to the Fall 2011 Newsletter

The School of
Fall 2011
American Ballet
AT L I N C O L N C E N T E R
INSIDE
this issue
Kolnik
2011 Workshop
A Day at the SAB Summer Course
Reflections on Summer Course
W
summer course issue
hile the new school year is just underway, we are already looking forward to our next Summer Course, when we welcome several
hundred students from all over the world into our studios and
residence hall for five weeks of classes and supervised activities. We
devote a significant amount of energy to recruiting the best possible
students for our summer program for a very compelling reason. The
majority of our intermediate and advanced year-round students first
encounter SAB during the summer. We search far and wide for these
students to offer them the opportunity to work with our wonderful
faculty and to enjoy the culture and sights of New York City in late
June and July. At the same time, we receive the opportunity to evaluate
their suitability for long-term training at SAB. You need look no further than the ranks of New York City Ballet to understand the impact
of SAB’s Summer Course. Seventy of the company’s eighty-eight current
dancers were recruited to SAB by way of our summer program as
adolescents.
O’Connor
In this issue of the newsletter, two of those NYCB dancers will
reminisce about their seminal summer experiences. You’ll also meet
several students who attended our July 2011 session and learn more
about SAB’s newest summer initiatives, including a satellite program
launched last August in Los Angeles.
As always, we are grateful to our wide circle of friends and supporters
for making our work possible – including our upcoming 2012 Summer
Course. We hope to have the opportunity to thank you for your
support in person at one of our events during the coming months.
Hilliard
SAB Events
Alumni News
O’Connor
Peter Martins
Artistic Director
Marjorie Van Dercook
Executive Director
2011
WORKSHOP PERFORMANCES
Always a major event on every ballet lover’s calendar,
SAB's Workshop Performances on June 4 and 7 highlighted the choreography of Jerome Robbins, George
Balanchine and Peter Martins.
The program began with Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante,
staged by longtime faculty member Suki Schorer. Danced
by a lead couple and four supporting couples, the sweeping Tschaikovsky music and sparkling choreography showcased the students’ refined technique at the conclusion of
their years of training at SAB.
Igor Stravinsky’s score for Circus Polka was originally commissioned by the Ringling Brothers,
Barnum & Bailey Circus as a dance for elephants with choreography by Balanchine. Mr. B later reworked the dance for SAB students for a performance at Carnegie Hall on November 5, 1945.
Jerome Robbins created a new ballet—for young dance students and
an adult Ringmaster—to Stravinsky's
music for NYCB’s 1972 Stravinsky
Festival. Robbins's ballet concludes
with a floor pattern that spells out
the composer's initials, I.S. (pictured
above).
Peter Martins’s Les Gentilhommes
(pictured below), a courtly ballet for
nine men to music by Frideric Handel, is filled with intricate
arrangements of steps and unexpected shifts of energy and direction, as well as quieter moments of reflection and
repose. The ballet is dedicated to Stanley Williams, former Co-Chairman of Faculty at
SAB. NYCB ballet master Albert Evans and SAB faculty member Arch Higgins, both
former students of Mr. Williams, staged the ballet.
Allegro Brillante and Who Cares? Choreography by George
Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust.
Students in the School’s Children’s Division danced Robbins’s Circus Polka. Led by faculty member Jock Soto as the Ringmaster, his 48 charges
ranging from age eight to thirteen danced and marched to the challenging Stravinsky score with impeccable precision, staged by Garielle Whittle.
The program concluded with Balanchine’s fun-filled Who
Cares? (above), to music by George and Ira Gershwin.
Staged by Susan Pilarre, the large ensemble gave the
audience an opportunity to see most of the advanced
students performing Balanchine’s demanding choreography with great technical skill and nuanced artistry. An
orchestra of professional musicians was conducted by
Martin West of San Francisco Ballet.
All Workshop photos by Paul Kolnik
2011
STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHY
Q: What happens when you give SAB advanced students 15 hours of studio time with two,
three or four of their classmates?
A:
2
Twelve highly original and beautifully performed new works of choreography. Since 1997
when Peter Martins instituted the Student Choreography Workshop with funding from board
member and alumna Nancy Lassalle, over 115 new works of choreography have been created
by SAB students. Choreographers for the October 2011 Workshop included Brianna Abruzzo,
Andrea Bell, Rebecca Bruch, Silas Farley, Colin Fuller, Christina Ghiardi, Elinor Hitt, Philip
Martin-Nielson, Marcus Romeo, Abbey Smith, Dustin True and Craig Wasserman. They consulted with SAB's music instructor, Jeffrey Middleton, on their music selections and the three Ashley Hod, Craig Wasserman and Unity Phelan in Silas
to five-minute ballets were presented at three informal showings in SAB’s studios on
Farley’s ballet.
October 9, 12 and 13.
