A while back, we talked about how to evaluate a local ballet program. Now that we’ve looked at local programs, let’s turn our attention to residential ballet programs. By the time your dancer is ready to head to a residential program, they’ve likely decided they want to pursue a professional career. Before your family takes the residential program plunge, read this series. We’ll cover, in detail, all of the ballet related and non-ballet related questions you should be asking. So, let’s dive in!

There are several questions you and your dancer should be asking as you’re evaluating a residential ballet program. Many have nothing to do with ballet, but can have a big impact on your dancer’s experience being away from home.

Housing and Food

First, does the program offer housing and are there any age restrictions to live in the housing? For example, until you enter the Professional Division program at Pacific Northwest Ballet, there is no housing available. In fact, it’s largely a local school until a dancer gets into what they call PD. 

There are several schools who have added or increased housing capacity in the last few years. San Francisco Ballet School opened the Bowes Center, which houses much of the upper level division as well as those intermediate students who are from out of the area. Ballet West recently added housing as well.

Supervision is another consideration. Is the housing strict or somewhat lax? And, as a result, how comfortable do you feel about the level of supervision that exists? Supervision in housing at residential ballet programs runs the gamut from “curfew in name only” to darn-near lockdown status. Do your homework on this – it’s important and can set the tone for everything else at the program. The best way to find out about this is to have your dancer reach out to existing students. You’d be surprised how honest students can be. But, be sure to have your dancer talk to as many people as they can. Getting the story from just one person doesn’t always give you a clear picture of what’s really going on. And, be sure to ask students who are close in age to your dancer.

The other housing related issue to consider is food. Is there a meal plan? Is it enough food? Can they handle any dietary restrictions like kids who require a gluten free diet or have severe food allergies? In addition, how is food served? Is food portioned out ahead of time in individual containers or is it cafeteria style? It’s important to know that enough food is available for students to cover their caloric needs after several hours of dancing. Also, is the food edible? There are some summer programs that are known for having truly awful food. We have not heard this about many year-round programs, but it’s worth looking into.

Finally, is food available at the right times? We know of one school that had specific hours in which food was served. However, it overlapped with company rehearsals that several upper level students had to attend. By the time they returned to their dorm, food service had closed. So, it was left to DoorDash or whatever they had in their mini-fridge!

If a program doesn’t offer housing, think about if your dancer is ready to live on their own in an apartment. Some dancers are more than ready at a young age. My son moved into an apartment at age 15, when he went into the full-time program at San Francisco Ballet School and I can assure you that he was most definitely not ready. But, we had to learn this hard way. Fortunately, we lived about 25 miles away so we able to get there frequently.

RAs and Building Community 

The number of residence supervisors should also be looked at carefully. Is there one person for 10 people or for 30? And, how involved are the RAs on a day-to-day basis? Are they strict or do they tend toward being more laid back? Finally, what is the level of community established by the RAs? They typically set the culture in any dorm and your dancer should consider this. Are there weekly activities e.g. a rooftop BBQ or a movie night or a trip to a Cubs game? Or, is the housing simply a place to lay your head?

A variety of types of communities exist, and can make for wonderful experiences – your dancer just needs to decide which type they want to be involved in.

Academics

Academics is another area to carefully consider. At most residential programs, academics are completed in some sort of non-traditional way. Ask yourself if your dancer is ready to leave brick-and-mortar high school and if they can handle online school. There are four models of non-traditional high school and we cover these in more detail in a post dedicated to non-traditional education. 

Suffice it to say, your dancer will likely attend school in front of their laptop, either with a teacher on the other end or without. Some schools, like the School of American Ballet (SAB) have agreements with two local high schools to allow students to attend. Students attend partially in-person and partially online. And, academic performance is closely monitored.

A few other programs bring teachers to some sort of “study hall” to serve as tutors to complement online programs in which students may be registered. This can be great if your student needs a little support beyond what they’re getting through their online program.

The most important factor to consider is how much academic supervision your dancer needs and how self-directed are they? You’ll want to find the best academic match between your student’s learning style and what a particular ballet program offers in terms of support.

Finally, does your dancer have aspirations to go to college after finishing a residential ballet program or do they want to forgo college and start a professional career? There are definitely some schools where graduating students go on to elite colleges and universities and they are supported and even celebrated for those accomplishments. In others, the ballet school really doesn’t want you if attending college is your dancer’s goal. We’ve even heard of specific teachers asking students what their plans are after high school and the student replied that they thought they wanted to go to college. The teacher replied by asking, “Then why are you here?” Ouch. Obviously, kids change their mind about college vs. pursuing a career out of high school. But, it’s good to know which schools are supportive of either path.

