Every weekend in January was booked!! 2 weekends in Seattle, 1 weekend in Portland and 1 weekend at home with our favorite Portlandites - Nancy & Jason.
The 1st weekend, we teamed up with 3 of Amy's ballet buddies and 2 Moms for a roadtrip to Seattle - the goal was to audition for a spot in the School of American Ballet's Summer Intensive which is arguably the toughest program to get into. It is kind of like getting into Stanford or Harvard - about a 10% admission rate. Amy & I had never been to Seattle so after the stress of the audition we were able to enjoy a few hours at Pike's Place Market and do some big city shopping.
Our weekend in Portland involved the same crew of ladies and the dancers had 3 auditions lined up - the Rock School of Dance in Philadelphia, American Ballet Theater School in North Carolina and the Harid Conservatory in FL. This was a much more successful weekend for Amy as she gained admission into both the Rock School and the ABT program in North Carolina. She is also on the waiting list for Harid which is really where she would like to end up.
The last weekend in January we took Dan along to Seattle. I think the other girls/moms had had enough but Amy wanted to press on and try for 2 more. Dan & I were also hoping for success at these 2 auditions as they would keep her within driving distance of home. The Pacific Northwest Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. Unfortunately she did not get into either program... Again, very stiff competition! When you think of these schools auditioning in cities all across the US with hundreds of kids in each city vying for a spot in the summer program - it really boggles the mind!
Ah well, the audition process is good experience for Amy. We will keep you advised of her summer plans!
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Emma wanted to audition for some of the same programs! Maybe next year, we should try to get them at a school together. How fun would that be?! The distance and the cost of those summer programs is significant. I've 'joked' that I have yet to see a $5000 improvement from any of Emma's friends to justify sending her to any of those big summer programs. But really, until they're old enough to be offered a traineeship or something like that, I'm going to keep my girl with me for a few more summers. That said, we did find a school in Buffalo that we're going to let Emma attend this summer. We'll stay with my Dad/Stepmom for a while, then leave Emma in their care and head over to Albany for a few weeks of fun. She's convinced that I'm ruining her career, but then again, she'll learn partnering this summer and I'll be cool again LOL.
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