Joffrey West Dance Program

Kaiya Holtzman

Class of: 2014

Name of Program: Joffrey West Dance Program

When they did the program: July 2012

Location: Los Angeles, California

Type of Program: Dance

Short Summary: It was one of the best experiences I could have asked for. The program was inspiring, self-motivating, and helped me prepare for the future. My teachers and choreographers were incredible and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to dance professionally.

About how many kids were in the summer program? About 200

Who were the adults and what role did they play in your experience? The teachers were my motivation and my inspiration. My favorite teacher was Mia Michaels from the show So You Think You Can Dance because she made me grow as a person and as a dancer. It was more than I could have asked for.

How much free time did you have and what did you do with it? I had my Saturday and Sunday free. My dorm had field trips planned every weekend and if we didn’t do that, we would go shopping. After classes we would watch movies and stretch or sew Pointe shoes.

Did you have room and board or a home stay in another country? If so, what was your experience like? We stayed in college dorms and there were two meals provided for us a day.

What were the other students in your program like and how were the relationships that you formed? Most of the other students were overly competitive and maybe even rude, but I made about 6 friends that I would consider some of my closest friends ever!

What kinds of activities, social events, and trips were organized for the students? We went to Universal studios, we went on a tour of Hollywood, we went shopping, and we went to the beach.

About how much of your own money do you think you spent on gifts, food, transportation and other things not provided by the program? I spent about $200 of my own money on groceries or clothing/gifts to bring home.

Did you have a curfew? If so, what time? We had to be in the dorms by 9:00 on weeknights and 10:00 on weekends but we had to be inside our rooms by 11:00-12:00.

Did you have internet access? If so, how much time did you spend using it? We had internet access but most of the time spent on the computer was to watch a movie at night with my friends.

How organized was the program? How much flexibility was there with the agendas? How much of a say did the students have in this? The program was very organized and the agendas were strict with time and place. The students had almost no say, but the program was in preparation for being in a professional company so it was understandable.

How was the food? Rate from 1-5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best) 3 or 4

What is at least one thing you would do to improve the program? The studio and dorms should be closer to one another.

What was your biggest takeaway from the experience/what will you most remember? I cannot say just one thing that I took away from my experience, but overall I think I learned to really be myself in everything that I do.

Who would you recommend this program to? Who would this program not be best suited to?

This program is good for very serious dancers who plan on dancing well into their future.

Rate your overall experience (from 1 to 5): 5 (life-changing)