My 14 year old daughter has been studying ballet and other dance forms since she was 5 years old, including three years in the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater school and summer intensives at Point Park, Ballet Chicago and the Joffrey. She intends on becoming professional in the future, and so her ballet education is of supreme importance to us. My wife, daughter and I visited the Draper School as we were contemplating a move to the Rochester area and were immediately struck by the personal involvement of the faculty, the flexibility and rigor of the teaching, the warm welcome given to new dancers and the level of creativity, dedication and professionalism of the Draper school and the RCB. Our initial introduction to the Draper school was given to us by the Artistic Director, who took an hour of her time to patiently answer all our questions and speak directly to our daughter about her experiences and her intentions – which greatly impressed us. The atmosphere of the school in general is very friendly and welcoming to new dancers. The students are determined, strong and yet very warm and open to new friendships – my daughter made several close friends from the first week. The Draper has a “family-like” feel to it – an atmosphere where all the dancers are treated respectfully as members of a team, rather than negatively competitive. The Artistic Director is very hands-on and gives students and parents individual attention, as valued members of the Draper community. We have been especially impressed with how the older professionals interact with the students and make them feel at home.
Bruce Rosenthal, Parent of a Draper student