2022-23 Winter Term Guest Teacher Round Up

SAB’s faculty are an integral part of the School’s framework, and our students benefit every day from their expert training and careful guidance. But another important component of a student’s experience at the School is the opportunity to take classes from a diverse array of talented guest teachers. Each year, SAB invites leading artists and educators from all over the globe to share their expertise with our students. From contemporary choreographers to renowned classical ballet dancers, this year’s crop of guest teachers was invaluable in helping our students advance their skill level and artistry.

Guest faculty versed in the contemporary style this year included choreographer and A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham founder Kyle Abraham, choreographer and Steps on Broadway faculty member Madison Hicks, and Braswell Arts Center founder and choreographer Armando Braswell. Dancer and choreographer Noah Gelber also made his annual visit to the School to teach SAB students the improvisational techniques and challenging repertory of William Forsythe.

SAB is thrilled to be able to bring some of the most well-known national and international ballet stars to the School to share their experience working in classical repertoire. Such guests this year included former New York City Ballet dancer and current principal company teacher at the Sarasota Ballet, Lindsay Fischer, former American Ballet Theatre soloist and Dutch National Ballet principal dancer and current ABT Studio Company artistic director, Sascha Radetsky, former Boston Ballet principal dancer and current artistic director of Kansas City Ballet, Devon Carney, current rector of the Palucca University of Dance Dresden, Jason Beechy, assistant artistic director of Compañía Nacional de Danza, Pino Alosa, and former principal ballerina and current artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, Susan Jaffe. We also were privileged to have Petrusjka Broholm, former soloist with The Royal Danish Ballet, join us to stage excerpts from Napoli for this year’s Workshop Performances.

This year’s brilliant Visiting Faculty Co-Chairs – Carolina Ballet principal dancer Margaret Severin-Hansen, and head ballet instructor for the Pre-Professional Division at the Dance Institute of Washington Aaron Jackson – routinely returned to SAB throughout the Winter Term to teach, providing students with the chance to work with these artists on a deeper level. Additionally, our Teaching Fellows this year were alumna and current NYCB dancer Olivia Boisson and former Dancer Theatre of Harlem dancer Christopher McDaniel. These young teachers were able to bring their skills into our Children’s Division classes – delighting our young students – while enriching their own grasp of the SAB syllabus and teaching methods.

Many of our guest teachers are alumni of the School as well. Having these returning alumni back in our studios is always special for students eager to follow in their footsteps, and for the teachers themselves as they come full-circle back to the place they trained. Among this year’s roster of alumni guest faculty, we welcomed back Kyra Nichols, current chair in ballet at the Indiana University, Ballet Chicago artistic director Daniel Duell, and barrier-breaking ballerina Debra Austin, current ballet master with Carolina Ballet – all of whom danced with New York City Ballet under George Balanchine.  Adam Sklute, artistic director of Ballet West, Peter Boal, artistic director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Melissa Barak, artistic director of Los Angeles Ballet also visited the School this year.

We are incredibly grateful to each guest teacher who joined us at SAB this year to share their insights and knowledge with the next generation of dancers!