Summer Intensive Program

Halfway Through The Summer Intensive

Remember Ashley and Erick? We touched base with them recently to see how it feels to be at the halfway mark of the Summer Intensive Program. Ashley and Erick share with us what they’ve been learning and what works they’ve been rehearsing for the presentation at the end of the summer.

This is my DANCE BAG!

The Summer Intensive students spend lots of time in the studios during the program, so they have to bring tons of stuff with them in their dance bags. We’ve been so curious as to what they carry around all day that we just had to ask!

Barre Tab

Post by Kris Kramer, Corporate Gifts Officer and former MCB dancer

One morning, before the Summer Intensive Program began, I ran into our Production and Lighting Director, John Hall. John was in his normal friendly demeanor and I immediately struck up a conversation with him. Since he had a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other, I asked him what he was up to. “I’m counting barres,” he replied. As he filled me in on what he was doing and why he was up to this “barre tab,” I instantly thought, “Our blog followers need to know about this!”

John explained that he was taking inventory of the barres mainly to get prepared for the 211 dance students that would arrive from all over the world for Miami City Ballet School’s Summer Intensive Program. Since there is such an influx of dancers during the five weeks, MCB needs to make sure we have enough equipment for the students.

His tally was up to 50 barres. Fifteen of the 50 were aluminum, light-weight barres that couldn’t be used because they were uncomfortable for the students. As a former dancer with the School and Company, I would never choose these aluminum barres when I took class. On the rare occasion I had to use one, it was always frustrating. If I was doing a hard combination and was relying on the support of the barre, it wasn’t there and that prevented me from getting the most benefits from the exercise. I would say they were mostly a nuisance, as these barres are so light you can pick them up with one hand. I was glad to hear that John was getting rid of them.

Since there was going to be a reduction in the barre tab, John continued to explain to me that they were going to buy 20 new barres. These barres are white and have two parallel bars at the top spaced about a foot apart. This makes it easier to accommodate dancers of different heights and allow them to move more gracefully through different exercises and stretch at different intensities. In addition, they are relatively easy to adjust. Dancers often adjust the height of the barres before their warm up exercises depending on their height so their hands hold the barre at a certain angle, a little less than 45 degrees from their torso. These barres are $200 each. So with 20 new ones, MCB will have to cough up a $4,000 barre tab. Ouch!

John shared this last tid bit with me. The 12 barres that travel with the Company from theater to theater were being brought into the studios as well. This would help accommodate the 211 Summer Intensive students during their training and bring the barre count to 67 in total. Three or four students to a barre is perfect in my book so I think John got his number right.

As I walked to my desk on the third floor administration level, I remembered there was even another type of barre used here. They are big, heavy, metal barres and usually need to be carried around the studios by two dancers. These mostly stay with the professional dancers, but will be used by the students over the Summer Intensive Program and were also figured into John’s 67 count. I sat down at my desk and had a final thought: “Wow! even the barres around Miami City Ballet can be so interesting.”

Here is one of the big, heavy, metal barres. Two dancers have to carry these!

This is one of the light-weight barres John was getting rid of.

This is one of the good barres! See how they have two parallel bars at different heights? Perfect!

MCB School’s 5-Week Summer Intensive Wraps Up

The time has come to bid farewell to the Summer Intensive Program students. The stage of MCB’s Lynn and Louis Wolfson, II Theatre was graced with the dancing of these young students yesterday as they showcased what they learned. The entire MCB building was buzzing with excitement. Five weeks of hard work was evident as the serious dance students, ages 12 years and older, displayed their abilities and strengths. Friends and family came from all over the world to watch their favorite dancer.

We are sad to see them go. During the past weeks, the studios and hallways were flowing with vibrancy and positive energy. It was something else to watch students who didn’t even speak the same language come together and form friendships. We’ve been chronicling the Summer Intensive through videos and pictures on MCB School’s Facebook page.

We look forward to having these bright dancers return next summer. Watch out for them! There are big things ahead for our students. Lucky for us, some of them will be training at MCB School during the Winter Program.

But we don’t have to wait until the Winter Program begins in September to have students in the studios! On Monday, the 2-week Summer Program (for 11 & 12-year-olds who are just starting on pointe) begins.