Summertime at SAB
The Bermuda experiment was short-lived, for
as SAB grew in size and gained in national and
international drawing power, the focus of the
summer months shifted dramatically. By the
mid-1960s, when SAB’s national recruiting efforts had been bolstered by generous grants
Faculty member Sheryl Ware teaching at Summer
Course. Ms. Ware was "discovered" by Violette Verdy at
her hometown studio in California and attended SAB's
Summer Course in the late 1960s before becoming a
full time student and joining New York City Ballet.
from the Ford Foundation, the School was positioning its 5-week summer training session
as an important sampling opportunity for serious ballet students from around the country
who demonstrated professional potential.
Scouts selected by George Balanchine to
crisscross the U.S. in search of promising
talents included New York City Ballet stars
Violette Verdy and Jacques d’Amboise, who
liberally dispensed Ford Foundation scholarships to lure youngsters back to SAB’s New
York City headquarters for summer
classes—indoors. The most remarkable of
those summer students were subsequently
invited to remain at SAB to train full-time;
transforming SAB into a genuinely national
educational institution by the early 1970s.
Today the School’s Summer Course students
are selected via a highly coordinated National
Audition Tour which sends multiple SAB faculty
members to 20 U.S. cities and a handful of international audition locations to conduct audi-
2009 Summer Course class.
tion classes for some 2,000 aspiring
candidates. Approximately 200 are invited to
SAB for 35 days in June and July to experience the same curriculum offered to SAB’s
year-round students, taught by the School’s
permanent faculty members. Summer students ranging in age from 12 to 18 typically
have been trained by an enormous array of
teachers with varying backgrounds and are
often exposed to Balanchine’s demanding aesthetic for the very first time during the Summer Course.
Learning to
dance with the
precision, control, speed and
musicality Balanchine
demanded challenges these
students to
expand their
horizons and
commit tremendous effort and
energy to their
NYCB soloist Chase Finlay in a 2007 twice daily
Summer Course Adagio class.
classes held six
days per week.
Since 1991, SAB’s Summer Course has
boasted an additional feature that makes it
one of the most unique summer training programs in the country. The School’s on-site
residence hall in the Samuel B. and David
Rose Building houses almost all of the en-
rolled summer students, enabling them to
sleep, relax, socialize and dine in the same
building where all of their ballet classes are
held. The security of the housing facilities,
which are supervised by adult, live-in staff
members, ensures that adolescents as young
as 12 may attend the Summer Course while
parents remain at home knowing that their
children are fully chaperoned at all times. After
classes, SAB’s Student Life staff oversees a
robust offering of evening and weekend activities, including
outings to
Broadway musicals, museums, tourist
attractions and
the ever-popular day trip to
Saratoga
Springs to see
New York City
Ballet in
performance.
Many students
enjoy attending NYCB principals Sterling Hyltin and
Robert Fairchild in Balanchine’s Duo
one or more
Concertante. Both are Summer
Summer
Course alumni.
Courses as an
important step in their development but continue training at their home schools. The faculty invites a select number of summer
students to continue at SAB as full time students, placing them in the Winter Term’s intermediate and advanced divisions to train until
they are ready for professional placement, either at New York City Ballet or at companies
around the globe. In the end, the wide net
cast by the Summer Course ensures that
SAB’s extraordinary artistic resources are devoted to developing the most promising young
artists possible.
Photo by Paul Kolnik
Choreography by George Balanchine © The George
Balanchine Trust.
T
he pamphlet promoting the 5-year-old
School of American Ballet’s second annual “Summer Course” in 1939 featured
images of palm trees, sandy beaches, and
dancers en pointe engaged in an “open air
practice” pas de deux class on the grass. The
“mild and pleasant” climate of Bermuda had
been selected for the School’s first-ever summer session in 1938 to appeal to New Yorkers already training at SAB as an alluring
get-away from the city’s steamy summers.
Summer Course photos by Rosalie O’Connor
Take a look inside the Summer Course experience from the point of view
of the students themselves and learn more about SAB's latest summertime initiatives on the following pages...
3
A DAY AT THE SAB SUMMER COURSE
Students in different levels have varying schedules each day. Pointe
classes for girls, weight training for boys as well as Variations, Character,
Ballroom and Adagio classes make each day exciting and unique. Below is
an example of what one day might be like for a level IV girl at the SAB
Summer Course.
8:30am
Breakfast in the Rose Building Café
9:00
Stretch in the SAB student lounge and send
email to parents and friends back home
9:30-11:30
Technique
class with Kay Mazzo
12pm
New York Choreographic
Institute
Summer Course students had the opportunity to participate in
this year’s summer session of the New York Choreographic
Institute. Newly named NYCB apprentices, Harrison Ball and
Peter Walker, each choreographed a piece on an ensemble of
16 dancers. Harrison challenged himself and his dancers with
Two Pieces for String Quartet by Dmitri Shostakovich, which has
both an adagio section and a flirty polka section. “I found myself
changing the movement half way through the rehearsal process
so as not to overwhelm the audience. Instead of using all 16
dancers in every section, I decided to highlight three dancers in
the middle section,” he said. Peter was inspired by a piece of
music written by Thomas Kikta, father of his fellow SAB classmate Emily. “I thought it was very quirky and suited my movement and choreography style. I enjoyed working collaboratively
with the dancers and giving each of them movements they were
comfortable with.”
