Communication

• Parents and students can contact anyone on the leadership team prior to the start of the program via email.

• Students, during the intensive, please contact your assigned RA first if possible.

Culture

• UBSI strives to create a culture of respect and inclusion inside and outside the studio. 

• We strive to keep classes small and equal in size for optimal training. This may require mixing ages. 

• We ask that the students (and parents!) trust the process of evaluation and placement. Try and not make it about the level—make it about personal work ethic! :)

• Additionally, we ask students to:

  • demonstrate Respect for each other, Respect for yourself and Respect for our art form

  • be open! Be open to correction. This will give you the best chance to grow as a dancer, artist and as a person. 

  • be willing to try things in a different way than you are used to. 

  • be willing to embrace the thoughts and differences presented.

  • remember it’s about the process not the results.

  • have fun and look for ways to encourage others over the next four weeks!

Safety

• Drink lots of water! This is for your health and safety as it is easy to become dehydrated in Utah’s summer climate. A water bottle filling station is available on the main floor of the MCD and water fountains are available on each floor.

• There are panic buttons in each of the studios and dressing rooms. Please take a moment to locate them so you know where they are in the event of an emergency. Pressing one of these buttons will alert the campus police who will come to the Marriott Center for Dance immediately. (Any intentional false alarm by a student may be grounds for dismissal from the program and a charge of $100.00 to cover the fee we will be charged by the University.)

• While on campus, or during a UBSI outing/activity, it is required that ALL STUDENTS travel in groups of at least three.

• If you are 17 or younger, you may not leave campus unless accompanied by an RA, University Staff member, or with those who your parents designated on your registration.

• If you are living in the dorms and leaving Campus, you are required to sign out with the RA on call. You will need to let them know where you are going, when you plan to be back and the names of everyone in the group. While walking around campus and town, please use designated crosswalks.

• Pick up time for local and off-campus students is 15 minutes after the last class of the day in front of the MCD's main doors. Please note that a fee will be assessed to a student’s parent if the student is picked up after these times. We cannot leave minors unsupervised in the building or on campus. This fee will go to compensate a University Staff member for staying late (i.e. one minute to one hour after pick-up time is a $25 fine. One hour and one minute to two hours after pick up time is a $50 fine.)

• You are allowed to use the Pilates room on breaks only after you have spoken with Maggie Tesch and she is satisfied that you have proper experience to operate the equipment safely.

Dress Code

Please wear light weight attire over your dance clothes when you are not in the Marriott Center for Dance. Remember that during the four weeks you are here, it will be warm and you represent dance at the University of Utah both on and off campus.

Dancewear selections must present a clean and professional appearance allowing the instructor to clearly see the dancer’s body. This includes refraining from wearing dance attire with large graphics and logos, loose or baggy warm-up pants and cut-off tights. Plastic sweat pants are not permitted in the program. Hair must be securely fastened off face and neck in order not to interfere with the execution of turns and jumps. Students must also refrain from wearing heavy or sharp hair ornaments and jewelry.

Ballet Studio Classes – Technique, Pointe and Partnering Dress code

• Any solid single-color leotards and pink or skin-toned tights worn under the leotard. Tights need to be worn inside ballet shoes.

• Any solid single-color form fitting t-shirt, leotard or the like, tucked in (no large graphics), gray or black tights, matching shoes.

• Leg warmers may be worn in cases of injury and must be knit, tight fitting and not visually distracting

• NO PLASTIC SHORTS IN CLASS.

• No cut-off tights.

• Black leotards any style or form fitting t-shirts tucked in or other form fitting leotard or the like, and the same tights and shoes required above may be required for the showing as well.

Character Dance classes

• Regulation character skirt.

• Character shoes, jazz shoes or boots,

• Form fitting leg warmers/sweats may be worn over tights.

Broadway class

• Any type of low heeled-jazz shoe, character shoe with a choice of color and style of leotards and tights.

Contemporary Classes

• Wear clothing that allows freedom of movement. Bring a mat for floor exercises.

Conditioning/Somatics

• Wear clothing that allows freedom of movement. Bring a mat for floor exercises.

Choreography/Rehearsals

• At the discretion of the choreographer or repetiteur.

Saturday Master Classes

• Saturday Master Classes are optional. This change is in response to former attendees requesting an extra day off. 

