Ballet Schools- Chicago Academy for the Arts

[quill]

We are beginning to explore high school possibilities and my dd has expressed interest in this school. I don't know anything about it except what I have read in their catalogue and on their web site. Does anyone have any experience with this high school or its dance program? I would be very interested in having some first hand information. I can't find a discussion of it on this board, but if there is one, a link would be appreciated.

Thanks

quill

[e'smom]

My daughter was very impressed with their performance at the National High School Dance Festival this year. They do not have any boarding facilities and I believe they draw primarily from the Chicago area.

[quill]

Yes, that's right e'smom. It is a private, day highschool with performing and visual arts. They offer a concentration in dance. We live in the area, so it would be commutable for us. I'm wondering about the quality of the dance training and the academics. They have a newsletter that talks about what colleges the graduates will be attending, but it's not broken down by which art the students are concentrating in, so it's hard to figure out what happens to the dancers.

Thanks.

[e'smom]

I would make some phone calls to the school, and ask specifically, where the dancers from this year's graduating class are going, and ask for parent references that you can call for a review of the academics, etc. I do believe it is more oriented toward contemporary dance, so if your daughter is a total bunhead, this may not be the place for her.

[Révérence]

We went and visited the school in January. Although I'm sure that it produces fine dancers, the facilities are very poor. The building is old, rather than charming, the library a maze of empty steel shelves, and the computers that they did have looked like they came from the 70's. We got the impression that the audition would have been totally unnecessary; it looked like they needed all the students they could get! They were very accomodating in letting us look around, though, so go have a look for yourself!

[NutsaboutBallet]