The conservatory is a nonprofit organization. A small amount of financial aid is available, and there are discounts for multiple family members participating in the same class. Continuing studies courses for adults who are not pursuing a degree and an early college program for gifted high school students are available. The school has two studios, and its instructors are all former professional dancers from around the country and the world. The school offers one-semester accredited courses for advanced undergraduate and graduate students to put together a literary magazine of their photographs and essays.
Students participate in independent research projects and document their work in words or on film.
The student body is pretty evenly split between graduates and undergrads. SALT faculty members are field professionals like Maine author Willis Johnson, who wrote the collection of short stories The Girl Who Would be Russian and traveled as a journalist in Korea, Australia, Vietnam and Maine. For more information on the students' publication, see SALT in our Media chapter. Would-be authors can participate in any number of writing workshops put on by this alliance with more than 1,500 people from across the country. Classes range from outdoor writing and field trips to how to get your first magazine article published.