The Rock- experiences?

[SFB2b]

i'm thinking of going to the Rock in september, i'll be 15 and a sophmore in high school. i'm going to be auditioning in early january when Bo and Stephanie Spassoff come to SF for the summer course audition. if i get in i'll probably go to philly for a visit in the spring since i have to go back east anyway, but i was just wondering if anyone knows specifics about the program. are there any things about it that make it different than other schools? and how are the teachers?

 

i also want to know more about the rock academic program alliance, classes are done through an online high school called keystone national high school. does anyone have any experience with it? are the classes equivalent in difficulty to those of a solid academic high school? i am a very strong student (if i do say so myself ) and if a career in ballet doesn't work out for me, which it probably won't, i would like to go to NYU or Columbia and i'm worried that i wont be able to get in to either if i spend 3 years of high school at this "keystone national high school"

 

anyway, any help or insights would be very much appreciated!

[cahill]

My daughter and I are looking into this program for her year around. (We also live in the Bay Area). I have a call into the school but have not heard back yet. Do you know for sure that you can audition for the year round program at the summer audition? Do you have the date of the SF audition? For some reason I am unable to get the schedule off the site. Thanks

 

Cahill

[thedriver]

and if a career in ballet doesn't work out for me, which it probably won't, i would like to go to NYU or Columbia and i'm worried that i wont be able to get in to either if i spend 3 years of high school at this "keystone national high school" 

SFB, maybe you should call or email the admissions office for undergraduate students at NYU and Columbia and ask them about the Rock’s on-line HS program.

[Redstorm]

Hi Cahill.

The audition for The Rock is this Sunday, January 9th at Lines Ballet in San Francisco. 9-13 is from 12-2pm and the 14 and older group follows.

Lines Ballet is on 7th Street. Go early since parking is hard to find.

We will be there for the younger group.

Don't forget to wear your pink pointe shoe ribbon to identify yourself as a BA member! I will look for you!

[BW]

Knocking on the door here re Keystone's program. We have a very good friend who has been using this program for the past year and a half or so. It is not a program that would be considered college preparatory by competitive private college preparatory schools, nor, frankly, is University of Nebraska's, whose program we have personal experience with.

[Guest DerfDude04]

A student got into NYU during '03-'04, and he only attended for his senior year.

[Guest DerfDude04]

I have information on Keystone High School as well.

[Guest DerfDude04]

I'm going to highlight a few of the differences...

 

One is that most boarding schools you live in a dorm, however at The Rock, you re-side in a appartment building on one floor. This floor is Rock School students only with currently a Residential Director and Residential Assistant/Advisor. Rules are generally the same as a dorm, except no hanging around the hallways, as there is a lounge with a cable tv, couches, and such.

 

If you visit Keystone National High School's website you can look for where Keystone Alumni have attended college.

[obi hav kanavi]

I went to the Rock's SIP last year, and I also do Keystone National High school.

 

Keystone is an accredited school, if that means anything. You basically teach yourself-but I think they might have tutors at Rock. The classes usually aren't to hard, unless you're doing math or something like Business Law. You pretty much just read textbooks and keep journals on the computer-nothing majorly challenging. There are also 8 tests for each course that you take. They can be difficult at times, though, because you don't have a teacher to tell you "secrets" to doing or understanding things well.

 

The teachers at the Rock are pretty good. The ballet that they teach there is sort of a modified Balanchine style, which is so-so. They focus a lot on turning (pirouettes, pirouettes, and more pirouettes) and fast(very fast) footwork. The combinations that they give are usually not complicated,(with the exception of one teacher) and the classes are usually well-structured. They give helpful corrections, and they want to help you improve. They have a good SIP, but I don't know if I'd recommend going there for the year-it's very costly, and for what you might get out of it, it may be a better idea to try for some other year programs. Maybe you should go to their summer program first (they have all of the same teachers as during the year, with a few guests), and see how you like it before you decide to spend an entire year there.

[Guest DerfDude04]

There is an academic dean, a teacher, and tutors on staff to help you out. Some students also take from the University of Missouri in foreign language, and stuff like psychology.

 

In my oppinion, you get alot of the year-round program, alot more than the summer...its alot harder and such because you are now their students.

 

I don't believe they are pirouettes, pirouettes, pirouettes, though they might have done that to help get pirouettes improved, by method of repetition.

 

(In Miami we had pirouette classes, and I never had those at Rock whatsoever.)