As summer intensive season wraps up, I have asked some dancers to share their experiences at various intensives around the country. Dancer, Taylor Tran, gives us an inside look at her summer intensive experience at Ellison Ballet in NYC.
Name: Taylor Tran
Age: 17
Hometown / Company / School: V&T Classical Ballet Academy
Summer intensive attended: Ellison Ballet
Length of intensive: 4 weeks
Photo Credit: Bey Calderon
What does a typical day look like?
On a typical day, I would wake up around 7:00 a.m., get ready, and then head down to the studios for class. I had from four to five classes per day depending on the schedule. We had several long breaks on some days, causing us to end late at night. I would then go home and get ready for bed.
Who are some of your teachers?
The teachers I had were, of course, Mr. Ellison and Ms. Valeikaite along with other Russian teachers. Most were already part of the Ellison Ballet faculty and some were guests for the summer. All of the teachers were amazing!
What are your favorite aspects of the intensive?
I liked that I had freedom when traveling around the city. As for the classes, I felt that I benefited from the focused atmosphere in each class. I was also in class with many of the Ellison Ballet professional training program dancers who are amazing to watch and dance with.
Photo Credit: VAM Productions
Most challenging aspects?
The intensity of the classes was very challenging along with the long days.
How much downtime do you have, and have you been able to experience the city very much? Tell us a little about some things you’ve been able to do while in NYC!
During the week, I did not have time to go out and explore the city because of my class schedule. The classes for my level would start early and end late which did not allow for any down time. I liked that there were no classes on Saturday, which meant we had the whole weekend to experience the city. I did not go to any tourist attractions and spent most of my weekends in the Soho area of New York. I was also able to walk in the pride parade!
