Wrap-Up to the SAB 2015-16 Winter Term

Workshop Gala Dinner at David Geffen Hall following
the performance on Tuesday evening, June 7th. 

The last day of The School of American Ballet's 2015-16 Winter Term was Friday, June 17th.  Following the successful Workshop Performances on Saturday, June 4th, and the Workshop Performance Gala Benefit on Tuesday, June 7th, the students in the advanced division were back in the SAB studios again on Wednesday, June 8th, refining what had already seemed perfect at the performances.

2016 Mae L. Wien Award winners with Kay Mazzo, Co-Chairman of the SAB faculty
were (left to right): Jon Stafford (faculty award), Ms. Mazzo, Ethan Fuller,
Emma Von Enck, and Christopher D'Ariano
Photo by Paul Kolnik for SAB

Advanced students at the end of the last class on June 17th.  Jon Stafford is at left.

Of the Capstone students (those that aged out of the School's programs this June) 18 have accepted offers of apprenticeships, second company positions and traineeships.  Look for these students (now SAB alumni) on professional ballet stages during the years ahead:

New York City Ballet apprentices:

• Eliza Blutt
• Christina Clark
• Ethan Fuller
• Jennifer Hackbarth
• Kennard Henson
• Emma Von Enck

Pacific Northwest Ballet professional division trainees:

• Christopher D'Ariano
• Hailey Dupont
• Dallas Finlay
• Marie Millard

Other companies around the U.S. and the world:

• Lillian Casscells, apprentice at Dresden Semperoper Ballett
• Lucia Connelly, apprentice at Joffrey Ballet
• Rachel Costin and Wilson Livingston, apprentices at Sarasota Ballet
• Gabriela Schiefer, member of Boston Ballet II
• Marc LaPierre, apprentice at LA Ballet
• Taylor Ayotte, trainee at Carolina Ballet
• Lucy Nevin, trainee at Washinton Ballet

In addition, four students have elected to go on to universities and colleges:

• Ana Maria Del Mar, Harvard University plus London University of the Arts
• Trevor Dines, Columbia University
• Michael Garcia, The Julliard School
• Xhosa Scott, University of Virginia

Thirty students graduate(d) from high school this spring.  Twelve of them received a total of 37 acceptances from 31 different colleges and universities.

Capstone students with Suzy Pilarre (second from left), Suki Schorer (third from right) and Kay Mazzo (far right).

Obviously, Jonathan Stafford's efforts as Professional Placement Manager (one of the three positions Jon fills at SAB and NYC Ballet) and the Student Life staff directed by Kelly Novitski have done another wonderful job this year in assisting students as they move along their paths toward professional careers or other opportunities.

Most of the remaining advanced division students will be attending summer programs at ballet companies and schools around this country and the world, before returning to SAB in September for the 2016-17 Winter Term.  And SAB will be hosting 200 students from around the world during its own 5-week Summer Session and then several more students at its 2-week summer workshop for younger dancers in southern California.

We wish them all further successes as they move forward now and anticipate learning more about their future achievements both on ballet stages and in the wider world. 

On a Sadder Note:

The SAB 2015-16 Winter Term has had some sad moments as well.

Jock Soto with Luis Fuentes and their dog Bandit in near their home in Eagles Nest, NM this June.
Photo from Laura Ortman's Hair Today on Tumblr

Jock Soto, a highly regarded member of the SAB faculty, retired at the end of 2015 to pursue his interests in the culinary world.  Jock hopes to write more cookbooks (he co-authored 'Our Meals' in 1997 with Heather Watts -- his long time partner at NYC Ballet).  He and his spouse, Luis Fuentes, also hope to open a restaurant and catering business.  Jock had been a teacher at SAB since 1996.  His Adagio (Partnering) classes were widely admired in the ballet world and produced a long line of superb male partners for New York City Ballet -- including Jared Angle, Craig Hall, Amar Ramasar, Tyler Angle, Chase Finlay and Taylor Stanley.

Violette Verdy teaching an Advanced Division class at SAB.
Photo from http://www.bigouden.tv/ obituary (probably by Rosalie O'Connor)

Violette Verdy, the School's first permanent guest teacher, died in early February 2016 after a short illness.  Her regular visits to the School were always highly anticipated by SAB's advanced students.  As one of George Balanchine's favorite ballerinas during her years with New York City Ballet (1958 thru 1977), Ms. Verdy had danced in a wide variety of the company's repertory and creating memorable roles in Mr. B's 'Liebeslieder Waltzer', 'Emeralds', 'Tschaikovsky Pas des Deux', 'La Source' and 'Sonatine' and in Jerome Robbins' 'Dances at a Gathering'.   Following her retirement from the stage, Ms. Verdy had a distinguished career as artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and Boston Ballet and as a dance educator at Indiana University.  During her brief residencies at SAB her students were privileged to have both a link to the great ballet creators of the 20th century and an inspiring and caring teacher.

