For Norwin High School’s Amelia Billinsky, ballet dancing has been a passion since she was only three years old. From pliés to pirouettes Billinsky’s hard work has paid off as she recently danced her way into The Rock School for Dance in Philadelphia for a summer program.
As a seasoned dancer, Billinsky has danced at a number of different dance schools over the years but says that The Rock is special for a few specific reasons.
“The school has a good mix of techniques,” Billinsky said. “There are teachers from Balanchine backgrounds and from Russian backgrounds. That is very exciting to me.”
Like many other schools both inside and outside of dance, Billinsky had to audition for her place in The Rock’s summer intensive program which she does through attending Pittsburgh Ballet Theater.
“Auditions usually look like a one-and-a-half-hour to two-hour long class,” Billinsky notes. “the teacher will be from the school you’re trying out for. A lot of times there will also be someone sitting and watching, along with a pianist.”
The summer intensive program that Billinsky will be participating in is a period during the summer where she will attend the school in person, stay in a dorm, and receive “personalized attention from an award-winning faculty” as stated on the school’s website.
Each dance school also has different atmospheres and training rigors, according to Billinsky.
“Every school’s schedule for summer intensive looks a bit different.”
Billinsky said that in a dance school audition people typically start with a ballet barre (the handrail often seen in ballet rooms) before moving to the center of the dance floor. The last twenty minutes of the audition usually include a pointe section.
Though she has been doing ballet since the age of three, Billinsky noted that she “only really got serious about it” when she was twelve.
“My journey has been a bit different because I go to a smaller ballet school called the Dance Company for Performing Arts,” she explained. “Sometimes I don’t know if I’m getting better but I show up to dance every night regardless.”
Over the years, Billinsky says that her love for the art of ballet and all its different techniques has evolved, resulting in her being even more enthusiastic about it.
“One of my favorite parts of summer intensives is staying in dorms. I hate being away from home but love trying to figure things out for myself.”
