PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Ballet Institute is a full-time, year-round program held between 11 am and 6 pm Monday through Friday for dancers who wish to upgrade their training in preparation for a professional or academic career in the field of dance. The schedule is tentative to the day; however, dancers receive approximately 22+ hours per week of training. With a class ratio of 1:8, dancers of The BI program gain intense personal attention and individualized instruction tailor-fit to the student's strengths and weaknesses.

Contingent on their readiness and aptitude, the faculty may invite qualified dancers in this program to compete in local or international ballet competitions. Students are coached thoroughly in preparation for competitions, and all-new contemporary solos are choreographed in-house according to the most current requirements.

Individuals who participate in this program must be physically and mentally able to balance the rigor of daily classes with the demands of their online academic curricula. The faculty expects BI students to prioritize their schoolwork before their training and sustain excellent grades to maintain their participation in the program.

Ballet Institute represents ICSB's long-term mission to produce the next generation of professional dancers, choreographers, artistic directors, and dance critics/scholars to ensure the art form's future. We believe that dancers with passion, an intentional approach to their work, and appropriate physical capabilities have a high chance of developing a career in the exceedingly competitive profession of classical ballet.

The primary goal of the International City School of Ballet is to provide exceptional ballet instruction to our students. ICSB students have had the opportunity to participate successfully in some of the world's largest ballet competitions, such as the Youth America Grand Prix, World Ballet Competition, ADC-IBC, Prix de Lausanne, and USA International Ballet Competition.

BALLET EXAMS

The International City School of Ballet prepares Ballet Institute students for annual examinations. Ballet Exams are valuable for serious ballet students because they promote the development of solid technique, musicality, and quality of movement. During the exams, dancers perform a prepared class that demonstrates their knowledge of concepts learned throughout the year. In past years, leaders in ballet education were invited as special guest adjudicators to give invaluable and independent feedback from their perspective of working in the professional world of classical ballet today.

THE SPRING GALA

While sustaining our primary goal in providing exceptional ballet instruction to our students, ICSB creates and produces ballets at the professional standard through various performance opportunities such as the annual Spring Gala. The purpose of the Spring Gala is to enrich our students' educational journeys with opportunities to perform in works that include all aspects of putting together a professional-level production. The repertoire may consist of traditional and original story ballets, full-length or in excerpts, and classical and contemporary variations.

ICSB knows that such unique performance opportunities are imperative in building a well-rounded dance artist. By developing the performance quality of our students, we aim to develop mature dancers who can be a valuable asset in the classics. This quality quickly assimilates into a vast repertoire that spans various movement styles typical of today's ballet companies. These annual performance opportunities will provide them with the necessary experience to prepare BI students for the demands of the dance profession.

ACCEPTANCE AND REGISTRATION

The application process for acceptance into ICSB's Ballet Institute begins with submitting a video audition following the guidelines listed on the How To Audition page (See Below). The age requirements described and the structure of our program serve as a general guideline to the placement of students. ICSB has designed the syllabus to build upon concepts introduced at the previous level. We place dancers in a grade level according to their current technical ability as a class, not solely on age. However, dancers may often be moved up a level according to improvements in technical knowledge.

QUESTIONS?

For further information on this program, please contact us by completing and submitting the form below.