Lunch
1:00-2:00
O’Connor
Relax in the
sun on the Illumination lawn
at Lincoln Center
O’Connor
2:30-4:30
Adagio class
with Jock Soto and Yvonne
Borree
4:30-5:30
Harrison Ball working on his ballet with Summer Course students.
6:45
Meet at the Residence Hall to take a
chartered SAB bus to the Imperial Theater on
Broadway
Pilates mat class
O’Connor
O’Connor
8:00
Billy Elliot
begins
5:30-6
6:00
Dinner in the
Rose Building Café
4
11:00
Relax and
read before
lights out
O’Connor
Meet
NYCB Principal
Tiler Peck and get
her autograph!
SAB faculty members Sean
Lavery, Katrina Killian
and Darci Kistler flew to
the west coast as soon as
Summer Course ended to
launch a new Golden State
venture. The inaugural session of SAB’s Los Angeles
Workshop for Young
Dancers featured two weeks
of Technique, Variations and
Pointe classes for students
between the ages of 10 and
14 from August 1 to 13, with the Westside School of Ballet in
Santa Monica serving as SAB’s home away from home. Almost 70
students, eager to get a taste of SAB’s offerings and experience
the Balanchine aesthetic, attended the program after being
selected during the School’s National
Audition Tour last January. Three class
levels rotated through a daily schedule
of two classes apiece, which allowed
them to experience the teaching of
each SAB faculty member multiple
times during the Workshop. SAB’s
Director of Student Life Kelly Novitski,
who also traveled to LA for the
Workshop, oversaw the daily administration of the program and presided over
lively lunchtime trivia sessions at which
students were rewarded with collectable
SAB t-shirts and NYCB memorabilia
while brushing up on their knowledge of
the School and Company. The students
were thrilled to show their parents what
they had learned during several parent
class visiting days at the end of the
Photo by Todd Lechtick
two-week session and celebrated their new friendships and freshly
acquired skills on the final day with a post-class cupcake party.
SAB expresses its deepest thanks to Yvonne
Mounsey and her staff
at the Westside School
of Ballet for allowing
their facilities to
become our west coast
home base for this
exciting new endeavor.
SAB’s staff and faculty
are looking forward to
returning in August
2012 and will soon be
auditioning youngsters
in Seattle, San
Francisco, southern
California, Phoenix and
Salt Lake City, to invite
to the program.
To learn more visit:
www.sab.org/summercourse/laworkshop
INTERNATIONAL
AUDITIONS
The 2011 Summer Course was marked by a decidedly
international flair as a result of SAB’s expanded international
recruiting efforts of the past several years. On the strength of
outstanding results at last year’s
fall auditions in Buenos Aires,
Paris and Madrid, the School
enrolled almost 50 international
students last summer. Looking
forward to 2012, faculty members
Kay Mazzo and Suki Schorer have
already journeyed to London,
Paris and Madrid in search of new
talent for the upcoming summer
session. For the second year they
were joined in Madrid by NYCB principal Joaquin De Luz, a
hometown hero whose presence provided the auditioning
students with an extra dose of excitement. Applicants at the
three European
audition sites
hailed from a
wide array of
countries,
including Ireland,
Scotland,
Sweden,
Australia, Turkey,
Portugal, Italy,
Armenia and, of
course, England, Spain and France, ensuring that once again
the Summer Course will be a truly international event.
Photos by Jesus Valiinas
LOS ANGELES WORKSHOP
FOR YOUNG DANCERS
Pointe shoe maker Freed of
London Ltd. is the Lead
Sponsor of SAB’s National and
International Audition Tour. We
extend heartfelt thanks to
Freed for their generous
sponsorship.
“The training is amazing. The teachers are worldclass. I have been asked to stay for the Winter Term at
The School of American Ballet. This invitation is truly
a dream come true.” -Mimi Staker, age 15
Summer Course Scholarship
Nearly half of this year’s Summer Course students were awarded
full or partial scholarships for tuition, room and board and travel.
Summer Course Scholarships are vitally important to ensuring
that students are able to take advantage of the world-class ballet
training that SAB provides. SAB depends upon a dedicated group
of individual supporters and foundations to reach an increasing
number of students every year.
Photo by Todd Lechtick
If you are interested in donating to SAB’s Scholarship
Fund please contact Louisa Swain at 212.769.6614 or
via email at lswain@sab.org
5
reflections on summer course
NYCB Soloist
Chicago, IL
After my second year of high
school, in 1996, Tom Gold’s mom
suggested that I check out SAB.
Tom was a soloist with New York
City Ballet and his mom worked at
my performing arts school in
Chicago. There was only one guy
at my school and although I knew Summer Course 1997
about New York City Ballet, I didn’t
know much about SAB. I was very excited about going to New York
for the summer and then when I arrived I saw all these guys and
realized I’d be one of many.
I had never seen another black male dancer my age and at SAB there
were a dozen of us! I remember meeting Albert Evans, who was the
nicest person ever, and when I saw him dance I thought he was a
great role model. And then meeting Aesha Ash was like seeing a
unicorn! She was beautiful, a great dancer and had just become a
member of the Company.