Ballet School Culture

Culture can also have a huge impact on your dancer’s experience at a residential ballet program. Absolutely do your homework on this. Have your dancer reach out to people they may know. Culture varies widely from program to program. And, it has to do with both teachers and students. With regard to teachers, are they “old school” and believe that everyone needs to suffer for their art? Do they yell in class? In a good way or a bad way? Good yellers can be motivating. Bad yellers can just suck the life out of a dancer. You know your student best – how do they respond to different types of teachers?

Also, do teachers make comments in class about dancer bodies? We know of one teacher who told a male student that he looked like he had eaten a big lunch. This was after being told he needed to “lengthen,” code for “lose some weight.” You can imagine what the impact of those comments were on a kid who already had body image issues!

In class, is it an autocracy or is there two-way communication? We’ve seen loads of both in our years raising our ballet kids! In fact, some students do better in classes where the communication is one-way and is perceived to be a bit of an autocracy. For example, a shy, introverted student may find the teacher who sets a clear structure from which one does not deviate, to be reassuring. More extroverted kids might find classes where the vibe is a little more lax to be a better fit.

The student body can also have a huge impact on culture. And, before you stop here and say, “Well it depends on the class that year.” It doesn’t. Schools tend to attract kids of similar personalities from year to year. Some student populations are warm, welcoming and supportive. And, others can resemble Lord of the Flies. My son has been in two different company-affiliated programs and the cultures could not be any more different. I’m not saying either was bad, just different. These differences can be seen not only in how the teachers interact with the students, but also how the dancers interact with one another. Know the culture before you even consider auditioning. 

And, let me stop you right here. Your student IS NOT DIFFERENT. I’m sure you think your student is fabulous. I certainly think mine is. But, when he left for his first residential ballet program, I was given certain things to consider before sending him off and I disregarded those warnings. I was dead wrong on so many things. He was not different. He had injuries just like every other dancer there. He struggled academically like many other dancers there. And, he hit speed bumps like every other dancer has and will. I assumed he would sail through just like he did at his local school. 

But, residential programs are a different ball of wax. Kids who are not adults are put in positions where they often have to act like an adult. It’s like going off to college and playing a division 1 sport without all of the support that college athletes get. And, they’re 16! Some are ready for it. Mine was not one of them.

Communication, Health, Wellness and Abuse

Another non-ballet related issue concerns communication. The way schools communicate with families varies widely. Some are happy to be in regular communication with you and might even add you to the school’s parent committee. Yes, some residential programs have parent committees! And other schools prefer to communicate directly with the students. Figure out how much this matters to you.

Health and Wellness is another big area to consider. It’s not something we like to talk about but it needs to be considered as decisions about residential ballet programs are being made. This ranges from how injuries are handled to how a program handles a student with severe anxiety or an eating disorder. The injury rate among ballet dancers is close to 100% so you’ll want to know that a school will handle things adequately when a dancer gets injured. Ask the school this:

1. Do they have doctors on staff and available?
2. If not, what are the protocols for getting medical attention?
3. How does the school communicate with parents in the event of an injury? Note: communication protocols are likely different for a student under 18 vs. one who is 18 and up.
4. What are the protocols around treatment and return to class?
5. Is there on-site physical therapy?
6. Is PT an additional fee?
7. Is there an established “re-entry” program for a dancer prior to returning to class?
8. What is the policy around “getting cleared” to return?

With regard to eating disorders and other mental health issues, how are these handled? Are there therapists on staff or on some sort of retainer? Are parents alerted to any concerns the staff might have about a dancer’s mental health? We are aware of schools where a blind eye is often turned to mental health issues. On the other hand, we are also aware of schools that alert parents even when there is a whiff of concern about a student.

Related to this, how do schools handle body types? Do they prefer one type of body? Do they weigh students? Do students get the “fat talk?” Unfortunately, body type conversations are still rampant in the ballet world and you should be clear-eyed about how each school (claims to) handle this.

Finally, how does a ballet program handle emotional and/or physical abuse? As much as we’d like to think that MeToo and recent events in the ballet world have made this problem go away, it’s likely still out there. And, parents need to know how schools handle it if the issue arises. Is there a clear pipeline for reporting it? Is there a mechanism for keeping it anonymous? And, are there clear consequences for the aggressor? 

In our next post, we’ll address all of the ballet-specific questions to consider before choosing a residential ballet program. Click here to read: Choosing a Residential Ballet Program: Part 2