Dance training and a wealth of new experiences: International summer study can mean the best of both worlds. One of the central benefits of a summer intensive—being introduced to people and ideas you wouldn’t encounter at your home studio—expands even more in an overseas program.

Performing well in auditions is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one, so cultivating a healthy mindset going in can make all the difference.

With just a few tweaks to what’s on your plate, you can construct a supportive fueling plan to level up your routine and alleviate any unnecessary stress from audition season.

When deciding where to spend your summer, you may have one goal in mind: Which program is going to get me closest to the career path of my dreams? But the impact that summer study programs can have is wide-ranging—and sometimes surprising.

There’s something uniquely crushing about summer intensive rejection. Perhaps it’s because it’s the first time many students have ever experienced this kind of rebuff. Or perhaps it’s simply hard to not think, If I can’t even get into the summer program, how am I ever going to be good enough to make it in dance?

Summer intensive auditions can turn dancers into a bundle of nerves. With so many decisions to make each step of the way, you might end up second-guessing every choice. Will breaking out four pirouettes, when the audition proctor only asked for a double, be well received, or will it be seen as disrespectful? 

I was at the end of a trainee stint with no second company or apprenticeship offer for the next season. I knew I needed to go…somewhere. Then, at an open cattle call audition for a different company, I wasn’t offered the contract I was hoping for, but, along with a small group of other dancers, […]

Are online-only intensives are a relic of the past? Not necessarily. Here are some things to consider as you make your summer plans this year.