2022 Professional Placements

The 2022 SAB Capstone Class

This Winter Term, SAB Capstone students in their final year of training worked closely with Professional Placement Manager Allen Peiffer to plan their next steps. SAB’s Professional Placement Program provides students with guidance and resources for traveling to company auditions, creating professional-quality headshots and audition videos, and writing their resumes. SAB also welcomes artistic leadership from top dance ensembles to teach throughout the year, offering students unique exposure to potential employers. Allen, an SAB alumnus himself, shared how critical this program is for students navigating the audition process:

“When I trained at SAB, students were on their own when it came to finding their next steps beyond the school. It was daunting to say the least. This year’s Capstone class was the largest cohort we have ever had and with this evolving support system, we were able to successfully guide our students mentally and physically through the marathon audition season.”

Please join us in celebrating our dancers’ accomplishments as the 2022 Capstone class leaves the School to join prestigious companies around the world, including:

  • The Australian Ballet
  • Ballet Austin
  • Ballet West II
  • Boston Ballet II
  • Charlotte Ballet II
  • Cleveland Ballet
  • Houston Ballet
  • Joffrey Ballet
  • Joffrey Studio Company
  • Los Angeles Ballet (3 students invited)
  • Nevada Ballet Theatre
  • New York City Ballet (8 students invited)
  • Pacific Northwest Ballet, PDII
  • Pittsburgh Ballet Theater
  • Royal Danish Ballet (2 students invited)

Additionally, SAB students have also been accepted to a long list of esteemed universities, including:

  • Barnard University
  • Boston University
  • Brown University
  • The City College of New York (CUNY)
  • Clemson University
  • College of Charleston
  • Columbia University
  • Drexel University
  • Emerson College
  • Fordham University
  • The George Washington University
  • Hunter College
  • New York University
  • Northeastern University
  • Pace University
  • The Pratt Institute
  • Savannah College of Art and Design
  • University of California – Irvine, Los Angeles, and Berkeley
  • University of Florida
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • University of Miami
  • University of South Carolina
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Washington
  • Yale University

The Mae L. Wien Awards were established at the School of American Ballet by Lawrence A. Wien with his daughters and their families. They honor Mrs. Wien, a great devotee of ballet who was also deeply interested in young people. Each year select students are chosen to receive this award for their outstanding promise, and an artistic staff member is honored for his or her distinguished service.

From left to right: Charlie Klesa, Alyssa Douglass, Henry Berlin, Alla Reznik, Kay Mazzo, and Jonathan Stafford; photo by Rosalie O’Connor

The following students received this year’s Mae L. Wien Awards for Outstanding Promise:

Henry Berlin

Alyssa Douglass

Charlie Klesa

The 2022 Mae. L Wien Faculty Award for Distinguished Service was given to pianist Alla Reznik upon her retirement after 30 years of accompanying classes at SAB. She is the first pianist in SAB’s history to receive this award. Alla shared what her incredible career at SAB has meant to her:

“SAB has always been a huge part of my life, and it has at times felt like home and not just work. To all the amazing students, teachers, and colleagues, thank you for making my time here so memorable!”
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