SUMMER TRAINING 2015
REFLECTION/DOCUMENTATION:
For my second (self-designed) honors experience, I attended the Summer Intensive at The Washington Ballet School in Washington DC. Over the course of the five week program, (June 22 to July 24, 2015) I took dance classes from experienced faculty and the artistic staff of the resident company: The Washington Ballet. The experience cumulated in a series of four performances open to the public and showcasing “workshop” repertoire and original choreography. The main reason I chose this experience was its value to the future of my career in professional dance. Summer Intensives are an essential part of the life of a pre-professional as they provide critical networking opportunities and technical development. I had fairly mediocre expectations of this experience, as I had attended another school’s summer intensive in years past, but I am delighted to report that the program at Washington completely exceeded my expectations. I am fairly sure that this is mostly because of my placement into the most advanced level (as opposed to my previous experience when I was in a middling level) of the intensive, since this allowed for more challenging classes and diverse performance opportunities. Never the less, I am thankful that I was able to get so much out of my time at the school. |
Hopefully, this intensive will prove to be a valuable step forward in my plan to pursue a career in professional ballet. I was able to forge a relationship with one of my instructors that hopefully will give me a good reference in the future, and with any luck, I have left a good impression on the artistic staff of the company as well. Technically, I know that I will carry the increased strength in my feet as a memento of the long hours I spent en pointe this summer, as well as a better awareness of the coordination of my upper and lower body. As exhausting as this experience was, I am very happy with the knowledge and experience I have gained from it.
ARTIFACTS:
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
The day-to-day log of my experiences, mostly comprised of the individual corrections I received, but also cataloging the significant events of the days, and specific classes I took. This artifact basically compiles the raw information I received throughout my experience.
DISSEMINATING BLOG
A website I created in order to help younger/aspiring dancers to get a better idea about the reality of a summer intensive, and to pass on everything that I've learned about the whole process (both throughout this experience and in similar past experiences). The blog has been shared through social media by myself, The Washington Ballet, and is pending release at my home studio: Metropolitan Ballet Theatre.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
The final, extended reflection of this experience, incorporating the "What? So What? Now What?" model of reflection as recommended by the honors program. While the previous two artifacts are certainly informative of my experiences during the five week duration of the intensive, I used this essay to put down exactly why these occurrences were important and how they affected me.
ARTIFACTS:
REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
The day-to-day log of my experiences, mostly comprised of the individual corrections I received, but also cataloging the significant events of the days, and specific classes I took. This artifact basically compiles the raw information I received throughout my experience.
DISSEMINATING BLOG
A website I created in order to help younger/aspiring dancers to get a better idea about the reality of a summer intensive, and to pass on everything that I've learned about the whole process (both throughout this experience and in similar past experiences). The blog has been shared through social media by myself, The Washington Ballet, and is pending release at my home studio: Metropolitan Ballet Theatre.
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
The final, extended reflection of this experience, incorporating the "What? So What? Now What?" model of reflection as recommended by the honors program. While the previous two artifacts are certainly informative of my experiences during the five week duration of the intensive, I used this essay to put down exactly why these occurrences were important and how they affected me.