While many students went on vacations and relaxed at home this past summer, a few dancers from Severna Park High School traveled out of state to gain education at dance intensives.
Sophomore Lily Dougherty attended the Rock School for Dance Education Summer Ballet Intensive from June 26 to July 29, over half of her summer. Staying at Cabrini College’s campus, Dougherty took classes at the Rock School for several hours each day. She attended the intensive in the summer of 2015 and she enjoyed it enough to go back for more. “The teaching and the atmosphere was amazing, and taking class all day, every day helps you improve a lot faster and more noticeably,” said Dougherty.
Junior Ella Collings was another one among the hardworking dancers this past summer. Collings wanted to “gain more dance experience with new teachers who could offer different perspectives,” so she attended an intensive at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York. For two weeks, she lived in the Pace University dorms in Manhattan and experienced several dance classes. Also staying at the Pace University dorms in New York, junior Elizabeth Hines attended a ballet intensive with the Gelsey Kirkland Ballet Company. Hines wants to have a career in dance, so she thinks it is important to stay in shape over the summer.
These dancers are used to the training they receive at their studios, so they appreciated the different teaching styles and perspectives they were exposed to. According to Collings, “having a variety of experiences and stepping out of your comfort zone makes you a better, more well rounded dancer.” With any sport or activity, receiving a correction from a brand new coach or teacher can introduce you to a different approach to a skill, and overall lead to improvement. “The teachers all had different backgrounds and taught with different styles so it was refreshing to have new and different challenges every class. It kept us from getting bored and it made us put in
a lot of effort because we were constantly learning new things,” said Dougherty. Hines agrees, adding, “you need to be diverse in the different teaching styles of new teachers.” Being exposed to new techniques will result in learning new things and enhancing one’s skills.
Despite the exhaustion that comes from weeks of nonstop dancing, the girls never became frustrated or wanted to stop. They were able to stay motivated throughout their weeks away from home. Being around other people in the same situation can also be reassuring. “I was surrounded by people who shared similar goals as me and we all motivated each other, which made it a fun learning environment,” said Collings.
When an athlete has the opportunity to experience a camp or intensive and is away from home for a long period of time, he or she is bound to learn more than just the sport. Collings said that she learned how to navigate the New York subways, and was able to improve her time management. “[Focusing] on the big picture” is the main lesson that Dougherty was able to learn. “It’d be so annoying if one day I just couldn’t nail any of my turns or jumps, but in the end, I was still improving and they were better than they’d been before.”
Even though it was challenging to dance for several hours every day, the girls believe their intensives were fun experiences that were able to help them improve their skills as dancers. “I had an overall great experience because I think I improved on my technique, which was the reason I went to this intensive,” said Hines. When thinking about having a future career in dance, it is important to take minimal breaks and constantly work on skill and technique, and according to these dancers, a summer intensive is a great way to do so.
