Virtual Summer Course Announcement

Dear Summer Course Students and Parents,

We know that you have been awaiting news of our plans for the Summer Course with much anticipation. Like all of you, we had been holding onto the hope that the progression of the pandemic would not interfere with our summer plans. Unfortunately, it appears that we are still several months away from resuming onsite training due to ongoing concerns in New York City over transmission of COVID-19. That means that we will not be able to conduct our Summer Course in person, even in a limited way. I know that we share your enormous disappointment that our plans must change. Summer Course is such an essential part of SAB’s artistic life, and sharing our wonderful home at Lincoln Center with so many talented and eager youngsters every summer is a true highlight of our year.

Because of its importance, we have put much thought into how we can transition the 2020 Summer Course into a virtual format with minimal compromises in the breadth of the syllabus or the richness of the training. Over the past two months our faculty members have been honing their skills teaching through the videoconferencing platform Zoom, and they are eager to put this new expertise into practice this summer so that they can effectively introduce you to the Balanchine aesthetic. We have developed a Monday through Saturday class schedule that closely parallels our usual Summer Course, and all of the wonderful faculty that we announced to you on May 13 will still be teaching. Exercises and combinations will be tailored to be appropriate and safe for a home environment, and only a few elements of our usual training regimen (such as partnering class) will not be possible.  Ballet training will be supplemented with a rich array of wellness, conditioning, cultural, and social programs, with the same roster of experts and professional staff to guide you as planned for our original summer program. A number of New York City Ballet principal dancers will also engage in talk-back sessions with individual classes to provide advice and inspiration to the many students who dream of following in their footsteps. And, we will be expanding our informational programming for parents, with weekly parent-only seminars occurring throughout the program.

We are also thrilled to announce that the choreographers who will lead the two-week choreography workshop for our most senior boys and girls classes (as part of the regular training day) are New York City Ballet principal dancer Lauren Lovette (leading the female workshop) and NYCB corps de ballet member Preston Chamblee (leading the male workshop). Lauren and Preston are eagerly looking forward to collaborating and innovating in the virtual space with our students, and we can’t wait to see what they create.

We know you likely have many questions about the change to our program.  Rather than compress the many details into the space of this letter, we have created an FAQ to cover as many topics as possible, but also invite you to send additional questions through a link on the FAQ itself. The FAQ can be accessed here. We will post answers to your submitted questions directly on the FAQ over the next few weeks so that the entire community can share in information that will be useful to everyone.

While we are very hopeful that all our enrolled Summer Course students will be able to take part in the new virtual program, we will understand if that is not the case. You may withdraw from the program without any penalty. For those who do decide to attend, we have adjusted the cost of tuition in recognition that some elements of the usual Summer Course experience (such as many of our after-class programs and activities) will be missed. The program tuition is now $2363.  More information regarding refunds, billing and payments is included in the FAQ.

Please complete this brief form no later than 12:00 noon ET on Friday, May 29, to let us know if you still plan to attend Summer Course.  To help us streamline the administration of this virtual enrollment process, please do not send your decision directly to one of the staff members with whom you might have communicated during our January-February enrollment process.  You must complete this form to confirm your enrollment or to withdraw from the program.

Thank you so much for the support and caring words that many of you have shared with us throughout this time of uncertainty.  You are all an important and valued part of our community, and we very much hope that we will have the opportunity to be together with you, albeit virtually, this summer.

With warm wishes for a safe, healthy, and enjoyable holiday weekend ahead,

Carrie Hinrichs
Executive Director

Kay Mazzo
Chairman of Faculty