Angela at The Rock School for Dance Education

Angela during a Jazz Class at The Rock School

This summer I chose to attend the Rock School for Dance Education summer intensive. It was my first intensive away from home, so I was pretty anxious and excited. I only stayed for two weeks, but still, I feel I learned a lot. The Rock definitely lived up to my standards.

The studios were gigantic; across the floor was so much fun! Each room had windows that let in a lot of natural light. On the walls, there were also photos of dancers; it was very inspiring. The only downside was that the whole place was five stories tall (crazy right?), and my studio was on the top floor, so each class we would have to walk up.

 The faculty was very diverse, so we got exposed to many different styles. The teachers gave us both personal corrections and general ones. We were lucky enough to have Isaac Hernandez, a soloist with San Francisco Ballet and the Rock alumni, teach us a technique class. He could probably jump straight over me and land perfectly; he’s that amazing.

There were so many amazing teachers, but I especially liked the ones that didn’t just focus on technique, but also artistry, like Phillip Otto, the Director of Huntsville Ballet Company. In his class, we didn’t just “move and jump around”, we actually danced. We did a few combinations across the floor that were to swingy jazz music, allowing us to loosen up. Then, he had us sit down and think about why we dance. Our reason for starting, pursuing, and loving. He gave us a technical, artistic, and physiological view of ballet.

We stayed at Cabrini College; the campus is so green. I felt like I was strolling through a rainforest. I often took walks around the campus, and saw a lot of wildlife. Seven deer, one fox, five chipmunks, and countless birds and squirrels. I really enjoyed it there because it was so different from San Diego. Honestly, I haven’t seen that much green since I visited Sequoia National Park.

I stayed in a dorm with six other girls; I had a single room. I know that some people like that, but for me, it meant that I would have no instant friend. It took me about four days to warm-up to the girls living with me. But by the weekend I was on good terms with all the girls in my classes, and getting along fairly well with the other girls in my suite.

I’m not going to lie about this part, the food wasn’t that appetizing. I ate salad everyday for lunch and dinner. I mean, the first week it was great, but by the second each time I saw green leaves, I felt nauseous. I know that the chefs worked hard to prepare the meals, so I did my best to pile it in.

This experience has definitely been something that I want to do again. I wish I could have stayed for all five weeks, but even just those two weeks were amazing!