ohmoderndance

1) HAVE FUN. First and foremost, it is a new place and you are not being graded AND you're surrounded by new talents - let loose and have some fun.

2) DO NOT get hung up over not getting into a piece or being placed in a lower level class - IT DOES NOT MATTER. It actually does not matter - when you become too old for summer intensives (aka me) you realize, "Wow, that didn't even matter." "I don't remember why I was mad/sad." "What was that piece called again?" IT DOES NOT MATTER. Just dance your little heart out because in a month, you will no longer be there. 

3) Break the rules - just a little bit. Of course work hard and be respectful, but what's a summer without a little bit of adventure? Stay up all night with your new friends, skip a class to go get fro-yo, wear shorts to ballet class, sneak into someone's dorm, choreograph to skrillex, get creative with your port de bras, eat plenty of good food - whatever your "breaking of the rules" may be, I encourage you to do it. 

4) MAKE FRIENDS. This one may be the most important one. My friend just visited me from Denmark and I had met him two years ago at a summer intensive. I only see him once a year, but I know we'll be friends forever. We also share an Instagram account @JumpAndKillGravity where people send us photos of this one jump from all over the world. Great things come from new friends, I swear by it.