Tag: Questions
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Supporting Introverted Dancers in Ballet

Our second in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet I recently heard the phrase “Extroverts sparkle, introverts glow.” How perfect is that? Everybody gets to shine, just in a different way. But in the competitive ballet school bubble, it can feel like your child, who is so clearly glowing…
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Sending Your Young Dancer Off To A Summer Intensive

**This post has been updated** A while back, we got a question from a reader that asked the following: My dancer is heading off to their first “real” summer intensive. What can I do to make sure they have the best experience possible? We addressed this in one of our podcasts but some of you…
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What The Heck Is A Summer Intensive?

It’s time for the Ballet Help Desk Summer Intensive Boot Camp! Before we jump into all of the great content we’ll be publishing, let’s take a step back and talk about just exactly what a summer intensive is! You’ve probably heard people throw around the term “SI.” I know when I first heard this, I…
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Oh The Pressure!

How many of you have picked up your dancer from class only to find them in tears? Yep, every single one of us. Ballet is hard. Kids who are attracted to ballet are a different breed. Not only do they have an artistic slant to their brain, they are also laser focused technicians. And, this…
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Introducing Podcasts And Our New Series!

We are pleased to announce that Ballet Help Desk has added podcasts! Not only are all of our previous videos available as podcasts, we are also launching a monthly, multi-part series that will dig deep into specific subjects related to ballet training. Each series will feature blog posts as well as interviews with experts that…
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Choosing A Residential Ballet Program: Part 2

On the heels of our last post where we talked about non-ballet questions to ask, let’s now turn to questions that directly relate to ballet in any residential ballet school. First, here’s the reality: dancers are going to go to the program they get into. We can give you a laundry list of things to…
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Choosing A Residential Ballet Program: Part 1

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…
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When Dancers Want To Stay For Year-Round After Attending The Intensive

Welcome to the Summer Intensive season. Your kids have been in their program for a few weeks, and they are no longer outliers in their social worlds. They are surrounded by like-minded dancers who are driven and love ballet. Maybe they have connected with a teacher at their SI program and your dancer is growing…
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What We Wish We Knew When Our Kids Were Younger

We got a question a while back that really intrigued us. We were asked this: As experienced dance parents looking back, what things would you have done differently? We’re going to answer this question together. What Would Jenny Have Done Differently? If I knew then what I know now, I would have spent more time…
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Different Levels At Residential Ballet Schools And What They All Mean

We get asked all the time about when dancers should leave home for residential ballet programs and we always hesitate to give people advice on this. It’s not really our call. We don’t know each individual dancer’s situation and we’d be remiss to assume we know best on this. In a future series, we’ll be…
