Great Summer Dance Programs for High School Students

The Juilliard School's Summer Dance Intensive is a rigorous three-week ballet and modern dance program for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors ages 15-17. Students are expected to have significant training in ballet, and an audition is required in addition to the application. The program is designed to refine technique and performance of various styles of dance through classes in ballet and modern technique, classical partnering, ballroom dancing, music, improvisation, Alexander technique and anatomy, ending in a student performance at the end of the session. Students may stay in one of Juilliard's residence halls and have the opportunity to see various cultural sites around New York City on free evenings and weekends. Learn more

The School of Creative and Performing Arts (SOCAPA) offers this Contemporary Jazz and Hip-Hop Intensive residential program for high school students at its two campuses in New York City as well as Occidental College in Los Angeles and Champlain College and St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont. Participants take jazz and hip-hop as well as some specialty dance courses, preparing routines to be featured in both live dance performances and videos shot by the instructors. The program is divided into three levels for dancers with varying degrees of formal training. Two and three-week courses are offered. Learn more.

These dance programs offered by the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, are targeted at rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors dedicated to furthering their dance education. Participants choose an emphasis in either ballet or modern dance and train for six hours a day in areas including ballet and modern technique, pointe, improvisation and composition, jazz, body conditioning and repertory. Students must have had at least three years of formal dance training to attend, and auditions are required in addition to the camp application. Both programs run for two three-week sessions. Learn more.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) offers this comprehensive dance summer session for intermediate, advanced and pre-professional dancers ages 12-21. The program emphasizes proficiency in a variety of dance forms in order to prepare students for the competitive world of professional dance. Students take daily classes in ballet and contemporary dance techniques, including pointe, character, composition, partnering, music, somatics, yoga, contemporary repertory, ballet repertory and hip-hop repertory. Summer students will also have the opportunity to perform in a final show at the end of the five-week session. Learn more.

The University of California Los Angeles offers this nine-day residential Dance Theater Intensive for rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors over the age of fifteen. The nontraditional program combines dance with elements of theater, music, identity exploration, human relations and social activism. The curriculum includes training in various dance forms, from postmodern to hip-hop, as well as physical theater classes and improvisation and composition, all directed toward encouraging students to explore dance as a tool for personal development and social change. Students collaborate in a final ensemble performance at the end of the session. This program also carries two units of University of California credit. Learn more.