Summer at Kaatsbaan

After reading this title, your first instinct might be, "What the heck is a 'Kaatsbaan?!'"  Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet is a ballet summer intensive in upstate New York. Also, just to clarify, this is UPSTATE New York, not the city. Actually, the camp is in a teeny tiny town called Tivoli. There's not much interesting in town but there is good pizza and coffee... I digress. This past summer I spent 6 weeks at dance camp. Let me tell you, the campus was beautiful. Once Eleanor Roosevelt's grandparents farm, the founders turned the crumbling barns into beautiful dance spaces and adequate living spaces. (The only real problem was the lack of WiFi)

                                                          A rainbow outside the studios.

Me outside the studios

My 6 weeks were spent in 2 separate sessions. Meaning that each session was 3 weeks long and brought new people from all over the country. There was even a girl from my state which I found astonishing as I was on the opposite side of the country. 

Every day we danced for 7+ hours. Starting at 9 we would have a two hour technique class followed by pointe then lunch. In the afternoon we had mostly rehearsals interspersed with flamenco and modern classes. That took us to about 5:30. On Tuesdays we had "folk dancing" after dinner which made everyone feel silly but got us out of our technical ballet mindsets.

After our classes we would go "party" in our dorms. However in our terms of party, this mostly consisted of eating as much food as we could stuff in our mouths, and watching movies on our laptops. (I found my love for the movie Moulin Rouge here <3)

On Saturdays, we always had an outing. We went to Woodstock twice, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, to see the New York City Ballet, and we went to Jacob's Pillow to see another dance performance. Getting a day to relax and have fun shopping (or watching ballet) was always a good way to unwind from our strenuous week.

Woodstock round 1 with our teacher Roberto

<3

Jacob's Pillow

On Sunday's we only had one class, which was a master class. We had classes with many people but my two favorites were Kevin McKenzie, (Artistic director of the American Ballet Theater) and Sascha Radetsky. (Soloist with American Ballet Theater and also played Charlie in the 2000 movie, Center Stage) The rest of our Sunday's we usually spent either doing laundry in town or catching up on Pretty Little Liars up at the studios.

Kevin McKenzie

Sascha Radetsky

I had an absolutely wonderful time at Kaatsbaan despite the lack of appealing food...(Caterers were gross!) I met some absolutely wonderful people that I will never forget, and I truly improved myself in my dancing. 

Friends from session 1

#casual8

Peace