The HARID Conservatory

Students are recruited for HARID’s four-week Summer Intensive during a series of auditions conducted each winter in various cities across the United States. The auditions are open to students in academic grades 8–11. Video applications are also accepted, especially from international students. (Details are available on the “Auditions” page of this website.)

The Summer Intensive serves as an extended audition for students seeking admission to HARID for the following academic year. Academic transcripts must be submitted by all such applicants.

All applicants, both for the Summer Intensive and the academic year, are evaluated and must be approved for admission by the Admissions Committee, composed of the director, ballet faculty, academic administrator, and residence manager. Enrollment is limited in both programs.

Admission Criteria
The criteria for admission to The HARID Conservatory include (not necessarily in order of priority):

• Appropriate age and academic-grade level.
• A physique that reflects the physical aesthetic and facility generally recognized as requisite for ballet companies of national and international caliber (appropriate stature, proportion, weight, strength, physical attributes, flexibility, and line).
• A reasonable level and quality of prior ballet training (increasingly important with age).
• A significant level of talent (defined generally as physical ability, coordination, movement quality, musical sense, and intelligence).
• Exemplary work habits and deportment.
• A history of consistent academic achievement at an average or above-average level.
• Satisfactory medical history (with regard to relevant chronic injuries or other health problems).
• International students: For scholastic achievement and retention, it is essential that international students acquire proficiency in the English language before enrolling at HARID.

Once enrolled, students are evaluated on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Information regarding retention is provided prior to admission.

Policy of Non-Discrimination
The HARID Conservatory is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national or ethnic origin, or other protected status. The school admits students of any race or other protected status to all the rights privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school, and the school does not discriminate on the basis of race or other protected status in administering its educational policies, scholarship and fee-waiver policies, and other school administered programs.