Post Script for SAB's 2014-15 Winter Term -- Just Ended

More on the SAB Workshop Performances:
I've found a few more pictures from the Workshop Performance on Saturday evening, May 30th:

Kennard Henson and Larisa Nugent in Bournonville's 'William Tell Pas de Deux' staged by Darci Kistler.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Kennard Henson (17, Baltimore, MD) and Larisa Nugent (16, Ellicott City, MD) were especially well-matched in this delightful courtship pas de deux from the opera 'William Tell' by Giacomo Rossini.  Bournonville staged the opera in Copenhagen in 1873.

Thomas Davidoff and Leah Christianson in Suki Schorer's staging of Balanchine's 'Valse Fantaisie'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Thomas Davidoff (16, Marietta, GA) and Leah Christianson (18, Batavia, IL) danced the evening performance of George Balanchine's 'Valse Fantaisie' to music by Mikhail Glinka, in the gloriously windswept staging by Suki Schorer.

Christopher D'Ariano dancing the Double Bass with ladies of the String Section  in Jerome Robbins' 'Fanfare'.
Photo by Paul Kolnik for The School of American Ballet

Christopher D'Ariano (17, New York, NY) was the airborne Double Bass in Jerome Robbins' 'Fanfare' staged by Susan Pillare and Christine Redpath to 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra' by Benjamin Britten.  Christopher's solo ended with a somersault -- applauded by the adoring ladies of the String Section.

Where Are the Capstoners Going Now?
The School of American Ballet's 2014-15 Winter Term ended on Friday, June 12th.  Jon Stafford has guided the students in the Capstone Program (http://zylopho.blogspot.com/2015/01/more-ballet-quibbles-and-bits.html) to successful opportunities with a number of professional companies.

Five students -- Sasonah Huttenbach, Rachel Hutsell, Christopher Grant, Alec Knight, and Clara Ruf-Maldonado -- have been invited to become apprentices with New York City Ballet in the coming months.  They will be attending classes at the School until they get the call to begin rehearsals with the Company across Lincoln Center Plaza.  They will join Miriam Miller who is now an apprentice and Preston Chamblee who started the Winter Term as an apprentice.  He is now a member of the corps and just made a successful debut in Peter Martins' 'Morgen'.  Miriam, while still an apprentice, just debuted as Titania in Balanchine's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' on the final day of NYC Ballet's Spring Season.

Two students -- Dammiel Cruz and Leah Terada -- will enter the Professional Division of Pacific Northwest Ballet -- the feeder program for PNB's corps de ballet.  Dammiel wore a Seattle Seahawks shirt to School on Tuesday, so he seems excited about moving to the other coast.

Four students will be joining three international companies -- Joscelyn Dolson goes to the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen; Eric Beckham goes to the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto; Kaitlyn Casey and Audrey Lawrence go to the Dresden SemperOper Ballett.

Alicia Holloway goes to Suzanne Farrell Ballet; JeongKon Kim and Saxon Wood to Los Angeles Ballet; and Luke Potgeiter to Cleveland Ballet.

Alexandros Pappajohn will join ABT Studio Company; Josiah Cook and Samantha Riester join Cincinnati Ballet II; and Aaron Hilton goes to Boston Ballet II.

Leah Christianson has elected to go to Depauw University to pursue her academic education.

Twenty-four students graduate from high school this spring.  Of those 24 students, eight applied to colleges and received a total of 18 acceptances including from Columbia, Princeton and Yale in the Ivy League; from City College, Fordham University, Hunter College, and New York University in New York City; from California Institute of the Arts, Indiana University and the University of Michigan around the United States; and from the Paris campus of American University, the Rome campus of John Cabot University, and the London campus of Regents University around the world.

We wish all of the Capstone students enormous success as you move on to your futures.  Your dedication to your art and your ability to handle the pressures of academic and ballet schedules are a real inspiration to all of us who stand on the sidelines and watch in awe of your accomplishments.

Most of the students who appeared in the 2015 Workshops not mentioned above will be back at SAB again this fall for the 2015-16 Winter Term.  Some of them will be capstoners next year.

During the summer many SAB students will be attending summer sessions around the country and perhaps the world.  And while they're out exploring the wider world of ballet and honing their technique, we'll see new students from around the country and the world at the School's Summer Course and still more students will attend the Summer Intensive in Los Angeles.  And some students from the Summer Course and Summer Intensive will be invited to return to SAB for the 2015-16 Winter Term.