Membership Newsletter – November 2021

This September marked the beginning of School of American Ballet’s 88^th Winter Term, and SAB’s talented students approached classes with renewed tenacity for the many opportunities presented to them. After months of a hybrid learning model, the School established strict safety guidelines in order to reopen its doors full-time and welcome its students and faculty once more. This year, 440 students from three countries and 25 states are enrolled at SAB.

The first few weeks back at the School were full of emotion as SAB’s students encountered new creative challenges. In early October, the School held its annual Student Choreography Showing – a workshop in which SAB’s Advanced students, some only 16 years old, choreographed and rehearsed their own original dances over a period of two weeks. The collaborative process allowed for students to work with their peers and to select music with guidance from SAB’s new Music Teacher Aaron Severini, who we welcomed to the School this fall after the retirement of our beloved Jeff Middleton.rector of Individual Giving Michelle Palmour’s interview with four of the student choreographers for more insight into their process, included in this quarterly newsletter.

While the School’s esteemed faculty are responsible for SAB students’ core training, their education is complemented by learning from several guest teachers who introduce them to company directors and new artistic styles that prepare students to enter professional companies with a more varied repertoire than ever before. The School has already welcomed two SAB alumni this fall: Peter Boal, Artistic Director of Pacific Northwest Ballet, and acclaimed William Forsythe repetiteur Noah Gelber. The opportunity to learn from directors from other ballet institutions allows students to take a new approach to their craft, while the works of Forsythe offer a unique juxtaposition to the Balanchine aesthetic as students experiment with equally quick but more off-balance interpretations of ballet movement vocabulary. During our Virtual Studio Showing, Noah Gelber said, “What I’m doing, I wish I could have experienced when I was a student. They are so lucky to get these little nuggets of what it’s like to be in other places. They’re not just prepared for (New York City Ballet), they’re prepared for a little bit of everything, and that’s crucial.” In the coming months of Winter Term, SAB will host additional guest faculty like SAB alumnus Damien Johnson, a current faculty member at The Washington School of Ballet.

Additionally, the School is proud to welcome back SAB alumni Alicia Holloway and Leyland Simmons as returning Visiting Faculty Co-Chairs. Ms. Holloway is a dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Mr. Simmons is the Dance Director for Harlem School of the Arts and Co-Founder of Moving Education Institute. In October, SAB also opened its doors to five National Visiting Fellows: Tristan Grannum from Brooklyn Center for the Arts, Lona Gomez from Ballet Spartanburg, Tatiana Obeso from Boston Arts Academy, Yvonne Racz Key from Ballet Lubbock, and Kristen Stevenson from Ballet Nouveau School. During their visit, National Visiting Fellows observed SAB classes, participated in studio seminars to discuss aspects of the SAB syllabus, and attended a New York City Ballet performance.

As the holiday season approaches, SAB students 12 and over have begun preparing to fill the children’s roles for George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker^® with New York City Ballet. From sharing the stage with seasoned professionals to the special experience of being fitted for brand new costumes this year, this production also enables students to dance alongside two new apprentices. Ava Sautter and Sarah Harmon will join five current New York City Ballet apprentices as they begin their professional careers with the company.

For New York City Ballet’s upcoming Winter and Spring seasons, students will be able to audition for productions like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Stravinsky’s Firebird. These imaginative ballets give students an opportunity to dive into magical worlds and gain experience dancing on a professional stage. Our students are off to a wonderful start to Winter Term, and we look forward to the year ahead.

SAB was thrilled to host our Student Choreography Showing last month in New York City Ballet’s Rose Building studios, and I sat down a week later with four of our student choreographers: Dominika, Sahel, Izonna, and Noah. I spoke to them about their experiences choreographing; how they chose their music, dancers, and costumes; and much more. They were thoughtful and generous in revealing their processes and explaining what inspires them. I hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as I enjoyed talking with each of them!

The Student Choreography Workshop was developed in 1997 to give SAB students their first explorations into the choreographic process and has really blossomed in the years since. SAB’s Advanced students, some of whom are only 16 years old, choreograph and rehearse their pieces with only two weeks to consult with SAB’s music teacher, choreograph, and rehearse. This year, 13 choreographers presented their new works, including our four students below.

