Ballet West Young Dancer Program

[Cosmo7]

My DD who will be 12 in June was accepted into the 2 week in-person YDP at Ballet West. They are doing an excellent job I hear with keeping it safe during the pandemic - taking all safety measures and precautions. I understand it is their 2nd year running this program for ages 10-13. Daughter will be on pointe one year this coming June. Does anyone know if the YDP has levels and if pointe work is included in some levels? We want to make sure it is challenging enough and must respond soon to keep her spot.

How does it compare to ABT YDW (which my daughter found to be very easy last year, with a high acceptance rate)? She also got into ABT Summer Intensive this year, but I think they will be online so technically she can do both programs. ABT will notify in April if you are invited to in-person. Thank you!

Edited February 3, 2021 by Cosmo7

[ballet_mom]

My 11 year old son is auditioning for Ballet West YDP as we speak (2/7 in Los Angeles-South). I, too would be interested in hearing how this program compares with others. He has been accepted to other programs and will attend one other in the early part of the summer but can ALSO attend this one. (@Cosmo7: this son also did ABT YDW virtual last summer and has declined ABT again this summer b/c virtual; we are very interested in finding in-person places for him this time around).

[Ballettalk05]

Hi Cosmo7,

I sent an email inquiring about pointe class also.  They emailed me back and told that there will be a  “daily pre-pointe/pointe/variations class for those who are ready for it.”
 

Hope that helps!

 

[balletmomcuriosa]

Anybody have a child who actually went to BW's young dancer workshop? My DD is similar to above. Trying to decide between BW and ABT YDSW (has done ABT last three years) Wondering about class size and which would be more challenging. 

[Autumn Hansen]

My daughter attended BW YDSI this year. She's been en pointe for 2 years, and it was too easy for her. We were hoping for a more challenging experience. Certainly not a waste of time, but surprisingly disappointing as we had heard great things about BW. Maybe it's just their young dancer program

[balletmomcuriosa]

Thanks for the update. We decided to do ABT YDSW for family support/scheduling reasons. We also discussed it with her AD who recommended ABT because, being ABT certified, her AD felt like she could vouch for the quality of instruction. The program started today so I will post a review in the YDSW thread after completion.