Summer study courtesy of your state - Governor's School summer dance programs

Dance Magazine, Jan, 1996 by Linda Kent

Cutbacks in public education evoke images of overcrowded, hot classrooms, with bored students longing to be elsewhere. Think again! In state-funded Governor's School Summer programs, a select number of high school students enthusiastically study dance with distinguished teachers, such as New York City Ballet principal Damian Woetzel and former Paul Taylor soloist Carolyn Adams, in a challenging and exhilarating environment. These state-funded programs allow highly motivated students to study and interact with other gifted student artists, often tuition-free or at a fraction of the cost of private schooling.

Many programs have strict age requirements and require state residency. California, an exception, admits five percent of students from out of state. Auditions, required for admission, are usually held in several locations in a state, and videotapes are sometimes accepted for those who cannot attend. Nine state programs are outlined below; for further information and applications for programs in your state, check with your state department of education.

The grandfather of Governor's Schools is the North Carolina summer program, established in 1963 by former North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford. The six-week program is fully funded and is open to high school juniors and seniors. All arts disciplines in the school focus on contemporary issue and ideas of the twentieth century; thus modern dance is the chosen style. Intensive training in modern dance leads to performances in end-of-session workshops. Students are encouraged to explore collaborative performance projects with students in other disciplines.

New York State offers two separate dance programs on the campus of Skidmore College in June and July. The New York State School of Ballet, directed by New York City Ballet's Damian Woetzel, coincides with the NYCB residency in Saratoga Springs. Auditions for eleven- to eighteen-year-olds identify the sixty gifted students who will receive intensive ballet instruction.

The New York State School of Dance begins the last week of July and is designed for thirteen- to eighteen-year-olds. Forty students study modern dance techniques, jazz, composition, repertoire, and music.

The Pennsylvania state program will take place at Mercyhurst College, from July 7 to August 10. Founded in 1967, this long-standing program accommodates thirty gifted sophomores and juniors for full-scholarship study. Students major in ballet, jazz, or modern dance while studying all three disciplines as well as improvisation, composition, dance history, dance theory, and career-related alternatives.

New Jersey's highly selective program is limited to just twelve students who are entering their senior year in high school. The program, to be held this year from July 7 to August 3, provides tuition and room and board at no cost to students. Classes are offered in ballet, modern dance, and jazz, as well as in partnering, composition, and intensive repertoire studies, culminating in a public performance. As in North Carolina, students are encouraged to collaborate with artists in other divisions.

The four-week Tennessee program, which runs from mid-June to mid-July, is also limited to twelve full-scholarship students entering eleventh or twelfth grades. Tennessee's school focuses on classical ballet, with additional classes in modern dance and jazz. In the evenings students of all of the different disciplines attend convocations in which speakers discuss the various art forms.

Kentucky's program, which will be held on the campus of Bellarmine College from June 25 to July 14, targets students who have completed their sophomore or junior year of high school. Technique classes in ballet and modern dance are supplemented by classes in variations, pointe, pas de deux, jazz, African dance, and composition. In addition, students attend seminars on injury prevention, nutrition, dance career options, arts issues in the nineties, and dance history; they also perform in bolo and group works.

The campus of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, is host to two dance offerings: an honors program from June 23 to July 27 for grades nine through eleven and a shorter preparatory program for grades six to eight. Classical ballet, pointe, variations, modern dance, improvisation, and composition are supplemented with dance history, anatomy, and Pilates conditioning. Performing opportunities are part of the program.

California's program has its tenth anniversary in 1996. Fifty students, chosen via videotape audition, attend classes on the campus of the California Institute of the Arts, July 13 to August 10. Modern dance is the focus, with ballet, jazz, ethnic forms, and composition also offered.

The state of Vermont's program on the campus of Castleton State College, which runs from June 23 to July 7, is open to students entering tenth through twelfth grades. This program focuses on modern dance and ethnic forms; it includes classes in improvisation, composition, and partnering.