d aged out of most summer intensives and would be older...
by Sophie Bress | Feb 9, 2024 | Summer Study, Training
Summer intensives are an undeniably important aspect of a dancer’s training. They provide opportunities for young artists to connect with industry professionals, bolster their technique, and they can even be a gateway to securing a job with a company later on....
by Hannah Chang Foster | Aug 10, 2023 | Pointe+, Summer Study, Training
You’ve just had the best summer ever at your ballet intensive. You got to explore a new city, form new friendships, and make technical breakthroughs without any pesky homework assignments distracting from your 24/7 dance immersion. For five weeks, it felt like what...