My first class was with Stanley Williams. I didn’t even realize class
had begun because he was so quiet, but I followed along. It was
intimidating at first, but once I realized we were all there for the same
reason, I was able to relax and enjoy the classes. Mr. Rapp was my
favorite teacher that summer and I loved Krammy’s partnering
classes.
I remember going up to Saratoga to see the company perform Kammermusik, La Source, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Concert—I
had never laughed so hard before. It was one of the highlights of my
summer. After the performance, I met Tom Gold, who had danced
The Steadfast Tin Soldier. I saw The Lion King, my first Broadway
show, and I remember being blown away by Lincoln Center.
When I came home I begged my mom to let me stay for the school
year, but she said I had to finish high school in Chicago. I returned to
SAB the following summer and they asked me to stay for the Winter
Term. I had already enrolled at Juilliard in their dance program, but a
week before it began I called to tell them I had decided to go to SAB
instead.
That summer I roomed with some of the guys who became my closest friends—Adam Hendrickson, Jonathan Stafford, Sean Suozzi,
Ryan Kelly and Jordan Pacitti.
k a i t ly n g i l l i l a n d
NYCB Corps de Ballet
Mineappolis, MN
When I first came to the School of
American Ballet’s Summer Course in
2002, I had no idea what to expect.
While I knew a lot about New York City
Ballet and the School of American
Ballet from various books and videos
that I’d studied religiously at home in
Minnesota, I’d had no actual exposure
to the Company or the School.
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
craig
hall
I remember getting the chills as I
walked out of the elevator onto the fifth
floor for my very first day of classes at
SAB. The halls were filled with some of
the most talented young students in the Kaitlyn learning the Agon variation.
country; the gorgeous studios were dotted with New York City Ballet dancers who had come to take class.
Three of SAB’s famous teachers—Suki Schorer, Susan Pilarre and Kay
Mazzo—sat at the front of my placement class and I immediately
spotted Darci Kistler walking down the hallway.
It was pretty magical watching this legendary place, one that I had
read so much about, come to life before my eyes that first day. And
the next five weeks? The most challenging of my life. I remember
initially thinking “What? Only two classes a day?” But by the end of my
first full class I was thinking “I don’t know if I can make it through two
of these classes a day…” Learning how to dance at SAB was like
learning a new language; the teachers pushed all the girls in my class
to approach every familiar ballet step with a new energy, clarity,
femininity, and musicality.
I remember dreading my first Adagio class—I was tall and knew no
one would want to partner me. Jock Soto noticed me sulking in the
back and used me to demonstrate a combination with him. He’s such a
fantastic partner that he made it look easy to dance with me. Suddenly
all the boys wanted to prove they could partner a “tall girl,” and I had
partners galore! It became my favorite class of the week. Before
coming to SAB, I didn’t know how to use my height to my advantage.
Throughout the course of the summer, I began to see it as one of my
greatest assets.
Variations class was another highlight of my week. I vividly remember
the day Suki taught our class the girl’s variation from the second pas
de trois in Agon. The choreography was so musical, so intricate, and
just felt so natural. Yet it required such strength and energy! That was
the day I knew I wanted to stay at SAB and study for the year. I also
fell in love with New York City Ballet at first sight—it was a performance of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It ended up being
the first ballet I performed as an apprentice with the Company.
My two summers spent at SAB were an introduction to the wonders of
New York City and also to the people who would shape my life over the
next few years. Ultimately, they led me to attend the 2004 Winter Term
and to my career with New York City Ballet. Aside from my introduction
to the SAB faculty, I met many of my remarkably talented future colleagues at New York City Ballet during my two summers at the School:
Tiler Peck, Robbie Fairchild, Gretchen Smith, and Marika Anderson…
today distinguished dancers and great friends.
6
Craig Hall (top left) with classmates: Kristine Necessary, Patricia Delgado, Ryan
Lawrence, Abi Stafford, Eric Underwood, Faye Arthurs and Craig Salstein.
Q & A WITH 2011 SUMMER COURSE STUDENTS
m i k ay l a l a m b e rt
age 12
Seal Beach, CA
age 15
Dushore, PA
What aspects of the teaching or technique
are different from what you are used to at
your home studio?
What teachers did you particularly enjoy and why?
The hand positions are different and the movements are quicker than a Vaganova syllabus. I
felt like I was able to get stronger in my legs
because I was working so fast.
Suki Schorer, because she’s
very direct with corrections.
She pushes for a lot of energy
and her combinations are fun
and challenging.
What was the most challenging part of your
classes? What was the most enjoyable or
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
rewarding aspect?
Katrina Killian taught our last pointe class on Friday and she’s so
energetic she made us want to work hard for her. In her Variations
class she pays a lot of attention to detail.
Beginning of center (32 tendus back and front) which is really hard; but
makes me get stronger. The most rewarding part is barre because Jock
Soto goes around the classroom and corrects everyone individually.
Crossing over in my fifth was the correction I had to work hardest on. My
positions feel more precise from week 1 to 5.
What aspects of the teaching or technique are different
from what you are used to at your home studio?
