BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Brooklyn Ballet will be showcasing its first International Summer Intensive with “SummerDance� on Thursday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m. Twenty ballet students from as far away as Peru, San Salvador and Mexico will show off their skills with an entertaining program that includes excerpts from George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, classical variations from Coppelia and new works. “SummerDance� takes place at St. Francis College, 180 Remsen St., Brooklyn Heights.

On Thursday Naazir and Shaakir Muhammad, 12-year-old identical twin brothers from Flatlands will be taking their last bow with Brooklyn Ballet after five years of training and performing with Brooklyn Ballet’s Conservatory program. The boys were recently accepted into American Ballet Theatre’s School receiving full scholarships.

Brooklyn Ballet’s Directors discovered Naazir and Shaakir through “Elevate,� the Ballet’s in-school dance program for second graders.

Summer Intensive Snapshot

Brooklyn Ballet’s Summer Intensive has evolved as Founding Artistic Director Lynn Parkerson, and Conservatory Director Caridad Martinez, envisioned a program with the capacity to expand Brooklyn’s presence in the international dance scene while offering exclusive professional training to students in the borough and beyond.

The workshop includes Technique, Pointe, Pas de Deux, Variations, Choreography and Yoga. Martinez and Parkerson will be joined by Pedro Ruiz, Matthew Powell, Blanca Alonso, and faculty member Megan Brunke. In addition to professional level technique classes led by renowned instructors, offerings will include open rehearsals in Downtown Brooklyn and “SummerDance,� a free dance performance for the community.

Making Ballet Accessible

The cost of the intensive is low, $500 to $900 for three weeks of incredible teaching by esteemed faculty. In addition, as the workshop grows, the Ballet’s summer intensive will aid in Brooklyn Ballet’s mission to highlight Brooklyn’s place on the international stage. Contributing to cultural tourism in the borough, the program will also provide opportunities for further community outreach, chiefly through performance of classical and neo-classical repertory learned during the intensive. Public performance is an essential component in Brooklyn Ballet’s intimate relationship with the community.

To ensure that the summer intensive adheres to the company’s stringent commitment to making dance accessible to everyone, Brooklyn Ballet will provide scholarship opportunities for talented students who demonstrate financial need in order to curtail the costs of attending the workshop. Professional dancers took the workshop for 50 percent of the tuition cost.

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