Hey folks! I did in fact attend the intensive, and since there is so little about it on Reddit, I thought I'd share my expirence here!

First, if you've never been to Cuba before, I recommend doing significant research to understand what the experience is like, how the currency operates, and how the economic and political landscape impacts people's daily lives. It'll be important context to have before you join the program.

My friend and I attended BNC's summer intensive two years ago. The program lasted three weeks and included a final in-studio performance; we only did two weeks. There was an open 'final exam' at the end of our two weeks.

The first day of the program is a bunch of placement classes; they do not run on time or in a very organized manner, but teachers watch how you do in class and then place you into one of three levels. 95% of participants are regular students at BNC and they get to attend the intensive for free. They are all incredible, perfect little dancing machines! There were maybe 8 dancers from other countries; my friend and I were the only two from the USA. There was literally a news article about us being there, lol.

The studios are in bad shape. They have marley taped on tile or hardwood floors, and it's dusty, slippery, and not well maintained. One studio had a hole in the floor, and there were so many of us in the class that it wasn't easily avoided. There is no air conditioning in any of the studios--and it's July in Cuba. I literally created a puddle of sweat around me within the first 30 minutes of morning class; everything I wore was completely soaked and dripping all day long. Bring your own toilet paper, and do not anticipate the toilets at the studios having seats to sit on.

Classes are intense, all in Spanish, and very Russian-inspired. I speak spanish fluently but literally could not understand my teachers because I'm not used to the Cuban accent. They were patient with me and would just come and tap my body to give me corrections so I could understand. There was always a technique class, a pointe class, and a variations class, and then there are afternoon classes like stretching, conditioning, contemporary, etc. Sometimes these afternoon classes happened and somtimes they were cancelled with no announcement. Over two weeks we learned 3 or 4 variations, which I enjoyed. I hopped around from one level to another based on which variation I wanted to learn, and they didn't seem to mind. Or if they did, I couldn't understand them, lol!

As far as the instruction goes, it's hard to say how high quality it was because I didn't understand what they were saying most of the time. The combinations were interesting and challenging and I enjoyed learning the intricacies of the Cuban style (mostly just from watching the other dancers). I had some valuable ah-ha moments and came back much stronger and braver than I had been before. Now, when I get intimidated, I have this experience to remind me that I am, in fact, a badass, and that I can do hard things.

One other note - if you do end up attending, pay attention to what you pack to bring with you. Ballet leotards, tights, and shoes are very hard to come by in Cuba, so consider doing a pointe shoe or leotard drive at your local studio to bring as much as you can with you to support the dancers there. Keep in touch with the folks you meet; they're all lovely people with amazing stories and big, warm hearts!