The first time I left the country for a ballet intensive I went to Boston Ballet School, and I wasn’t ready. I’d spent the previous year trying to get back into the swing of things after a period of shaky health, then took three weeks off before camp started. I felt out of shape and off my leg in the placement class, and spent most of the intensive trying to get back to my best.
At the time, I didn’t know how to manage a summer conditioning program. It’s a delicate balance to maintain these skills without turning your much needed down time 🏖️ into perpetual gym class…
I learned a lot from arriving unprepared, and every summer after that, I fine tuned my routine so I could bounce back into classes feeling strong and refreshed.
Dance camps are an awesome learning curve — all day immersion can catapult your strength and artistic skills — if you’ve laid the groundwork.
When my students want to get the most out of adult ballet intensives, this is what I tell them:
- Take at least a week to recalibrate as a human, while still caring for your body.
- 1-2 weeks before camp, choose specific, low volume conditioning to get your brain talking to your body, flush circulation through your tissues, and gradually integrate ballet specific skills like turnout, port de bras, and rises.
When you go into dance camp feeling fresh, you’re not fighting with stiffness, weakness, or off-kilter movement patterns. Your focus can go where it’s meant to in adult ballet intensives — building technique and confidence, and making room for more creativity in your dancing.
Enjoy your well deserved downtime,
Natasha
P.S. If you’re travelling for your intensive, make sure you bring some good walking shoes! The wrong flip flops can take you out just as fast as whatever you’re getting up to in the studio.