“And for the formations I used a chess board with chess pieces to kind of show them where to go.”

Choreographers

Dominika– Music by Felix Mendelssohn (String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor, II. Allegro Assai)

Sahel– Music by Maurice Ravel (Gaspard de la Nuit, I. Ondine)

Izonna– Music by Philip Glass (String Quartet No. 5: IV)

Noah– Music by Oliver Davis (Dance: First Movement)

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Michelle Palmour: What was the process of choreographing like this year? How did it compare to past years? Or was it your first time?

Dominika: This was my first time choreographing so I really didn’t have anything to compare it to, but the first week I couldn’t be in person so I had to choreograph more than half of my piece on Zoom. It was easy for me because I had dancers that were very open to ideas. We would try things, and we kind of collectively figured out stuff. And for the formations, I used a chess board with chess pieces to kind of show them where to go. That made it a little easier.

Sahel: For me, I think it was different than last year, because last year when I started I already had everything planned out. I just had to teach it to my dancers. This year, everything I had planned I ended up not using. I didn’t think I’d be able to choreograph them in the room and come up with something that worked and I could use, but I did.

MP: Did the rest of you have that experience that what you planned in your head wound up being different in the room?

Izonna: I choreographed a lot more this year in the studio on the dancers. I think they contributed a large portion of the choreography. It was really a collective effort, and it turned out well. Also, one of my dancers got injured right before the performance. I had to rechoreograph the entire ending and teach another person to do the part. It was really stressful, but it turned out beautifully.

Noah: I had a very opposite experience. Everything that I choreographed in the studio, I’d go back and think about it and not like it anymore. So every rehearsal I’d have to prepare beforehand, and I choreographed the whole thing in my room dancing around with the music because once I got in the studio, I wanted to set it. My mind couldn’t think creatively with all these people in the room. I just wasn’t able to do that. I needed to do that while I was by myself.

“This is just a very trial and error experience.”

MP: How do you choose your dancers?  How does that work in the process?

Izonna: We ask them ahead of time. I asked my dancers the day of the last choreography workshop because my choreography is based off my dancers. That’s how I choose my music. I usually have a general idea of what I want the piece to be, but it’s really the dancers that make it. I try to create something that’s individual to them. It was really nice. I choreographed on Dominika again and working with her has been amazing. We’ve been here together, and we came the same year to the School. I’ve really gotten to know her dancing, so it’s much easier to choreograph.

Sahel: I also try to choose the dancers I see a lot in class or that I have a big appreciation for their dance quality. And that also reflects in my choreography because I often just ask them what steps they’d like to do, and then put it into my choreography. I want them to feel comfortable and have fun while dancing.  This is just a very trial and error experience, and you’d rather have fun than be miserable.

Noah: I specifically thought about my experiences being choreographed on in this because I’ve done this a couple of times. I had to think about what did I like, what did I not like, and trying to be as open as possible. I’ve had experiences where someone wanted a specific thing and it wasn’t working. Then there was just no way to get around it. I didn’t want my dancers to feel if they couldn’t do this one step that I was going to be mad at them.

“I didn’t want my dancers to feel if they couldn’t do this one step that I was going to be mad at them.”

MP: You work closely with SAB’s Music Teacher, Aaron Severini, for your music selections. How do you feel using recorded music versus live music affects your work?

Dominika: For my music, I was never really set on a certain piece. I would be set on it for three days and think, “No, it’s just not it.” For our application, we needed to list three music choices, and I had two in mind. I didn’t know what to put for the third one. It was a couple of hours before the application was due. And I was listening to a bunch of different music, and I found the piece. I thought, “Hmm, I think this one’s it.” Something just clicked. I like a lot of different layers in the music, and it was difficult for me to find something that had both highs and lows. And somehow magically it just appeared right in front of me at the last second.

Sahel: I actually had the same experience as Dominika. My music choice was not on the list that I gave. I actually chose it the day that we started rehearsals. The music is so important that it just has to click. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to create a binary between neoclassical choreography and something from the classical canon of ballet like Sleeping Beauty. I still wanted that modern kind of touch to it. And I stumbled upon this piece by Ravel. It was beautiful. There were these bells that I just fell in love with. I had found a piece before that I wanted to choreograph, but New York City Ballet had already choreographed to it. But I heard the bells in the Ravel piece and was like, “Dominika, that’s your part.” I wanted her to dance the bells.