How did you change as a dancer as a result of the Summer Course
classes?
The fast technique is so overwhelming that you just have to keep up or you
won’t grow as a dancer. I think about my turnout a lot more and my positions overall a lot more.
What did you think about living in the SAB dorms?
It was fun living in the dorms because I was able to be around people and
boys my age. I’m usually at a studio where the boys are a lot older than me
and the girls are very girly. I felt like I was able to communicate with people
better. I made friends with some of the boys and I also made lots of French
and Spanish friends and was able to learn some of their languages.
The activities were all so much fun. I really liked How to Succeed in
Business, the trip to Six Flags, all the ballets in Saratoga, ABT and the
Kirov. And the Bronx Zoo was lots of fun too.
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
tat e l e e
The focus is more on musicality and it’s a lot faster in terms of
speed. The way you hold your upper body is more alert because
you have to be ready to go in any second.
What was the most challenging part of your classes? What
was the most enjoyable or rewarding aspect?
Getting used to doing technique class in pointe shoes was challenging but now I feel much more comfortable in pointe shoes.
Some steps were intimidating in pointe shoes, like turns, but now I
feel like I can really control my feet in pointe shoes.
Tell us about the experience of being in the New York
Choreographic Institute.
I loved it! It was really fun to have something created on you and I
was involved in two pieces. In Harrison Ball’s piece I got to focus
on artistry because it’s slower, and in Peter Walker’s quick piece I
got to play with the music. I’ve only partnered here, so this gave
me an additional chance to work on that.
I will always remember that I want to come back.
emilien rivoire
age 16
Faches Thumensil, France
What aspects of the teaching or technique are different from what
you are used to at your home studio?
How did you change as a dancer as a
result of the Summer Course classes?
The speed. We rarely dance as quickly. The combinations are different as
is the energy we use for these steps. There are no weight training
classes at home. We do have classes in anatomy, music, history of
dance, character and jazz though.
I am more calm when I have to dance
faster or more technical things. I have
better control and I’ve grown in technique
and discovered new types of energy and a
new style of dance.
Describe your impressions of New York City. Have you visited
before?
No I had not visited before. Manhattan is gigantic; the size was surprising,
and the heat.
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
7
SABEVENTS
Workshop Weekend
SAB’s Workshop Performances were, as always, a highlight of the year for SAB patrons. Association and Donors
Circle members attended the Workshop Final Rehearsal at
the Peter
Jay Sharp
Theater on
June 3 for
a sneak
preview of
the weekend’s
performances.
They had
the opportunity to
watch the Coco Kopelman (right) with Adrienne & Gian Vittadini.
faculty
stagers and students rehearsing with a full orchestra. SAB
alumni who had performed in Allegro Brillante, Circus
Polka, Les Gentilhommes and Who Cares? in their student
Workshops attended the rehearsal as special guests and
gathered for a post-rehearsal cocktail party at SAB to
reminisce. Alastair Macaulay of The New York Times
wrote of the 2011 Workshop “The performance abounded
in many clear points of Balanchine style,” and we were
happy to have the Saturday performances filled with
donors, friends, students’ families and ballet lovers.
On Tuesday, June 7, 2011, SAB hosted over 600 guests
at the Workshop Performance Benefit chaired by
Paige Bluhdorn, Sasha Galantic, Elizabeth McCreery and
Suzanne Allen Redpath along with Corporate Chairman
Jack Watters of Pfizer and International Chairman Stacey
Morse. This year’s benefit honored Robert Fribourg who
served as SAB’s Chairman of the Board from 2004
through 2011. Guests were treated to a breathtaking
performance of Allegro Brillante, Circus Polka, Les
Gentilhommes and Who Cares? at the Peter Jay Sharp
Theater. The
performances were
followed by
dinner in the
SAB studios,
which were
transformed
with a lovely
rustic garden theme
that included
images of
trees blowing in the
breeze. As
always,
SAB’s advanced students kept the party going in ‘Club
One’ long after dinner. The evening raised a record breaking $725,000 for the School.
Photos by Patrick McMullan
F O UN DE RS S OC I E T Y
Planning Tip!
Make a charitable IRA rollover gift before December 31st
Good news…Congress has extended the IRA charitable rollover
provisions through the end of 2011. That means if you are 70 ½
or older, you may distribute any amount up to $100,000 from
your IRA to a favorite charity, such as SAB, before December 31,
2011. This amount will count toward your required minimum distribution for the year and it will not be treated as taxable income.
The tax-free IRA rollover option may be especially attractive if you:
• Do not itemize your deductions.
• Are required to take minimum withdrawals from your IRA but
don’t need that income currently.
• Your IRA income is causing more of your Social Security income to be taxed.
Even if you’re not 70 ½, keep in mind that donors of any age
can make a deferred gift of an IRA or other retirement account
by designating the School of American Ballet as a beneficiary of
the account.
