Discussing Dance Travel with Brown Ballerina Ambassador Olivia Bell

Meet Olivia Bell, a Brown Ballerina Ambassador from Jersey City, New Jersey. Although Olivia started dancing at the age of 2, she began her serious study of ballet at age 10. At 11, her ballet teacher introduced her to the Balanchine technique. She fell further in love with the intense ballet style during the following two summers, while attending summer intensives at the School of American Ballet. Olivia later became a year-round student with the prestigious company at the age of 14.

This month, the Brown Ballerina Blog has been focusing on dance travel, highlighting dancers who have traveled across the country and the globe, while sharing an in-depth look into their experience. In Olivia’s interview below, she shared some of her favorite aspects of traveling to New York, tips for other dancers who want to travel, and more!

Olivia’s Experience with Dance Travel

From 2014 to 2018, I traveled to New York every summer to attend summer intensives. I did intensives at Dance Theatre of Harlem, American Ballet Theatre, The Ailey School, and School of American Ballet. In 2019 I traveled to Seattle to attend the Pacific Northwest Ballet summer course. Later that fall, I traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet Symposium. Last year, I did my summer course virtually at the Chautauqua Institute, and this year I am grateful to be able to attend the School of American Ballet summer course!

The Benefits & Challenges of Traveling

I like to explore new places and sightsee with my friends. Living in the dorms is also so much fun and a preview of what college might be like. The biggest challenge of being away from home was not having my family with me during my summer intensives.

I really missed my family and friends, and I had to figure out how to live by myself. I had to learn how to navigate the city by myself, learn how to cook for myself, and because I have a peanut allergy, I had to be responsible for making sure the places I ate didn’t use peanuts in or around my food.

Hot Spots for Dancers

I would suggest New York as a place for dancers to visit. There is so much to do, so many places to explore, and you can never really get bored in New York! There are also places to take drop-in classes like the Ailey Extension, Peridance, Steps on Broadway, and Broadway Dance Center, so you can train in an endless number of styles and meet other dancers. Many of the major ballet brands have stores in the city, so you can get fitted for pointe shoes by experts in each brand, and see and try products in person that smaller, local stores might not carry.

Tips for Dancers Who Want to Travel

I would say a general tip would be to plan ahead. For example, figure out options for academic schooling ahead of time so you’re not scrambling to find something when you’re already out-of-state, or when it’s too late to enroll in a different school out-of-state. Another thing, especially if you’re living alone, is to create a budget. Some of the major cities are so expensive and it helps to have a plan.

Follow Olivia’s Dance journey on Instagram!

Our Brown Ballerina Ambassador program is designed to create opportunities for young dancers in training to be seen as leaders and to eventually become mentors to other Brown Ballerinas in Training. To find out more about our ambassador program and how you can support it, visit our Ambassador/Mentorship Program page.

Note: This interview has been edited for concision and clarity.