Off to College in NYC?  Here's Where to Dance...
September, 1999

Dear Dancers,

Eight months have slipped by since I last wrote to you. I was completing two big projects -- a medical book co-authored with a female physician and a companion product for collecting personal medical records. They'll be published by Warner Books and Time-Life Medical early in 2000. Needless to say, although the work I've been doing is eminently worthy, I'm glad to be back at last in the wonderful world of Terpsichore. After spending my time learning how to spell the names of liver disorders and other life-threatening diseases, everything is beautiful at the ballet!

I was touched by the fact that so many of you kept giving me feedback during my absence. One dancer, who signed herself only as "Megan," wrote: "How about a new column on the danceart page? I dunno, but I check about once a month to see what you've written and lately it's been nothing. Woe is me!" 

Awwwww! Thanks, Megan. She will be at Columbia University in the fall, and she asked me to talk about dance opportunities for students at colleges in NYC.

Here's the scoop: You can take class morning, noon and night at any of the NYC schools with open classes. Click on those in my list for more information. Also note: Columbia's Teacher's College offers a major in dance education and Columbia has an Orchesis group as well as a dance team which placed sixth in the national finals this year. (My daughter, Stacey Forsyth, is their technique coach). 

In addition, Barnard -- Columbia's sister institution -- has a dance department. At New York University, you can major in dance at both the Tisch School of the Arts and at the School of Education. NYU students in the Gallatin School of Independent Study can create their own interdisciplinary majors and take advantage of the courses and performing opportunities at Tisch and the School of Ed. And let's not forget Juilliard, right in Lincoln Center, which is most well known in dance circles for its strong modern dance department.

If you get a full time job as a dancer in NYC, you can take academic courses in a special program at Fordham University across the street from Lincoln Center. Fordham also has a BFA program with the Alvin Aley Dance Center, and The New School University has a BFA program with the Joffrey Ballet School. Finally, Marymount Manhattan College has a respectable dance department.

Also in the reader mail, I received a nice note from Tom Schoff at the School of American Ballet inviting me to visit classes there in the fall in order to "correct my impression" about Division D. Tom says things have changed and that D is now the most prestigious division at SAB. I will definitely accept his kind offer and report back to you!

If you're going to be in NYC in October, don't miss the American Ballet Theatre's 60th anniversary season at City Center. There are lots of premieres on the roster, and ABT is dancing better than ever in its history.

Check out my updated bio. I've left the faculty at STEPS in order to devote more time to writing and to my work as artistic director of Ballet Ambassadors, the outreach program I founded with support from the New York City Boad of Education's Project ARS.

Leslie Browne, the former ABT principal dancer who appeared with Baryshnikov in the movie "Turning Point," has taken over some of my children's classes. Another new member of the STEPS Young People's Program faculty is Barbara Sandonato, a former principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet. She'll be teaching the Saturday classes which were previously taught by my daughter. Stacey just graduated from NYU and landed a job as a principal dancer with Ballet for Young Audiences. She's also polishing her collection of short fiction. Wish her luck!

And, of course, I wish every one of you the very best of luck in all your endeavors. Whatever you do, keep dancing!

Sondra