Dance Major Interns at Boston Ballet School

For Dance major Kaleigh Burns ’24, her summer internship was an opportunity to help shape the next generation of dancers. Kaleigh interned this summer as a teacher’s assistant for the Boston Ballet School in Newton, a two-week summer program for kids between the ages of 3-8 years old.

“My job as an assistant is to make sure the children are understanding and enjoying the activities that we do in each class,” Kaleigh explained. “My day-to-day consists of assisting lead teachers Luciano Aimar and Marissa Krolewski in classes including dance technique, creative dance, story time and pre-ballet classes. I’m also choreographing two dance pieces for the children along with Dean alum Victoria Collins ’23 to present in the showcase at the end of the program.”

Kaleigh credits the performance opportunities and classes she’s had at Dean with preparing her for this internship. In particular, it’s the mentorship she’s received from Luciano Aimar – who is not only the head of Boston Ballet School’s children’s curriculum, but also an adjunct professor here at Dean – that has set the stage for her success.

“The dance experiences that I’ve had at Dean and the relationships that I’ve built with some of my professors has helped me be confident and feel prepared for this internship,” she said. “I’ve had opportunities to choreograph dances and take different styles of dance classes. I had the opportunity to take Creative Movement for Children as a class with Luciano as my professor and it has prepared me for this hands-on experience. Everything I learned in that class is now being applied in my role as an assistant.”

Kaleigh’s experiences through this summer program are also helping her get closer to her goal of being a dance teacher after Dean.

“This internship at the Boston Ballet is helping me prepare for my future career because I would love to be able to teach and hopefully get to own my own dance studio one day,” she said. “I am grateful to have Luciano not only as my teacher, but also as my mentor. He has taught me so much and has given me this amazing opportunity, which will help me for my future.”

At Dean College, 100% of students complete an internship – and quite a few of them are participating in internships this summer. Learn more about internship opportunities and the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance at Dean.