The School of American Ballet, the official academy of New York City Ballet, will inaugurate a new Los Angeles-based program in 2011 to introduce west coast-based ballet students between the ages of 10 and 14 to the School’s renowned faculty and curriculum.
Under the direction of Chairman of Faculty Peter Martins, SAB’s Los Angeles Workshop for Young Dancers will take place from August 1 through August 12, 2011, at the ballet studios of Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica, CA. Classes in ballet technique, pointe, and classical variations will be taught by three members of SAB’s permanent faculty—former New York City Ballet principal dancers Darci Kistler and Sean Lavery, and former NYCB soloist Katrina Killian.
The two-week LA Workshop for Young Dancers will complement SAB’s long-running, five-week, New York City-based Summer Course for students 12 to 18 years old, which begins each year in late-June and runs through July at SAB’s Lincoln Center headquarters.
Auditions for the LA Workshop will be held as part of SAB’s National Audition Tour visits to southern California (Santa Monica, Irvine, and San Diego) and Phoenix, AZ, in January 2011. Students aged 12 to 14 who attend one of these auditions may elect to be considered for admission to one or both of SAB’s summer training programs. Complete details of SAB’s National Audition Tour schedule can be found by visiting www.sab.org
The audition schedule for the Los Angeles Workshop for Young Dancers is as follows:
SAN DIEGO–Saturday, January 15, City Ballet School, 941 Garnet Avenue (alley entrance)
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.-10 year olds
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.-11 year olds
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.-12-14 year olds
IRVINE-Sunday, January 16, Maple Conservatory of Dance, 1824 Kaiser Avenue
Noon to 1:00 p.m.-10 year olds
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.-11 year olds
2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.-12-13 year olds
3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.-14 year olds
SANTA MONICA-Monday, January 17, Westside School of Ballet. 1711 Stewart Street
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.-10 year olds
1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.-11 year olds
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.-12-13 year olds
4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.-14 year olds
PHOENIX-Sunday, January 30, Ballet Arizona, 3645 E. Indian School Road
10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.-10 year olds
10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.-11 year olds
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.-12-14 year olds
The LA Workshop classes will be held Monday through Friday with students placed in three different levels based on age and advancement. All levels will take two classes per day. The tuition fee is $1,000. Housing and transportation will not be provided. The program is designed for local-area students or for those who are able to arrange temporary accommodations within commuting distance of Santa Monica.
To be eligible for SAB’s LA Workshop, students must be no younger than 10 and no older than 14 years old as of July 31, 2011. At the time of the January 2011 auditions, students 10 or younger are expected to have completed a minimum of 1-1/2 years of training. Eleven year olds should have completed a minimum of two years of training (including introductory pointe work), and 12 to 14 year olds should be training at the intermediate level.
Westside School of Ballet, under the direction of SAB alumna and former New York City Ballet principal dancer Yvonne Mounsey since 1967, is located at 1709 Stewart Street, Santa Monica, CA.
