Photo courtesy of Ashley Simpson

Dance senior Ashley Simpson poses in front of the Orlando Ballet campus.

Many may choose to occupy the free time granted by summer vacation through frolicking at the beach, hanging at the mall or jetting off on vacation. Dance senior Ashley Simpson, however, decided to spend her summer delving deeper into the world of dance on a five-week long summer intensive at Orlando Ballet.

“Going into this program I hoped to learn better technique and how to dance like a professional dancer,” Simpson said.

Simpson found that her busy days, consisting of eight back-to-back dance classes, left her with very little spare time to herself.

“On a typical day at this program I would wake up at 7 A.M. to go to breakfast, and then from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. we would have two ballet classes, pointe, contemporary, variations, partnering, rep, and either stretch or jazz,” Simpson said.

Simpson was not only able to gain further experience in dance, but she was able to build upon her skills and technique as well.

“At this program I was able to hone my skills in ballet, partnering, and contemporary and jazz,” Simpson said. “I think having attended [it] will benefit me in dance because I will improve in my work ethic and my actual dance technique.”

In attending this program, Simpson will be able to apply the variation of skills and training she learned not only to her dancing within the walls of Dreyfoos, but also to all her future endeavors in the world of professional dance.

“I would definitely recommend this program to other students because I learned a lot of useful information from the teachers here that I will be able to take with me for the rest of my life.”