“I first discovered the School of American Ballet in 1977 when I saw my first
SAB Workshop performance. Year after
year I’ve “discovered” dancers and I’ve
followed them into the Company. This
feeling of family has brought me closer
to Balanchine’s art, made it intensely
personal and has been the School’s greatest gift to me. This
gift of an extended family confers obligations, and I want to
ensure that it not only endures, but prospers. This is why I
have been a supporter for over thirty years and why I’ve included the School in my Will.
—Michael Tsuji, Founders Society Member
The Founders Society is a special patron group named for George
Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein and dedicated to their visionary
ideals for ballet in America. Founders Society members have
made the School of American Ballet a part of their estate plans to
help ensure the long-term vitality of SAB and future generations of
dancers. There are many ways to make a planned gift – from a
simple bequest to a more complicated trust arrangement.
For more information, please contact Carrie Hinrichs, Director of Development & Planning, at
212-769-6615 or chinrichs@sab.org. All inquiries are confidential.
8
D O N O R spotlight
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The School of American Ballet’s numerous supporters—individuals, foundations, corporations and
government agencies—each play an essential role in
helping SAB’s young artists pursue their training at
the very highest level. The School is truly fortunate
to have such loyal and generous friends. We extend
heartfelt thanks to each and every supporter of SAB.
The Velaj Foundation
Kaitlyn Gilliland signing autographs at the 2010 Nutcracker Family Benefit.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Photo by Patrick McMullan
Enjoy dinner and
dancing on the
Promenade of the
David H. Koch
Theater at SAB’s
Winter Ball on
March 5, 2012.
The event is cochaired by Diana
DiMenna, Julia
Koch and Betsy
Pitts. Pamela
Joyner and
Julia and David H. Koch with Darci Kistler and Peter Martins at the
Elizabeth R. Miller
2011 Winter Ball.
are Honorary
Chairmen and Coco Kopelman is the event’s Founding Chairman. Van
Cleef & Arpels will sponsor the event for the fifth consecutive year. The
highlight of the evening is a pièce d’occasion choreographed by SAB
and NYCB alumna Melinda Roy and performed by the School’s students.
For more information, please call Natalie Schweizer at (212) 769-6610.
In the fall of 2007, the
SAB development office
received an unexpected –
and most wonderful – call
from a trustee of The
Velaj Foundation who had
seen a recent New York
Times article about the
School’s tuition-free Boys
Program. Soon thereafter,
SAB was the recipient of a
major, four-year grant
from the Foundation to
extend the Boys Program
to boys in the newly
established classes for six
and seven year-olds (now
the Preparatory Division).
Over the past four years,
some 65 boys have directly benefited from The Velaj
Foundation’s generosity, studying ballet twice a week at
SAB completely free of charge. We salute The Velaj
Foundation, especially trustees Alex and Patty Velaj,
for their commitment to SAB’s work and their support
of our youngest boys.
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
The Nutcracker
Family Benefit is
hosted by the School of
American Ballet and
New York City Ballet.
Guests attend a matinee
performance of George
Balanchine’s The
Nutcracker™ followed
by a festive party complete with visits from the
Sugarplum Fairy and
Santa.
Photo by Mary Hilliard
SAVE THE DATE
SAB Welcomes New Board Members & Board Chair
Kellie Johnson Abreu is a Senior Managing Director in private
banking and wealth
management at
First Republic
Bank, a position
she has held for
over ten years. A California native and graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, she
has worked in the financial services industry for 25 years. Ms.
Abreu recently relocated to New
York City with her husband Steve
Abreu and their young daughter.
Zita Ezpeleta is a graduate of
Harvard College
and Harvard Law
School, and practiced bankruptcy
law at Sidley
Austin LLP. She
was born in
Manila, Philippines. She studied
ballet in her youth and during
high school at Phillips Academy
Andover, and continued dance
performance through college.
Ms. Ezpeleta resides in Larchmont, New York, with her husband Kewsong Lee and their
teenage children.
Julia F. Koch is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Formerly an assistant to fashion designer Adolfo, she
is now the busy
mother of three
young children.
Mrs. Koch is currently co-chairing the School’s Nutcracker
Family Benefit and Winter Ball.
She serves as co-chair of the
Special Events Committee of the
Board. Mrs. Koch resides in New
York City with her husband David
H. Koch and their children.
SAB welcomes Bud
Shulman as Chairman of the Board of
Directors. Mr. Shulman has been an SAB
Board member since
2006 and previously chaired the
School’s Budget, Audit and
Compensation Committee. A
graduate of Harvard College and
Columbia Law School, Mr. Shulman recently retired as a litigation partner at Cravath, Swaine
& Moore LLP. He and his wife,
art critic Amy Newman, reside in
New York City. They have two
grown children, and their daughter studied at SAB as a child.
9
ALUMNI
NEWS
Emily Adams was promoted to demi-soloist at
Ballet West.
Tyler Angle, Robert
Fairchild, Craig Hall,
Amar Ramassar and
Andrew Veyette were on
the cover of the
September 2011 issue of
Dance
Magazine
as
“NYCB’s
Dream
Guys.”
Kristen
Arnold is
the Rehearsal Director for
Skybetter & Associates.
Charles Askegard retired
from New York City
Ballet and formed a new
ballet company, Ballet
Next, with Michele Wiles.
