For the first time, we are inviting young dancers (ages 12-16) with at least 4 years of dance experience to come for a 10 day "Studio to Stage" Summer Intensive, August 3-13, which will guide them from a focus on a stronger, more secure technical base in Week One, to a unique and exciting stage experience by the end of Week Two.
Classes will be taught by NBS’ world renowned staff and will include a daily Ballet Class, Pointe and Repertoire, Musical Theatre, and Character. Additionally, Irene Dowd will advise students during the 1st week with NBS' Artist-in-Residence Peggy Baker offering teachers the opportunity to observe her August intensive program during the 2nd week.
Replacing the Teachers' Seminar of past summers, the Summer Intensive provides teachers the opportunity to observe the students in their dance classes with several days concluding in special sessions for teachers only. Registration for the Summer Intensive is open to all teachers, not just those whose students are attending the program. As the Teacher schedule will be integrated with the student schedule, there is more flexibility in scheduling and economy of cost.
Teachers can sign up for single days or a package of days, according to need. You’ll still get the same fantastic information that Irene and Rebecca have been sharing with us in recent years while observing NBS staff working with young dancers who come from a variety of programs. We are unable to offer residence for visiting teachers or students this year, but we have arranged special accommodation rates with nearby hotels. One thing we will be continuing throughout the 10 days is a delicious & nutritious lunch included in the daily fee for this program.
NBS' consultant Irene Dowd and Artist-in-Residence Peggy Baker will also be part of "Studio to Stage". Irene Dowd is a New York-based expert who has advised students in NBS' professional ballet program for many years and will provide her expertise to students in the Summer Intensive, the key area of physical training.
Peggy Baker has been on staff at NBS for over 15 years, teaching NBS’ Professional Ballet Program students modern dance. She is a gifted dancer and choreographer, and runs her own dance company, Peggy Baker Dance Projects.
| Fees |
| 1 day |
$65 |
| 3 days |
$150 |
| 5 days |
$225 |
Creative Practice with Peggy Baker
Monday, August 9 – Thursday, August 12, 1:15 - 4:00 pm
Join NBS’ Artist-in-Residence Peggy Baker in a hands-on observation of her Creative Practice session. Participants will meet with Peggy for a 15-minute conversation before she works with her dancers. They will discuss what assignments have been given to the dancers and what is being worked on in studio that day.
Summer Intensive participants then observe Peggy Baker and her dancers in their working session, which runs from 1:30-3:45. Following this, all Summer Intensive participants have another conversation with Peggy.
The Creative Practice session is designed by Peggy for professional dancers and dance students who have graduated from high school and who are working on a degree in dance at a university or are enrolled in a full-time professional training program. Each year approximately 25 dancers, ranging in age from 19-50, join the session. Each of them brings with them 3-6 minutes of choreography they work on each day in response to projects assigned to them. All dancers work on their own and then come together as a group, where each dancer is observed and discussed individually.
Irene Dowd
Photographer: Matt Karas, for Dance Teacher Magazine
With 40 years of experience in teaching dance, functional anatomy and neuro-muscular education, Dowd has taught widely in the U.S. and Canada. She is currently on the dance faculty at The Julliard School and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and a regular guest teacher at LADMMI and Toronto Dance Theatre. In her semi-annual visits to NBS, Dowd continues to work with NBS dance staff and physiotherapists to ensure that advances in dance medicine and kinesiology are integrated into the School's training philosophy. Author of Taking Root to Fly, she has also choreographed works for Peggy Baker and Margie Gillis.