Every year, we hold a Summer Intensive during the holidays in April and May, and every year, the final show at the end of the two weeks is a beautiful presentation of the fun we have had, and the growth of the students who have participated. We always have a wide spectrum of ages and technical levels taking part, but some students keep coming back every year! Here are a couple of students’ reflections on their experiences of the TLFCB Summer Intensive through the years.
Maya Haridas
Come summer holidays, my parents are not allowed to make any travel plans until and unless I find out the dates of the Summer Intensive. I simply love the Intensives and there is no way I could miss one.
For 10 whole days, I get to dance daily and it makes me feel as if I am in a Residential Ballet School. Apart from Ballet, we also learn Jazz, Body Conditioning, Character Dancing and more. Yes, dancing for 3 hours a day is tiring but surprisingly, I find it really improves my stamina.
Unlike our normal classes, here we get to learn along with students from higher grades and we are able to try a bit of their class work too! This is my favourite part because my favourite step is the grand jeté, which otherwise, we would be taught only in the higher grades.
And of course, the most loved part – the final performance. Here, I get to take on roles from snippets of classical ballets and a couple of fairy tales too. Then there is the thrill of learning the choreography, trying on costumes and performing in front of my parents. And after all that, I really feel a part of TLFCB.
– Maya Haridas
Grade 1, HQ, Saturday
When I heard the news that there was going to be a ballet summer camp at TLFCB in 2015, I jumped with joy over the excitement of spending more time there. Now, 4 years later, spending time with Ms Yana is what I look forward to every time school closes for summer break.
I still remember the excitement that first year when my mom told me that there would be a summer intensive in the new HQ at Ulsoor. When I entered the studio on the first day of the intensive, I was very excited, knowing that I would be spending my time during summer having fun and improving my dancing. The nice smelling floor and shiny, white walls gave me an amazing feeling of anticipation, which I’m sure every young and budding dancer feels: to learn whatever the teacher has planned for the day, and more lessons which go beyond the syllabus and technique, such as the art of making new friends and the art of getting new characters to portray. Everything that was taught is still etched in my mind and heart.
Every time the summer intensive has new fun themes, and I was part of all of them: Annie the musical, Coppelia, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and now Adventures in Neverland.
Ananya Prabhuram
Each day when I returned back home from the intensive I felt in my gut that I had to work harder the next day and continue to improve. The thing I love in the intensive is that the teachers have planned the summer camps so well that all the students not only improve their ballet technique but also learn something new and unexpected. In my first summer intensive I learnt the art of sewing, in my second intensive I learnt character dancing, and in the third intensive I learnt Callanetics. That was a fun way of becoming fit!
I can’t wait for this year’s summer intensive and all it has to offer!
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