Autumn Quibbles and Bits . . .

New York Times Article on Diversity in Ballet:

In case you missed it, here's a link to a slideshow and the accompanying article from The New York Times about the push for greater diversity in ballet.  Both the slideshow and the article rely heavily on discussions with students and alumni of the School of American Ballet. 

http://www.nytimes.com/…/the-…/s/01DIVERSITY-slide-JXPV.html

It's wonderful to have such positive recognition for SAB's Diversity Program which is seeking to address the continuing lack of diversity in ballet education and ultimately in professional ballet companies.

Clockwise from upper left:
Sebastian Villarini-Velez (corps) & Sasonah Huttenbach (apprentice) of NYC Ballet
Rachel Hutsell & Christopher Grant (both apprentices) of NYC Ballet
Preston Chamblee (corps) of NYC Ballet
Taylor Stanley (soloist) and Olivia Boisson (corps) of NYC Ballet
Silas Farley (corps) of NYC Ballet
Clara Ruf-Maldonado (apprentice) of NYC Ballet
Photos by Jesse Dittmar for the NY Times

There is lots more work to be done, but it's good to know that SAB and New York City Ballet are at the forefront of these efforts.  The elevation of Misty Copeland to principal dancer at American Ballet Theater last June is a great symbolic step, but now every professional ballet company and school needs to take advantage of that 'Misty' moment to recruit, train and advance youngsters from diverse backgrounds and communities.

And ultimately, we in the audience must accept that swans and their swains come in all colors.

Halloween Open House at SAB:

On Friday, October 30th, I attended the annual Halloween Open House at the School of American Ballet.  Most of the students and some of the faculty wear imaginative costumes -- often coordinating with others -- Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook; 4 unicorns; 3 swimmers; 2 ladybugs; etc.  At the Open House members of the School's Association are free to observe entire classes or wander from one studio to another.  I chose to watch all of Suki Schorer's D level class and then Jock Soto's Advanced Men's class.

In the D class there were several witches (including Suki), a trio of Pink Ladies (from 'Grease'), a beautiful Victorian vampire, and a Rosie the Riveter (sadly no picture available):

Suki Schorer as a witch with SAB's
new pumpkin orange decor.

All photos from SAB Facebook page

The three 'Pink Ladies' of D level.

D level 'Vampire' adjusting her makeup before class.

The Advanced Men's class was quite a bit smaller than usual because several of the students were participating in the fall session of the New York Choreographic Institute.  That gave us an opportunity to focus on fewer students than in the regular Advanced Men's class.  Jock remarked that he enjoyed teaching the smaller group so he could concentrate on working with fewer students.  Among them were The Joker, two Batmans, and a Robin, a penguin, two clowns, and some soccer players.  Most of the costumes proved to be too hot for Jock's strenuous barre and were shed as the class wore on:

The Joker and a Batman (1 of 2).

A Penguin (I think) in front of a Clown.

Susan Pillare as 'the SAB August renovation' (center) with the young ladies of the C-2 class.

The students in the other classes were equally creative, but no one topped Susan Pillare as the 'SAB Renovation' that took place last August while the School was closed.

Katrina Killian (in white kitten mask right of center) with the  C-1 class.

The two gum ball machines in the C-1 class looked like a lot of work, but they were adorable:

It's always fun to see where these students' imaginations can lead them and just how they'll realize their visions within budget.

Putting It Out There:

And finally, how about David Prottas featured this week in the 'Meet the Undateables' column of Time Out NY:

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/meet-the-undateables-david-and-andy-111015

'His show' that David's blind date, Andy, thinks he'll get tickets for was BalletCollective at the Skirball Center at NYU on November 4th & 5th.  They got terrific reviews from Alistair Macaulay (in the NY Times), several other critics -- and hopefully Andy.  

You can read all of their reviews on the 'Press' page at the BalletCollective site here:

http://balletcollective.com/

David Prottas and Taylor Stanley in 'All That We See' by Troy Schumacher for BalletCollective.
Photo by Matthew Murphy

I sure wish we'd planned ahead and gotten to one of their performances last week.