Student Promotion System at Ballet Hawaii

Ballet Hawaii strives to provide excellent ballet training to students from ages 3 through 18 within its structured school program. Ballet is a highly disciplined art form that requires years of physical training to achieve skill. For younger students, the training is mostly about movement, rhythm, and coordination. As students grow older, ballet technique becomes more demanding and difficult and requires a more proper development of muscular flexibility, strength, and physical alignment. A student committed to ballet will be challenged physically and emotionally, working with the intensity of an athlete and the accomplishment of an artist, but the reward of performing for an audience and hearing the applause after all of their hard work is well worth it.

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How and When Are Students Promoted at Ballet Hawaii?

Students at Ballet Hawaii are promoted to each level after careful consideration of technical ability, physical development, age, talent, work ethic, self-discipline and maturity, commitment (attendance and adherence to dress code and classroom etiquette), and desire.

Most students will be promoted at the end of Ballet Hawaii’s Spring Session. If a student appears to need a little extra time (as per the opinion of their teachers), they may be held within their current level for the Summer Session for extra training time with the intention of being promoted at the start of the Fall Session (depending on improvement, of course).

Any student may be promoted at any time, within any session throughout the year. Ballet Hawaii’s teachers work closely with each student. If they see great progress/talent in a student they will encourage them to move on whenever they are ready.

Who Promotes the Students?

Ballet Hawaii’s Artistic and School Directors make the final decision on promotions with the advice and guidance of the student’s teachers. The teachers are the ones who work in the classroom with the student day-to-day and who really know and understand the student’s ability and even personality.

Why Might a Student Be Held Back in a Level?

Students may be held in a level for a little longer for the following reasons:

1. To fully master a specific step/technique.
2. To gain more coordination and confidence.
3. To gain more strength/flexibility.
4. Attendance - sometimes a student is absent from many classes or has inconsistent attendance and this affects their ability to gain confidence and adeptness in their technique. Consistency is key to development and improvement.
5. Behavior- sometimes a student has trouble with ballet etiquette: self-discipline, respect for the teacher/classmates/pianist/environment, maturity, ability to follow instructions, focus, respect for oneself (coming to class on time and prepared with proper uniform and neat hair). Ballet is a highly disciplined, cultured artform and studio etiquette plays an important role in development and training.

General Expected Period of Time in a Level at Ballet Hawaii

*Ages may vary depending on several factors such as when a student began ballet, their physical ability and coordination, attendance consistency, focus and determination, talent, etc.

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Ballet Hawaii's Mission is to teach, present, promote and  produce dance in Hawaii.