Summer vacations are a great time to try new dance styles, to head to a summer dance intensive either at your studio or elsewhere. Exposing yourself to new teachers will enrich your technique and broaden your movement repertoire. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to take a week or two off from dancing so that your body can rest and recover from the entire year of training. Nevertheless, once you have this time off make sure you have classes lined up to continue your training and not lose all of the progress you’ve made during the year.

During that week or so off from dancing be sure to stay active, go for bike rides, walk, swim, or try all those other activities you might not have time to do during the dance season. But be wise, you wouldn’t want to engage in any activities that could cause you to injure yourself. The key here is to find a healthy balance of exercise.

Now, getting back to those intensives…follow these tips to find the right intensive for you.

• Do your research early:

Most intensives advertise their offerings at the beginning of the year (January to March). Some may require an audition in person so make note of when these are and what materials you will need to bring with you. In the event you are unable to attend the audition in person, check to see if you can submit a video audition.

• Follow the guidelines:

When attending the audition or submitting a video make sure you read through the guidelines and fulfill all of the requirements. Most like a headshot and images of you in second position and in first arabesque.

If you are already on pointe, you will most likely need to audition at least for a portion wearing your pointe shoes. Make sure to wear proper attire for the audition and arrive on time. Check out this article with information about passing that summer audition.

• Review the schedules:

When checking out the schedule for the different intensives see what the offerings are. Do they offer the styles of dance you want to work in and those you are interested in trying? Most intensives will start their day with ballet and then stem from there offering an array of styles.

Take advantage of these new styles of dance you haven’t tried yet. Who knows, maybe you’ll discover you are passionate about another dance style, plus it’s always good to try different movement and you can grow as a dancer and increase your repertoire.

Remember to keep having fun and enjoy your summer!