Ballet Next had its premiere performance on
November 21 at The
Joyce Theater.
Jacques
d'Amboise
wrote his
autobiography, I
Was a
Dancer.
Lisa de Ribère choreographed Silent Woods to
music of Dvorak featuring two alums, John
Poppe and Rebecca
Azenberg, as part of the
Columbia Ballet
Collaborative
Performances in
November.
Shelby Elsbree repre-
sented the Royal Danish
Ballet in the 2011 Erik
Bruhn Prize competition
in Toronto, Canada.
Suzanne Farrell received
an honorary doctor of
fine arts degree from
Adelphi University at its
115th commencement in
May 2011.
NYCB principals
Megan Fairchild and
Andrew Veyette were
married in July.
Kolnik
Chase Finlay and Anthony
Huxley have been pro-
moted to soloists at New
York City Ballet.
Gen Horiuchi celebrated
his 10th anniversary as
Artistic Director of St.
Louis ballet and choreographed Romeo & Juliet
for its summer season.
Maria Kowroski returned Steve Nealey
to her hometown of
Creases, in October. He
Grand Rapids, Michigan,
also curated and prein September to dance for
sented The Enormous
the opening night of
Room (pictured) at
Grand Rapids Ballet
Skidmore College in
Company's 40th anniverJune, and in July, his 7
sary season.
(for seven) was performed
at the Nantucket
Elaine Kudo was
Atheneum Dance
appointed Ballet Master
Festival.
at Washington Ballet.
Erika Lambe-Holland
joined the faculty of the
Charles River Ballet
Academy in
Massachusettes.
Emery LeCrone and Avi
Scher each premiered
new works commissioned
by Works & Process set
to the same music by
102-year-old two-time
Pulitzer Prize-winning
composer Elliott Carter
in October. Emery’s work
was also performed at the
NYCI Fall session.
Monique Meunier was
Ellen Bar has been
appointed New York City
Ballet's new Director of
Media Projects.
Allyssa Bross and
Christopher Revels were
promoted to principal
dancers at Los Angeles
Ballet.
Lauren Carey graduated
from The Juilliard School.
Vanessa Carlton released
her new album Rabbits on
the Run in July. In addition to promoting her
album nationwide, she
performed on The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno.
10
Stephanie Greenwald has
been promoted to soloist
and Weronika Frodyma
has been promoted to
demi-soloist at
Staatsballett Berlin.
Troy Schumacher
Dara Holmes joined the
Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
appointed Ballet Master
of The Washington Ballet
Trainee Program.
Joseph Gorak, a member
of ABT, was named best
male dancer at the Ninth
International
Competition for the Erik
Bruhn Prize, held in
Toronto in March. He is
also a recipient of the
2011 Princess Grace
Dance Fellowship Award.
Benjamin Millepied has
retired from performing
and plans to focus on his
choreography and leading
a new company, L.A.
Dance Project. He will
create a ballet for NYCB’s
spring gala. He’s also
working on the choreography for a new musical,
Hands on a Hardbody,
written with Trey
Anastasio of Phish.
Paloma Herrera
Justin Peck was awarded
celebrated her 20th
anniversary with
American Ballet Theatre.
the first Choreographic
Residency by the New
York Choreographic
Institute and presented
his third ballet, In
Tiler Peck was named an
Outstanding Dancer of
the Year at an August gala
performance in Positano,
Italy, after being nominated by Anna Kisselgoff,
a former dance critic for
the New York Times.
Alexander Peters originated the role of Tom in
Kansas City Ballet’s new
production of Tom
Sawyer.
Brittany Pollack was
named one of Dance
Magazine’s “25 to Watch”
and graced the January
cover.
Brian Reeder is the choreographer-in-residence
at Manhattan Youth
Ballet.
Matthew Renko joined
Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Jenifer Ringer is a recipient of the 2011 Dance
Magazine Award.
founded Satellite Ballet
(pictured below), a collaborative ballet company,
with artist and poet
Kevin Draper and composer Nick Jaina. The
company premiered his
Progress and Epistasis in
October at the
Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Lora Robertson
John Selya remounted
Twyla Tharp’s Come Fly
Away for a 27-city tour.
He is also dancing the
leading role of Sid.
Jock Soto’s
book entitled, Every
Step You
Take: A
Memoir,
was
released in
October.
Ethan Stiefel is the artistic
director of Royal New
Zealand Ballet.
Isabella Tobias was a
silver medalist at Skate
America in Ontario,
California. She placed
14th in the Figure
Skating World
Championships in
Moscow, Russia, this
past April.
NYCB Principal Dancer
Daniel Ulbricht was
appointed Artistic
Advisor to Manhattan
Youth Ballet.
Joshua Peter Winzeler
joined Ballet Hispanico
for the 2011-12 Season.
Kelly Yankle joined Ballet
Met after dancing with
Cincinnati Ballet for five
years.
2012 Alumni
Weekend
February 3 and 4
The annual Alumni Weekend
is open to all alumni. Join us
Friday, February 3, for a
cocktail party honoring Suki
Schorer on her 40th year of
teaching at SAB followed by
a performance at NYCB. On
February 4, guests are invited to view intermediate &
advanced classes at an
open house during the day.
