The School of American Ballet

Another SAB Winter Term has come to an end. We are so proud of all our students and everything they've accomplished this year! Wishing everyone a sensational summer!

Here are a few last-day snapshots of our advanced dancers this morning with SAB faculty members Aesha Ash, Megan Fairchild, and Allen Peiffer. 💛

Join us in congratulating the SAB Capstone class of 2024! These students have completed their training at the School and are heading out to begin the next chapter of their lives. We are so incredibly proud of all they've accomplished and toast them on all their dedication and hard work during their years at SAB. We have no doubt they each have bright and exciting futures ahead! Way to go class of 2024!

Check out our story today to meet each of this year's Capstone students.

Happy 90th Anniversary to George Balanchine’s SERENADE, first performed in June of 1934 by SAB students. Our current students were nothing less than beautiful as they performed this iconic ballet at this past Saturday’s Workshop Performances, and we’re excited to see them dance it again tomorrow night for our Workshop Benefit!

Check out our Workshop 2024 Story Highlights to see more backstage moments from this weekend!

Before our Workshop Performances kick off tomorrow, watch the latest Speaking in Dance video from The New York Times featuring our students rehearsing one of the most memorable sequences from George Balanchine's SERENADE... 💙

Watch a Sisterhood of Budding Ballerinas Over outstretched legs, five teen dancers bow like swans in George Balanchine’s masterpiece “Serenade.” He choreographed the ballet as a teaching tool for his students in 1934.

Just two more sleeps before our students bring George Balanchine's SERENADE to the Workshop stage! Tune in to our Instagram story tomorrow to follow along with all the fun of our Workshop weekend!

Tickets still available: https://sab.org/workshop-performances/

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor Photography
SERENADE, choreography by George Balanchine ©️The George Balanchine Trust.

Sharing a couple of snapshots from years past today as we look towards this Friday and our 90th Anniversary Alumni Celebration! Recognize anyone? 😉

All SAB alumni 21 years and older are invited to join us at this special event toasting SAB’s milestone 90th Anniversary and presenting the first-ever Alumni of Distinction Award.

Ticket proceeds will go towards the Alumni Scholarship Fund, helping the next generation of aspiring dancers, and we will also have a raffle for tickets to see SAB alumnus Justin Peck's new show, ILLINOISE, on Broadway. Not to mention plenty of time to catch up with fellow SAB alumni over drinks and light bites!

We hope you'll join us this Friday at 7 PM at SAB: https://sab.org/90th-anniversary-alumni-celebration/

Today we leap into tech-week and our final rehearsals for the 2024 Workshop Performances! Be sure to snag your tickets for one of our 3 shows - this Saturday, June 8 at 2 PM and 8 PM, as well as our Benefit performance on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 PM.

https://sab.org/workshop-performances/

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor Photography

All year, our students have been working incredibly hard - polishing their technique, expanding their creativity in choreography, refining their artistry, and preparing for performances along the way. Their ongoing commitment to their training and love of ballet is nothing short of incredible.

While we tend to share snapshots of our students striving for perfection in the studio, today we wanted to take a minute to highlight some of the in-between moments of late because, amidst the hard work and concentration, there are plenty of laughs, an undercurrent of fun, and the bonds of lifelong SAB friendships!

It's hard to believe we are only about a week and a half away from our 2024 Workshop Performances! Have you gotten your tickets yet?

Don't miss it: https://sab.org/workshop-performances/

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor Photography
SERENADE, choreography by George Balanchine ©️The George Balanchine Trust.

Registration is now open for the fall 2024 session of SAB's Little Dancers - introductory ballet classes for children ages 4-6 years old!

These 45-minute weekly classes will focus on teaching the fundamentals of dance, developing spatial awareness and introducing elementary ballet steps. Live music will accompany each class, allowing students to better understand the relationship between music and dance and helping them to develop a sense of musicality.

Auditions are not required for the Little Dancers program and children do not need previous ballet training. Enrollment is first come, first served, and space is limited, so sign up to reserve your child's spot now: https://sab.org/little-dancers/

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor Photography

Calling all SAB Alumni: We're having a party especially for you on June 7! Join us at the 90th Anniversary Alumni Celebration as we raise a glass to all our amazing alumni, award our first Alumni Award of Distinction honorees, and support our Alumni Scholarship Fund, helping the next generation of aspiring dancers.

