Joffrey Midwest Workshop
The Joffrey Midwest Workshop is one of the premier residential ballet workshops in the United States and it lives at the Flint Cultural Center. Since 1996, hundreds of dancers have spent their summer training for a career in dance under the tutelage of Artistic Director John Magnus.
For more information about Joffrey Midwest Workshop, visit their website at:
workshop information
In 1996, Edith D'Addario, Director of the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, made a decision that would impact the lives and careers of talented dancers in ways almost unimaginable at the time. She decided to bring the intense level of training that was available in New York to the Midwest and the Joffrey Midwest Workshop was born.
In the past 10 years, hundreds of dancers have spent 4 weeks each summer on the beautiful campus of the Flint Cultural Center honing their skills, developing their craft and making life-long friends. Artistic Director John Magnus has shaped the technical and artistic direction of the workshop to reflect not only the Joffrey technique but also his own unique and intense style of bringing out the very best a dancer has to offer. Mr. Magnus and Ballet Instructor Judy Rice have worked together since the inception of the Midwest workshop to make sure that dancers are prepared to move on to the next step of company apprenticeship, corps de ballet, teaching or college. Ms. Rice also shares her expertise on foot care and shoe fitting with each participant at the workshop and has helped countless dancers find the correct shoe for maximum dancing comfort and performance.
Managing Director Christi Lackey and her Residence Staff bring the utmost care and organization to the workshop's daily routine. Dancer medical, physical, social and emotional needs are tended to with respect and diligence. Ms. Lackey makes sure every parent has daily access to her for questions or concerns. Communication and assurance are part of everything she does to ensure that a dancer's parents are as confident of the training their child is getting as the dancer is.
The facilities provided by the Flint Cultural Center are state of the art. The dance floors are L'Air International Theatre-Touring System portables and the Marley is professional quality. The Flint Institute of Music has newly renovated dance studios and all buildings are air conditioned and within walking distance of the hotel. Our meals are served cafeteria style with vegetarian and non-vegetarian entrée selections, a full salad bar and a pasta bar at every lunch and supper. Dancers are housed double occupancy at the Holiday Inn Express located on our campus along with our staff and faculty.
From the facilities to the faculty, from the musicians to the meals, from the classes to the cleaning, from the laundry to the laughter, there is no detail left untended. Your experience at Joffrey Midwest Workshop is the ultimate in summer intensive training.
Students practicing on The Whiting stage during Joffrey Midwest Workshop
The Joffrey Midwest 4-week long intensive workshop culminates with the Joffrey Midwest Showcase performance held at The Whiting