Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Academy Student, Elizabeth, Shares her Summer Experience

 We recently spoke with Academy Student, Elizabeth Cotter (age 16), about her experience at CFB's Summer Intensive. Enjoy our chat below!

Academy Student: Elizabeth Cotter


Describe a typical Summer Intensive day:
A typical summer intensive day actually changes depending on the day, which is one of my favorite things about the intensive. We usually have ballet and pointe in the mornings and sometimes variations afterwards, then lunch. On other days we might have yoga in the morning, which is a really fun and relaxing way to start your day. After lunch we usually have 3 classes such as character, jazz, contemporary, repertoire, dance history, yoga, pilates, and acrobatics. It’s really great because these other genres of dance will alternate day by day.


Elizabeth works on her technique at CFB Studios
Photo by Lisbet Photography 

What makes CFB's intensive stand out when compared to other programs?
The positive energy of CFB definitely stands out. Kids from all over the country, and even from other countries come to CFB’s summer intensive, and every year we always seem to bond quickly and become one big family. The studio is always a safe place with positive energy.

Also, CFB has a much larger range of classes that we take other than ballet programs. Some intensives that I have been to only have two or three genres of dance other than ballet, and doing that for 4-6 weeks straight can become slightly boring. CFB’s summer intensive has sometimes 6 other genres of dance other than ballet that can alternate day by day and that makes the intensive much more interesting than others.

Elizabeth posing for a dance portrait
Photo by Lisbet Photography 

What is one tip you would give to those auditioning for CFB's Summer Intensive?
One tip I would give for auditioning for the program would be to be confident and just be yourself because there’s no such thing as failing if you are being yourself and trying your best.

CFB's Summer Intensive introduces dancers to new classes like Acrobatics, Improv, Hip-Hop, and Nutrition & Acting Seminars to name a few. What was your favorite new class and why?
My favorite class would be improv because as a ballet dancer, we do not have a lot of artistic freedom, especially with movements. An improv class gives you the ability to show your inner emotions and really helps you get the stress of the day out by showing your emotions through movement.

Elizabeth displays her flexibility in a dance portrait
Photo by Lisbet Photography

The program concludes with a Showcase performance. Tell us about the pieces that are performed and the rehearsal/learning process.
The performance is always a super fun way to end the summer.  We usually have one dance per genre and each level gets to perform. The learning process is definitely fun. We usually spend the last two weeks of intensive learning the pieces for each of our classes.

Do you get nervous to perform? What are some tips you would give to overcome nerves?
I usually get slightly nervous like most people do. To overcome the nerves I just remind myself that I definitely know the choreography and that if I just try my best then things will go smoothly. I also try to realize that a mistake is just a mistake and even if you mess up pretty bad, although it might seem like the world is ending, in a few years it will just be another thing to laugh about.

For information on CFB's Summer Intensive, visit www.centralfloridaballet.com or call 407-849-9948 ext 10.

 

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