Friday, June 7, 2024
7:00 PM
Studio One at The School of American Ballet

Tickets are $50 or $25 for alumni ages 21-25, and fully tax-deductible

A fellow alumnus has generously agreed to match all ticket purchases and donations to this cause up to $10,000. There's never been a better time to celebrate the School while doubling your impact for future alumni!

Get tickets: https://sab.org/90th-anniversary-alumni-celebration/

In 1965, George Balanchine and prominent faculty member Alexandra Danilova established the tradition of a year-end performance for the School of American Ballet's advanced students, creating an opportunity for them to participate in professionally staged, publicly performed productions of classic ballet works.

What started as a small-scale venture in a high school auditorium, has grown to become an annual highlight of the ballet world. Many of ballet’s brightest stars made their pre-professional debut at the SAB Workshop Performances, like Wendy Whelan, Peter Boal, Maria Kowroski, Sara Mearns, Mira Nadon, Taylor Stanley, Robert Fairchild, Paloma Herrera, Tiler Peck and SAB’s own artistic director Jonathan Stafford. Even though Workshop has grown in scale, it still fulfills George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein’s original vision of providing a platform for dancers to demonstrate their developing skills and serves as a crucial stepping stone in a ballet dancer’s artistic journey.

Read more about the history of SAB's Workshop Performances on our blog: https://sab.org/scenes/sab90-1965-sab-holds-first-workshop-performances/

Photo by Paul Kolnik, 1994 Workshop Performances featuring SAB alumna Maria Kowroski and Alex Bayo; SERENADE, choreography by George Balanchine ©️The George Balanchine Trust.

If you're a ballet teacher who is committed to teaching students from diverse backgrounds we encourage you to apply for SAB's National Visiting Fellows Program.

Selected Visiting Fellows are invited to attend two all-expenses-paid sessions during SAB’s Winter Term, where they observe a range of SAB classes, meet with faculty to discuss SAB’s curriculum and strategies for progression, teach SAB students and receive faculty feedback, and discuss relevant topics in dance education with administrative staff and faculty. In addition, the home school of each Visiting Fellow receives a monetary award of $5,000, to be applied to current or future diversity-related initiatives.

SAB is currently accepting applications from U.S.-based teachers for the 2024-25 National Visiting Fellows program. Click the link for more information and details on qualifications.

The deadline to apply is June 30, 2024.

https://sab.org/national-visiting-fellows-program/

Alumni of the School of American Ballet have gone on to have incredible careers - both on and off the stage - and many make lasting impacts in the performing arts sector and the global ballet community. We're incredibly proud to have a roster of such amazing former students who continue to support the School and the next generation of alumni. As part of our 90th Anniversary Celebration, SAB has established an annual Alumni of Distinction Award, in recognition of this incredible community of artists and the roles they play in keeping the legacy of the School going strong.

We are deeply honored to announce the inaugural Award recipients are photographer Rosalie O’Connor, and actor, singer, and dancer Hinton Battle (1956-2024). Read more about them both: https://sab.org/announcing-sabs-alumni-of-distinction-award-recipients/

They will be honored at our 90th Anniversary Alumni Celebration on Friday, June 7, in person at SAB. All alumni and their guests (21 years of age and older) are invited to join us at this special event! Get your tickets: https://sab.org/90th-anniversary-alumni-celebration/

Images: Rosalie O'Connor photographing classes at SAB by Rosalie O'Connor
Hinton Battle in a scene from the Broadway production of the musical "The Tap Dance Kid", by Martha Swope, 1984.
Courtesy of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Billy Rose Theatre Division

IN THE NEWS: SAB faculty member Christopher Charles McDaniel recently spoke to Dance Teacher Magazine about his background as a dancer, his journey to becoming a full-time teacher at the School, and what he enjoys most about being part of the SAB faculty. Check it out:

Christopher Charles McDaniel Blazes His Own Path at SAB - Dance Teacher Christopher Charles McDaniel stands out at the School of American Ballet. The only year-round faculty member who didn’t train at the school or dance for New York City Ballet, he’s the first such hire since 1991. He’s also just the third Black teacher to join the permanent faculty.

