One of my goals this summer was to learn partnering techniques (that I had not been exposed to before) to use with male dancers, which I had the opportunity to do.  It was nice to be free from fear, knowing that our male partners were mostly older and therefore more experienced in “pas” classes.  Another of my goals was improving my ability to pick up quickly and get a dance “performance ready” in a week.  With the opportunity to perform each weekend, which is very unusual for a summer intensive program, I feel I learned how to be in the performance mindset from the very first rehearsal, which helped with dance skills one might not typically concentrate on.  Their focus on performance quality is particularly helpful for improving stage presence, and weekly shows allow dancers to get more stage time.