September 26, 2024
#SAB90 – SAB holds the first Student Choreography Workshop
Take a look back on some of our accomplished alumni who got their start as choreographers at the Student Choreography Workshop!
Betty Nichols, a groundbreaking alumna from SAB’s early years, was by all accounts the first Black student to seek enrollment at SAB. In a 1983 interview with Ballet Review, she recalled entering the school on April 17, 1944:
“I knocked on the door and presented myself. I thought there was considerable surprise, but the door was opened and that was it.”
She went on to perform with Ballet Society, the immediate precursor to New York City Ballet, and witnessed the creation of The Four Temperaments in SAB’s studios. Of that time, Ms. Nichols told Ballet Review, “The whole period was astounding. We had the chance to watch rehearsal, watch the creation. We had direct contact with these people. It was not a big major company. It was like a family.”
Ms. Nichols embarked on what she referred to as a “cultural vacation” to Europe in 1949 and ended up staying, dancing with Merce Cunningham and Roland Petit, acting in theater, and in 1951 marrying Jacques Schibler.
Ms. Nichols passed away in 2010, but her barrier-breaking story continues to inspire and remind us of all the work we still need to do to combat inequality and exclusivity within our organization and industry.
September 26, 2024
Take a look back on some of our accomplished alumni who got their start as choreographers at the Student Choreography Workshop!
July 19, 2024
Learn about the creation of SAB's National Audition Tour and glean a bit of Summer Course history too
May 17, 2024
Read the latest edition of #SAB90 to learn more about the history of SAB's Workshop Performances.