We asked Payal if she would share with us some of her thoughts about her experience at the 2019 CRB Summer intensive. Read about Payal’s experience below!
“The Chicago Repertory Ballet Intensive was definitely a highlight of my summer in 2018. I am so glad I decided to audition and attend because it was an intensive that taught me valuable information, helped me grow as a dancer and person and also gave me a memorable experience that I will cherish forever. The intensive was a total of five days and consisted of ballet technique, variations, pointe, modern, improvisation and getting to learn Chicago Repertory Ballet’s Company pieces. We danced for about six hours a day and on the last day we got to show our friends and family all the pieces we had learned at the Intensive Showcase, which was one of my favorite parts of the intensive. The summer I took the intensive was also the summer I was entering my senior year of high school and I was starting to prepare myself for the college audition and application process. I knew that taking this intensive would help me improve my technique and it did! I started to train in ballet, modern, jazz and more at the age of thirteen and I knew I was technically behind. By taking this intensive I was able to learn so much about my strengths and weaknesses as a dancer and was able to work on them with the help of the amazing faculty and company members of Chicago Repertory Ballet. I could see a significant difference in my dancing, such as gaining a lot more confidence and a stronger technique, which helped me not only with my college auditions, but also my competition/performance pieces for my studio. Within the five days I spent in the city of Chicago training for six hours a day I got to dance my heart out, make an amazing group of friends and learn from professional artists. It gave me an insight of what it’s like to be in the professional dance world and gave me the time to work on my weaknesses as a dancer. I am now a freshman dance major at the University of Michigan and I believe that this intensive played a vital role in getting me to where I am today. They are a welcoming, vibrant and a talented group of dancers, artists, teachers and people that continue to inspire me and many others everyday. I am so grateful for them and the experience they gave me.”
More information and registration for our 2020 intensive here!