• We will offer three different options for classes. There will be a signup sheet/google doc for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 20 students. If more want to sign up, we will attempt to add a class with another teacher with a minimum of 10 needed to hold class. 

• Please enter through the North door of the MCD on Saturday mornings.

• Pick up time for Saturday will be 15 minutes after the last class. The same late fees will apply as during the weekdays.

End of Session Showing/Parent Watch Days

• The pieces learned in the first two weeks will be shown informally on Friday, June 27. The 13– to 15-year-old class will show from 3:00 to 3:45, and the other levels will show from 4:30 to 5:30.   

• Monday and Tuesday of Week 4, IN-TOWN parents are invited to observe their students. Thursday And Friday of Week 4, OUT-OF-TOWN parents are invited to observe their students. 

• There will be a more formal showing on Friday, July 11, 2025 at 6:00pm. If the student will not be able to be in the showing please let the teacher, choreographer or repetiteur know the first day of classes. Students will still participate fully in the classes but they will put you in position where you can be taken out for the performance with minimal changes

• The final showing will be filmed and shared on a video with all students.

• Parents are welcome to attend either or both showings. All showings are free.

Locker Rooms / Personal Property / Supplies

• Please keep your personal property locked in a locker, or with you in the studio when at the MCD. (Anything brought into the studio MUST fit into a cubby and not disrupt instruction.) You will need to provide your own lock. If you forget a lock, they are available at the Campus Bookstore just north of our building.

• We are not responsible for lost or stolen items. If you notice anything or anyone suspicious please report it immediately.

• Students are encouraged to bring a yoga mat, tennis ball, and theraband(s) with them. These will be used in a variety of classes throughout the intensive. The School of Dance has some yoga mats available, but not enough for all participants.

University Academic Credit

• For those students who are incoming students to the University of Utah, or are working with another university CAN receive academic credit for UBSI. 

• To meet the minimum in-class hours required for academic credit, students must be registered for the full, four-week intensive. Hour requirements can be found in the course syllabus.

• You may register for academic credit through the University’s Continuing Education Department. All information can be found in the “Frequent Asked Questions” section here: https://www.dance.utah.edu/ubsi. Please pay attention to registration deadlines as they will not be extended. Questions can be directed to Will Maguire at william.maguire@utah.edu.

Policies

• There will be no refunds issued after the program has begun.

• Street shoes are not permitted in the studio.

• Please be mindful of the Marley surfaces and don’t drag anything across the floor such as a ballet barre

• There is no rosin allowed in the studios.

• Refrain from spraying hairspray, using body moisturizers or oils in the studios, it makes the floors slick.

• You may only bring into the studio what will fit in the cubbies in each studio. Everything else must be locked away in your dressing room locker. (Bring your own lock.)

• No cell phones in the studios during class time unless you have prior consent from the teacher because of special circumstances. (You may turn them OFF (not just to vibrate only) and put them in the cubbies.)

• Please consider standing up when the instructor enters the room. This shows that you are prepared and ready to start class and is a sign of respect.

• UBSI follows the School of Dance’s “Consent to Touch” guidlines as part of our Shared Values Policy. ANY student can let us know ahead of the intensive if they prefer not to be tactile cued in class. We will discreetly inform the instructors, and they will correct students differently. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy. ALL students should know that partnering requires touch, and may opt out if they are not comfortable. 

Dorms

• There will be no refunds issued after the program has begun.

• There is absolutely no alcohol nor drugs permitted in the dorms or on campus. Any student found breaking this rule will immediately be dismissed from the program without a refund. We have ONE STRIKE and you’re out policy.

• Misuse of the internet or cyber-bullying is prohibited. Any student found breaking this rule will be dismissed from the program without a refund. We have ONE STRIKE and you’re out policy. Please inform your RA or the Directors immediately. 

• You will be living in close quarters with many people for four weeks. You are expected to be respectful of others backgrounds including but not limited to race, religion, sexual orientation and food choices.

• Curfew for all students living in the dorms will be set by the Head RA’s. Historically curfew has been 10:00pm Sunday through Friday nights and 12:00am on Saturday nights. You will need to be inside your room by these times. Your Resident Assistants will be letting you know when they will be conducting bed checks.