boarding schools

[Guest ballerinababe88]

I would like to be a professional dancer, and I am looking at going to a year round boarding program next year (my sophmore year). I have auditioned for Walnut Hill and NCSA. I recently heard that I was accepted to both. Now my problem is which one to choose. I live in Virginia, and NCSA is attractive to me because it's closer to home, but I don't want this to be the deciding factor. If anyone has information about either of these two schools, I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

[Guest TootsiePop]

I would love to hear about NCSA too! I got "reccomended for acceptance" and I sent my applications in, so as long as they are approved, I'll be going! If there is anybody going there yearround, what is a normal day like? How many classes?

[Victoria Leigh]

The training at NCSA is primarily Balanchine in style. Walnut Hill is not. Michael Owen is from ABT. So, one needs to look at those differences in terms of what type of training you want.

[manageitall]

When you audition for NCSA year round, do they tell you if you are "recommended for acceptance" right away, depending on your paperwork, I assume, for the final acceptance, or do you have to wait for a letter?

[Guest TootsiePop]

No, They send a letter about 2-3 weeks after the audition for yearround and tell if you are "reccomended for acceptance" or not. If you are then you have 3 weeks to send in the application, letters of reccomendation etc. for the final acceptance.

[Allegrodancer]

First question: I do not know your family's financial situation, but I believe that residents of Virginia do not need to pay tuition to go to NCSA. That would possibly be a plus for you.

 

Second question: At my audition for NCSA, they told dancers who were recommended for scholarship directly after the audition. I later received a letter saying to call the school or send in a form to find exactly how much I received. I sent an email, and they were happy to answer any questions.

 

Merde on your decision!

[Guest live2dance88]

Hi! I currently attend NCSA and thought I might could answer a few questions. My experience at the program this year has been wonderful and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about their art. The NCSA high school program also has three other art areas, including music, drama, and the visual arts. This diversity is unique to NCSA and makes it a wonderful place to live. In the dance program the training is excellent and there are alot of performance opportunities. Many of the teachers have different backgrounds so the students receive a solid versatile technique. However, only the tuition for in-state high school students is free. Students from outside NC must pay but there is scholorship money available. I hope this helps and I would be glad to answer any more questions anyone might have about NCSA!

 

~Brittany~

[Guest ballerinababe88]

Brittany~

 

Thanks so much for your reply! I sent you an email because I have a buch of questions I'd like to ask you. I hope to hear from you soon.

[Guest *my toes skim the stage*]

Does anyone have any insight with Walnut Hill? I was accepted to their year round program.

[ABTgirl14]

From what I've heard Walnut Hill is a wonderful program! I had a friend who went there and then came back and improved so much. A thing to consider though is that a lot of them end up going to college to major in dance instead of going into companies. Don't get me wrong, there are still those who go to companies, but my friend said that a lot of them go to college too. It just depends on what you want.

 

-Sarah-

[Guest ballethoney]

I attened Walnut Hill's Summer Intensive in 2002, and I loved it! Michael Owen is one of the best teachers I have ever had! They also have a really good staff of ballet teachers for the year-round school. The campus is extremely beautiful, however the dorms are actually early 20th century houses, and are a bit on the dirty side. (But my mom bought me a spray bottle of cleaning solution...and I was good to go!) I would have liked to stay for the full year, but Natick (just outside of Boston) is so far away from where I live.