"To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking." -Agnes De Mille

Who's ready to tackle a brand new week of ballet?

Tomorrow, our students will take the stage at the David H. Koch Theater to perform Christopher Wheeldon's SCÈNES DE BALLET. Learn more about the ballet and what the rehearsal process has been like for four SAB students over on New York City Ballet's website: https://www.nycballet.com/discover/stories/scenes-de-ballet-interviews/

M***e to all our performing students during this run of SCÈNES DE BALLET!

Photos: Rosalie O’Connor Photography

SAB faculty member Suki Schorer has been integral to bringing Balanchine's SERENADE to the Workshop program. She first staged it on our students when it made its Workshop debut 50 years ago and has staged it every few years since. This year marks the eighth time she’s guided our students through the gorgeous choreography of this monumental ballet; cementing the powerful legacy of Mr. B’s first ballet created in America, for another generation of dancers.

In a recent rehearsal, Ms. Schorer was joined by her former students and former NYCB principal dancers Maria Calegari, Kyra Nichols, and Stephanie Saland, as well as current principal dancer Sara Mearns. With all four having ample experience performing the work during their careers, it was a unique and special opportunity for our current students to hear first-hand from these acclaimed ballerinas on the nuances they each brought to the principal roles in the ballet.

Read all about this incredible full-circle moment on our blog: https://sab.org/scenes/theres-something-about-serenade-for-generations-of-sab-students/

Ballet barre buddies are the best!
Photo: Rosalie O’Connor Photography

Undoubtedly a highlight of this year, we were thrilled to welcome our esteemed alumna and legendary ballerina Suzanne Farrell to our studios to teach our advanced students last month.

Ms. Farrell auditioned for the School of American Ballet at age 15 and was awarded a full scholarship in 1959. Mr. Balanchine invited her to join the New York City Ballet in the fall of 1961, and was in turn inspired by her unique combination of musical, physical, and dramatic gifts. She quickly rose through the ranks to become a principal dancer. Mr. Balanchine created several masterpieces for her and she originated starring roles in many ballets including DON QUIXOTE, MOZARTIANA, and CHACONNE, to name only a few.

Ms. Farrell's illustrious career as a performer, répetiteur, company director, and teacher is a true inspiration. We are so grateful our students were able to spend a few hours soaking up her grace, wit, and expertise. It was certainly a day to remember!

Photos 1, 2, and 4 by Rosalie O’Connor Photography
Others by SAB staff

Throwback to this past March when renowned choreographer and New York City Ballet's Artist in Residence, Alexei Ratmansky, taught variations from GISELLE to our most advanced dancers. During these classes, not only did Mr. Ratmansky work through the technical aspects of the variations with our students but explained how they've been altered and performed differently by prominent dancers throughout the ballet's history. The experience was equally fascinating and challenging for our dancers and we look forward to the next time Mr. Ratmansky teaches at SAB!

"The domain of the ballet dancers is not earth, but air." - SAB co-founder Lincoln Kirstein

Learn more about Mr. Kirstein at our upcoming Ballet Connoisseurship lecture on May 15, during which Silas Farley, former New York City Ballet dancer, dance scholar, and current Armstrong Artist in Residence in Ballet in The Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, along with Linda Murray, Curator of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, will give us a look into Lincoln Kirstein’s life, arts patronage, favorite artists, and path to partnering with George Balanchine to start a new, enduring American ballet tradition.

https://sab.org/ballet-connoisseurship/ -kirstein-and-sab

Our National Visiting Fellows are back in the SAB studios for their second and final week-long session of the program. In addition to deepening their knowledge of the SAB curriculum, observing classes, and spending time with our full-time faculty members, each Fellow will have the opportunity to teach our students this week. We can't wait for them to bring their expertise and enthusiasm to our B1 and B2 classes!

SAB is currently accepting applications for the 2024-25 National Visiting Fellows program. If you or someone you know is a U.S.-based classical ballet instructor with a proven commitment to teaching students from diverse backgrounds, we encourage you/them to apply to be considered for next year's cohort.

Learn more: https://sab.org/national-visiting-fellows-program/