Northern
Plains Ballet / International Ballet Competition Training Program
Introduction
Spearheaded
by the first columnist to join DanceArt.com, Northern
Plains Ballet (NPB) is a new school with big plans and is
based in Bismarck North Dakota. Embarrassingly enough, as we've
provided significant exposure to NPB and its founder, we've come to
understand that ballet isn't the only thing on the training schedule
for students and staff.
Welcome
to a ballet environment where 'powerful, accelerated learning
experience' as taught by Landmark Education's The Forum
is seen as the key needed to unlock personal and professional
success.
Founder:
Anthony Noa
Mr.
Noa is known to readers of our Ballet
Central as an inspirational and charismatic ballet instructor
with an intense focus on pedagogy.
In
his bio posted here
you'll find:
Continuing Educational
Experience
Participated in Landmark Education Corporation’s Communication
Course 1 and 2, Team Leadership and Management, and Negotiation
and Enrollment. Landmark Education Corporation is a leading
personnel and management training organization that works with
major US and international corporations. Their focus is developing
breakthroughs in individual and community potentials through
powerful communication skills and team management.
Throughout
Noa's classroom sessions you'll hear frequent use of 'Forum speak'
which includes terms like breakthrough (realization of some
previously untapped potential), racket (various definitions
typically referencing a person's habitual behaviors, especially
those that limit communication, success, or integrity),
and integrity.
To
be sure, some of his learning from The Forum has helped him
extract extraordinary results from ordinary student, in part because
students are encouraged to face personal hang-ups or fears and to
rise above them.
However,
The Forum is very a confrontational and gut wrenching
experience and some of this carries into Noa's ballet studio.
Personal friends of Noa's will claim that ballet and The Forum
are his private religions.
Why
Now?
After
all this time, why does DanceArt.com feel it is necessary to expose
the significant influence that Landmark Education has had in the
ballet training programs taught and designed by Anthony Noa?
While
researching the Kirov Academy we discovered a significant body of
material about The Forum including history, legal actions and
survivor stories. According to survivor stories, The Forum
practices something resembling unlicensed group psychotherapy
sessions. Writers describe being held for hours in uncomfortable and
crowded rooms, being forced to participate while denied breaks,
subjected to intense sales pressure and follow-up contacts, and
required to recruit friends and family. Finding The Forum
mentioned on web sites that focus on cults and dangerous groups has
greatly increased our concern.
In
order to achieve the desired 'breakthroughs' Landmark students are
worn down by aggressive staff members until they become emotional
and share very private stories and concerns with a group of complete
strangers (classmates and Landmark staff). Once these private
disclosures have been made to the group, survivors report,
additional expensive training programs are sold as a way out of the
'old way of thinking.'
We've
come to learn that the students and staff at NPB are being
encouraged to attend The Forum as part of the personal growth
exercise that is deemed necessary to achieve success working at or
studying with NPB. Our readers may find themselves confronting this
issue as a result of exposure provided on this web site and thus we
are taking steps to more fully inform readers about the situation.
Our
Recommendations
This
material is presented to allow you to reach your own conclusions. If
you are considering NPB we highly recommend that you study the links
proved in the next section.
DanceArt.com's
opinion, and it is only an opinion, is that dancers need not avoid
training with Northern Plains Ballet. The Forum is an
optional and external class run by a business unrelated to NPB --
you can simply refuse to attend and you are free to roll your eyes
when the staff start in on that 'Forum speak' stuff.
Keep
your money and keep Landmark Education a safe distance away.
Additional
Reading
NPB
Performance Schedule
Landmark's
own overview
Time
Magazine
Phoenix
New Times
Rick
Ross: Landmark Education
Rick
Ross: The Forum
Rick
Ross: Est (precursor to The Forum)
The
Skeptics Dictionary: Landmark
MemeCentral:
Landmark Education sues Elle Magazine
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