We’re looking forward to our Ballet Studio Jr. Intensive starting in two weeks! This intensive for ages 9–15 is a full-day program that provides training in ballet, modern, and character techniques. Again this year, Ballet Studio Jr. will be led by COCA Teaching Artists Norma Gabriel and Carrie Fernandez.
Below, Miss Norma offers insights into what the three-week intensive holds for participants.
What can young ballet dancers expect from this intensive program?
Miss Norma: The dancers will start their morning daily with a 1.5 hour ballet technique class, just like professional dancers in a performing dance company. After the technique class and a short break for hydration and a healthy snack, they take a “focus” class. This is 45 minutes to one hour concentrating on a particular part of ballet technique, such as pointe or pre-pointe, allegro movements like jumps and turns, or port de bras and presentation qualities.
What kind of student would benefit most from this program?
Miss Norma: This program is a great fit for any dancer who is interested in many aspects of dance. The technique enables student success in the ballet vocabulary, but there is so much more: expressive performance, musicality, other dance forms like modern dance, character dance, ballet and dance history, pantomime, and learning to work as a group to develop a performance for an audience.
How is the study of a classical ballet incorporated into the intensive?
Miss Norma: Each year, a classical ballet is chosen for in-depth study for this intensive. Previous choices have been Coppelia, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Firebird, Giselle, and Don Quixote. We learn the story, it’s place in ballet history, and the predominant style of the ballet. We also watch and discuss the professional productions. When they observe a dancer that they really admire, why does that dancer’s performance affect them that way?
What is one thing you hope every student walks away with after completing the intensive?
Miss Norma: We want the students to have a sense of personal growth and accomplishment. It is not about prizes or rankings, but why they like to dance.
Anything else you’d like to share about the intensive?
Miss Norma: Each dancer receives a journal to write in. There is a “quote of the day” they record, and we discuss how it applies to their development as dancers. They write their own ideas as well as record technical notes from their teachers. We also learn practical skills that are useful and increase independence: how to sew enough to attach elastic and/or ribbons to their shoes, how to do their own hair in typically required styles, and what should always be in their dance bag.
Is there still time to submit a video audition and register for the intensive?
Miss Norma: Yes, the deadline to submit a video audition is June 20, 2025. Instead of a video, the dancer may take an existing ballet class at COCA during the month of June as a Placement Class. After hearing their experience level and knowing availability, we can determine an appropriate class.
About the Instructors
Norma Gabriel
Norma earned a BFA in ballet from the University of Utah and an MFA in dance performance from Southern Methodist University. She studied Vaganova technique under Master Teacher John White for five years and is certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum, Pre-Primary through Level 5. She began her career as a performer focusing on ballet and grew to include modern dance (Graham, Limon, and Hawkins). She previously served as Ballet Master of the Pre-Professional Alexandra Ballet Company. She’s taught ballet at COCA for over 30 years and was instrumental in forming Ballet Eclectica, serving as Assistant Artistic Director for 10 years. Norma currently teaches Intermediate ballet levels at COCA as well as Character Dance, a distinct style of dance included in many Classical ballets.
Carrie Fernandez
Carrie Fernandez began dancing with Gateway Ballet of St. Louis and studied with Joffrey Ballet School, ABT, San Francisco Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. She is trained in Vaganova technique and is an ABT certified instructor. Carrie has been a member of COCA’s dance faculty since 2008 and rehearsal director and choreographer for Ballet Eclectica’s Second Company since 2015. Carrie is a teaching artist with St. Louis Dancing Classrooms, a social development program that brings ballroom dance into 5th grade classrooms, and a faculty member of New Town Dance Academy.