 SCHOOL OF AMERICAN
BALLET (SAB)(See the update,
October, 1999, below)
(See the update, May, 2000, below)
(See the
update, February, 2005, below)
This is the school
started by Balanchine in the 1930's even before
he founded a company. Reportedly, he said to
impresario Lincoln Kirstein, who had brought
Balanchine to America, ". . .but first, a
school." In the ensuing years, SAB has
become the preeminent training ground for ballet
dancers in this country. Admission is by audition
only and students must be 8 years old by
September of the year they enter. This year's
audition will be held on Friday, September 19th.
Call (212) 877-0600 for times, or to arrange for
a private audition. The school is located in
Lincoln Center, Broadway at 66th Street. There
are dormitories for out-of-town students.
The divisions at
SAB are Children's 1-5, A I and II, B I and II, C
I and II and D. According to insiders, Children's
is more prestigious than A. Students in both
those divisions range in age from 8 to about 14.
Some students who are first accepted into A are
eventually moved laterally to Children's. Others
are asked to leave after A II. In other words,
most of the B I students are promoted from
Children's 5, or they come from other schools.
Now here's the real surprise: C II is more
prestigious than D, which gossips call the
"Death" division. This is because C II
students are typically between 15 and 17, and the
cream of the crop are invited to dance in the
annual spring Workshop. Scouts from major
companies usually pick their new hires from the
Workshop dancers. The rest of C II, as well as
the Workshop dancers who don't get jobs, are
placed in D as a kind of holding pen until they
do find work -- which they often don't! Or they
go to smaller companies or jobs abroad. It's a
tough system! Still, according to one dancer, now
18, who spoke on condition of anonymity, it's all
worth it.
"I danced in
the City Ballet 'Nutcracker' and other ballets
like 'Coppelia' from the time I was nine years
old," she said. "Those experiences will
be a part of me always. OK, by the time I was 14
it was pretty clear that I wasn't going to make
it into a major company because I had a big chest
and I was only 5'1". Who could have
predicted that? My mom is tall and flat-chested!
But I kept dancing because I love it so much. I
don't want to do jazz, tap, Broadway or any of
that. I'm a ballet person. So I'll try for
smaller companies and if that doesn't work, I'll
open a school and pass on my passion for ballet
to the next generation."
Amen.
SAB UPDATE, as
of October, 1999
As a result of the
above appraisal of SAB, I was invited to
witness for myself that Division D is no
longer a catch-all for the unpromising.
"Division D used to be just what you
said," admitted staff member Tom
Schoff. "But we have since made it
into a valuable progression from
C2."
From what I
saw on October 4, 1999, he is essentially
right -- although I didn't have the
opportunity to compare D to C2 since the
latter was being taught by a guest from
the Royal Danish who wouldn't allow
visitors. In any case, most of the D
dancers were clearly a cut above average.
Mr. Schoff maintains that many of them
will be featured in the prestigious SAB
Workshop, an annual rite of spring which
amounts to a scouting opportunity for the
artistic directors of major league ballet
companies. My take on this is that wildly
gifted dancers will still be plucked out
of C2 by NYCB's Peter Martins (who was
peering in from the doorway the day I
watched C1) and that those young talents
will be given apprentice contracts -- or
better yet, company contracts -- with
City Ballet. Other C2 students will get
plum positions in companies like ABT and
Miami City. However, there is no doubt in
my mind that many of the current crop of
fine Division D dancers will be snapped
up by companies here and abroad.
For the
record, SAB dancers study not only ballet
but also pas de deux, ballroom, character
and music and they must keep up with
their academic work either at PCS or
through correspondence courses. And up
until the age of 13 or 14, many of them
get performing experience in NYCB's
fabled "Nutcracker" and in
other ballets throughout the year at the
State Theater in Lincoln Center. Older
students are often given permission to
dance with companies in the Tri-State
area, and some students participate in
SAB outreach programs in the schools.
I'm going
to refrain from jumping into the ongoing
fray about whether SAB is correct to have
the advanced girls take the whole class
in pointe shoes or whether popping one's
heels to allow for speed puts undue
strain on the Achilles tendon. Let me
simply say that SAB turns out high level
professional dancers who have a good
education that enables them to go on to
college at any point should they choose
to do so. The youngsters I saw padding
about in the halls, chatting and
giggling, appeared wholesome and
well-adjusted. Also, taking class in pink
tights and black leotards, the girls did
not look anorectic. Yes, the bodies are
sleek, but they are also healthy and
strong. As for the lament that the kids
are missing out on a "normal"
life, ask any bored suburban teen who
hangs out at the mall and frequents keg
parties whether "normal" is all
it's cracked up to be. Far better for
adolescents to be, in effect, apprentices
to a real life trade in the same way that
they were in the bygone era of the
butcher, the baker and the candlestick
maker. See my comment above from the
anonymous SAB student who didn't make the
grade but who doesn't regret one minute
of her time at the school.
A final
observation, meant to encourage all of
you young hopefuls out there: The two
dancers who appealed to me the most did
not have ideal body types and definitely
were not precisely what the late, great
Mr. B looked for. One was a petite
13-year-old girl in C1 and the other was
a compact 15-year-old boy. The girl,
13-year-old Ashlee Knapp, was born with a
gift that probably can't be acquired: She
loves to dance and she instinctively
conveys her passion to anyone who watches
her. Joy, style and an irrepressible
desire to move emanate from her every
step and her every gesture. As for the
boy, 15-year-old Daniel
Ulbricht is a go-for-broke
powerhouse who makes you want to cheer
not only because he pulls off all the
tricks but because he's so completely
delighted with being who he is and doing
what he does. Whether or not they end up
in NYCB, they each have a special future
in front of them.
Incidentally,
Ashlee and Daniel are both new to SAB.
Ashlee received her childhood dance
education at the Omaha Theater Company in
Nebraska. Daniel studied at the Judith
Lee Johnson Studio in St. Petersburg,
Florida. A majority of Ashlee's and
Daniel's SAB colleagues also hail from
local schools. Hats off to the teachers
the world over who give their students
excellent training and then pack them off
for polishing and visibility in NYC. Keep
up the good work!
SAB UPDATE, as
of May, 2000
Renowned
dance critic Anna Kisselgoff has
discovered Daniel! Writing in The New
York Times on Wednesday, May 17,
2000 about a performance of the New York
City Ballet's "Sleeping
Beauty," she said, "A prodigy
in the wings is Daniel Ulbricht, a
student at the School of American Ballet,
whose high jumps were matched by his
precise style in a gestures' trio."
Rare indeed
is the student who is invited to perform
with City Ballet, and rarer still is the
one who attracts critical acclaim.
Congratulations, Daniel! And remember, you heard it here
first!
SAB
UPDATE as of February, 2005
Ashlee Knapp and Daniel
Ulbrecht, the students I spotted in class back in
October of 1999, are both now members of the New York
City Ballet. Ashlee became an apprentice in 2001 and was
invited to join the corps de ballet in 2002 at the age
of 16. Daniel became an apprentice in 2000 and was
invited to join the corps de ballet in 2001. He was
promoted to soloist early this year. I saw him last
weekend as the newsboy in Susan Stroman's "Double
Feature" and he was magnificent!
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