Bebe Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Hello Everyone, I'm new to the forum and I need some sage advice from you veterans! My daughter has recently expressed an interest in doing a 2009 Summer Intensive. She is 9.5 years old and has been dancing/performing for 7 years. I'm at a lost as to what to write/include on a young dancer's resume. What sort of photo shot is appropriate to take to an audition? Any recommendations on Summer Intensives for young dancers? Is it better to start them off younger going to Summer Intensives? I appreciate any and all advice/help. Cheers, Bebe Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted June 3, 2008 Administrators Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Bebe, the parents will weigh in with advice here too, but I just wanted to let you know that resumes are generally not needed for very young dancers. They don't have anything to put there yet! Actually, most places do not even want resumes from the older dancers. Those are needed primarily for company auditions, when they are looking for work. As for photos, every program will have different requirements. You will need to go to the website of the programs you are interested in and find out what they want. Finding an SI can be done right here, by reading through the SI forums. There are a few programs which are better suited to the younger students, so you need to look at those first. Ten and a half is a bit young for many of the programs, but there are some who accomodate that age. We do not recommend for or against it for that age, but just suggest that you investigate the different programs in terms of length, and housing, chaperones, etc., as well as location. Not too far away from home and not too long a program is usually best for students under 12 or 13. Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Many thanks Victoria - I've read many of your suggestions and trust your judgement on the matter. I will check out the SI Forum. You're the best! Bebe Quote Link to comment
BelaNina Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Luckily, you have all kinds of time to read the forums prior to next year's audition season. As far as photos go, once you have narrowed down your list of suitable SIs for which your dd will audition, you'll be able to read each school's website, and audition requirements. The specific photos needed (if any) will be described. Some ask for a headshot - and usually a school picture is fine for this. Many ask for a first arabesque, and some ask for a full body shot in any ballet position. A few ask for specific poses other than the first arabesque. As far as listing your child's past experience, the general consensus is that pre-ballet, and creative movement are not counted when listing years of ballet training. Ballet training starts with Ballet 1 (or whatever the first "real ballet" class is called in your child's particular case), usually at the age of 7 or 8. If you look in the Parents of Dancers under 13 forum and search through the past threads, you'll see discussions on SIs for younger students. There is lots of food for thought there. There are also threads (maybe on the SI General Information forum?) regarding specific SIs suitable for younger dancers. Here's one thread I found on the SI General Info forum: http://dancers.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=38700 Welcome! Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thank you LauraGG - I have to admit it's a bit intimidating moving around the site and trying to find the threads. I knew the type of questions I asked were posted somewhere within the forum, sorry to be redundant. Appreciate your insights and will go to the thread you suggested. Cheers Quote Link to comment
BelaNina Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 No need to apologize, Bebe! The amount of information on this site is vast, and it takes all of us time to figure out how the site works, and where to find information. Our moderators are masters at it. When I first found this site, I sat down when I had some time, and read through old threads on the parent forum (which was only one much smaller forum at the time). I didn't read all the threads, just some of the threads that seemed to pertain to my dd's situation at the time. Now, when my dd hits a new stage (like going en pointe for example), I'll read through the appropriate forums, ask questions, etc. There are new posts posted in many forums on this site everyday. Even though there is a great deal of information here, people always have new questions to ask, or specific situations they would like advice about, or experiences they want to share. That's what this site is here for, so ask away! One day you'll be up late at night reading new posts on BT4D, and you'll read a post from a new parent, and you'll say to yourself- Hey! I can share some information that I know about that topic. And you will. And you might even be able to find a helpful old thread for them to read. Quote Link to comment
balletbooster Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Bebe, welcome to BT! Take some time to browse around the Search function (found at the top right side of the page). You can put all sorts of keywords in and search for them in the Title only or throughout threads. It takes a while to get the hang of using the Search, but it is a very powerful tool to find your way to some valuable threads on SIs for younger dancers. We've had some great discussions on this topic and you'll find parents who have been exactly where you are. You can also search for posts by specific parents to find threads about this topic, once you know who has had young dancers attend SIs (I'm one of them ). Happy Searching! You'll find some fantastic information and wonderful parents and teachers on this board. We hope you will become an active and frequent contributor! Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 LauraGG and balletbooster you're both FANTABULOUS. I've read so many of your comments on the threads and I feel like royalty! I really admire all of you who have helped so many of us! Just wanted to let you both know how much you're appreciated! (Of course, All the moderators too - Cheers!) Oh boy I'm really becoming addicted to BT4D! Honestly, it's crazy...I keep saying okay I'll just read one more thread and before I know it. it's 11:00 pm. Yikes! My husband and DD think I'm nuts ( yep over BT4D!) It really feels like having a warm blanket around you (believe me it's still cold here in Oregon). Quote Link to comment
Administrators Victoria Leigh Posted June 3, 2008 Administrators Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Careful Bebe, we can be addictive! Glad you are enjoying it. Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 My daughter keeps asking - Hey Mom, who's the dancer here me or you...She is, of course, but the more information I have the better for her, right! Besides, I'm having a blast! Kid in a candy store mentality! Thank you so much Victoria - Hope you're not offended but you "Totally Rock" - immortal words from my 9.5 year old DD! Quote Link to comment
alliebug13 Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Bebe, We have just sent our 11 year old off to her first si. She is at cpyb. I was a little leary of dorm life for her so we decided on a home stay. The family she is with has 4 boarders as well as 2 of their own in the program. So its like a small dorm situation. She has her own room. I think it was harder for me than her, I had a hard time leaving, she was like you can go now. She called after her 3 day and asked if she could stay for the year round program (no way, not yet). She loves the program and her family. Wants to come back next year. Hope this helps Bugs mom Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 allibug13- Hi and welcome to the Forum!!! Glad to have you on board! It's so much fun isn't it - I love reading all the threads. Hubby and DD always know where to find me! tee hee DD and I always fight over who gets to get on the computer first (me, of course!) How did you decide which family for her to stay with or was she assigned a host family by cpyb? I'm so happy she's enjoying herself. I'd be interested to hear what she did during her SI - will you be posting an evaluation? I know how you feel about letting them go to early! Kids grow up so quickly - I look at my DD and I'll say "I remember when you were only this big" - DD just laughs and rolls her eyes and says - "Mom, I have to grow up sometime, you'll get used to it" I would have been the same way as you...don't you want me to stay and help you out!!! Geez, since when did kids get so smart - I don't think I had the "where with all" at her age! Thank you so much all the information. Yes, it was very helpful and insightful. Now, there's another option for us to consider - host families! I look forward to reading about your SI and host family experience. Cheers Quote Link to comment
Bebe Posted July 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Thank you Fairy (by the way, cool signature!) That's an excellant suggestion - I'll look into for my DD! It's good to hear it from those who have actually experienced the SI personally! Quote Link to comment
balletbooster Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Reminder! This is a PARENT forum. Posts, regardless of the help/information that they may provide, from users who are not parents or moderators will be deleted. There are other forums where all of our users are free to post. But, for those created for a restricted user group, we ask that all members honor the stated forum guidelines. Quote Link to comment
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