The School looks forward to
welcoming back old and
new faces in the upcoming
year. Invitations will be sent
in December and January.
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
In the school year that ended on August 31, 2011, SAB students joined the companies listed
below. Many others began apprenticeships with these and other companies across the United
States.
Ballet Arizona
Myles Lavallee (New York, NY)
Boston Ballet II
Matthew Poppe (Phoenix, AZ)
Los Angeles Ballet
Bianca Bulle (Queensland, Australia)
Chloé Sherman (New York, NY)
Ben Winegar (Grand Rapids, MI)
New York City Ballet
Spartak Hoxha (Tirana, Albania)
Emily Kikta (Pittsburgh, PA)
Claire Kretzschmar (Winston-Salem, NC)
Lars Nelson (Rockford, MI)
Pennsylvania Ballet
Alexandra Hughes (Glens Falls, NY)
Pennsylvania Ballet II
Register for our
Online Community
at sab.org/alumni
Photo by Rosalie O’Connor
SAVE THE
DATE
Amy Holihan (Dayton, OH)
Eric Trope (Philadelphia, PA)
Peter Martins has invited five advanced SAB students to
become apprentices with New York City Ballet during the
2011-12 school year. Pictured above (left to right): Aaron
Sanz (Madrid, Spain), Harrison Ball (Sullivans Island, SC),
Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara (Mount Airy, MD) and Peter Walker
(Fort Myers, FL).
Not pictured: Joseph Gordon (Phoenix, AZ).
N AT I O N A L T E A C H E R ’ S W E E K E N D
S EPTEMBER 30 - O CTOBER 2, 2011
This fall SAB held its third
National Teacher’s Weekend, for
which a group of twelve ballet
school directors and teachers
from around the country were
invited to meet our faculty,
observe classes, share ideas
and attend a performance of
New York City Ballet at Lincoln
Center. Teachers traveled from
as far away as California,
Colorado, Florida, Ohio and New
Mexico. In addition to class
observations, participants were
treated to a luncheon with the
faculty, a demonstration of the
teaching syllabus in the
Children’s Division, and an
evening cocktail reception. On
Saturday these guests attended
additional class observations
followed by a tour of the residence hall. That evening they
attended the performance of
Jewels at New York City Ballet.
Beginning with our 75th anniversary celebrations in 2009, SAB
has devoted special funding to
the National Teacher’s Weekend
initiative with the aim of exposing a wide array of teachers
from around the country to our
programs. Participating teachers enjoy travel stipends and
complementary hotel
accommodations in addition to
NYCB performance tickets to
ensure that finances are not a
barrier to attendance. As a
result of this bi-annual event,
SAB has welcomed dozens of
new and familiar faces into our
classrooms and enhanced the
community of teaching professionals around the country with
students who might someday
benefit from the School’s
offerings.
National Teacher’s Weekend Attendees
Patricia Barker &
Michael Auer
Grand Rapids Ballet
Company & School
Lisa Collins Vidnovic
Metropolitan Ballet Academy
Robyn Gardenhire
City Ballet of Los Angeles
Gisela Genschow
School of Aspen Santa Fe
Ballet
Giana Jigarhan
Colorado Ballet Academy
Francine Kessler Lavac Westside School of Ballet
Edward Moffat
New American Youth Ballet
Barbara Pontecorvo
Barbara Pontecorvo Ballet
Studios
Melinda Roy & Roberto Gulfshore Ballet
Munoz
Caprice Walker
Westside School of Ballet
11
American Ballet
AT L I N C O L N C E N T E R
NEWS
The School of
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Address Service Requested
Boys Night at SAB
UPCOMING EVENTS
Please visit www.sab.org for more details.
Class Visiting Days*
Nutcracker Family Benefit
Alumni Weekend
January 18–20
February 22–25
December 3
February 3–4
Valentine’s Day Open House*
February 14
Patrons Circle Seminar*
February 28
Winter Ball
March 5
Workshop Preview*
April 25
Spring & Community Auditions
April/May
Workshop Final Rehearsal*
Workshop Performances
On October 3, over 40 young SAB boys gathered in Studio 1 to
meet New York City Ballet dancers Andrew Veyette and Craig Hall.
Andrew and Craig, who both attended SAB’s Summer Course and
Winter Term before joining New York City Ballet, revealed struggles
and challenges from their own early ballet training experiences,
shared valuable lessons they had learned upon becoming professionals and discussed the joys of performing NYCB’s diverse
repertory. Following the Q&A, every boy in attendance received a
keepsake from the evening: a personally autographed copy of the
September issue of Dance Magazine featuring an all-male cover
with Craig, Andrew and a trio of their NYCB colleagues.
June 1
June 2 & 5
Workshop Performance Benefit
Founder’s Society Picnic
June 5
July 12
* These events are available to Association and
Donors Circle members only. To learn about
becoming a member, please visit us
at www.sab.org
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SAB Newsletter Editor: Dena Abergel