“I like a lot of different layers in the music, and it was difficult for me to find something that had both highs and lows. And somehow magically it just appeared right in front of me at the last second.”

Izonna: I just searched for a lot of music. I found this one and knew I was going to use it. I switched the version of the recording the second week, because it sounded less like a recording and more like a piece of music. It was still the same music, just a little slower, and you could hear a little bit more of the notes.

Noah: It’s funny that you guys picked your music last minute because I’m pretty sure that I had my music for two years. I found it right when we got sent home for COVID almost two years ago. I had it for so long and thought I should look for other things. Everything I would listen to, I’d think, “No, I just want to do this one piece of music.” I remember sending in the application and putting in my first choice and then putting two random pieces that I knew he wouldn’t let me use. It was so energetic and dance-y, and that’s just what I wanted to choreograph. I couldn’t find anything else that had the same energy of what I wanted to make.

“I remember sending in the application and putting in my first choice and then putting two random pieces that I knew he wouldn’t let me use.”

MP: It sounds like you have to be really prepared before you get into the studio. Were there any surprises from your experience choreographing?

Dominika: For me, the most surprising thing was how natural it was — at least for me and my group of dancers. The people I chose really worked well together. They were all good friends. It was just an easy experience. Everyone was comfortable with each other. If there was a partnering step that wasn’t working, they would just talk to each other and try to figure it out. And if it didn’t work, they would just tell me that this isn’t really working, so we would think of something else. I’d ask them, “What lift would you want to do? What do you think is, first of all, comfortable for you to do but also you would like to do?” I think that was just a nice collaboration of working together.

Sahel: It was actually extremely hard this year, that was the surprise. There were three girls and two boys, and the girls all dance extremely differently. So, it was easy choreographing their individual parts, but when they had to come together that was harder. It was really them working together and saying, “Maybe I can have my hands here, maybe this can be different.” It really came together in the end. But it was definitely a process of trial and error.

Izonna: For my piece, I was kind of surprised how fast I got it done. I was done six days after we started. At first, things weren’t clicking, and we didn’t know what goes where. But when it all came together, it all made sense. And I think that I was just surprised at how the different sections put together made a whole piece.

Noah: I was impressed with how intelligent my dancers were. I would show a step and think I don’t know if this is too hard, awkward, or weird. And they would do it every single time. I’d come to rehearsal with all of these things prepared thinking it would take the whole rehearsal, and they’d learn it in half the rehearsal. It was such a fun reminder of how talented everybody here is and how lucky I am to get to choreograph on people like this. Because a student choreography workshop anywhere else would not run that way. I’m sure I would have been way more stressed out. But they just got everything that I asked. It was great.

Sahel: I think that’s really important. The dancers here are incredible. They not only know how to do the steps, they can add to the artistic process. They add choreography. They say, “I think this may look better doing this.” It was the most wonderful experience because everyone was working together. It wasn’t you just telling them what to do. It was really them saying, “This is great and good, but if we do it this way, it may be more natural.”

“I was impressed with how intelligent my dancers were. I would show a step and think I don’t know if this is too hard, awkward, or weird. And they would do it every single time.”

MP: It sounds like you had a lot of good collaborative experiences. That’s a really nice way to be in that process. Was there anything in particular that inspired you in choreographing your pieces?

Dominika: Honestly, the music. I just had a lot of certain images in my head pop up. We have this great opportunity to go the ballet almost every night. so we get to see a lot of different choreography from different choreographers. Once I’m listening to a piece of music, I can imagine different shapes and different types of movement qualities or steps that I would think would reflect the music and would be fun to do or something that I would want to dance.

Sahel: There’s a whole resource of other kinds of dance in this city. I watch a lot of clips. I especially take a lot of influence from old Hollywood movies and Michael Jackson. I’ll see the step, but I first come up with the steps, weirdly, then I set it to music. I try to match that feeling to where it is in the music, which I think is different than some people that I work with. It’s definitely a lot more challenging for me. I wish I did it the other way, but it’s interesting.

Izonna: I think I was inspired by my music as well because it’s what you’re using to make your steps. But I just really liked the slow parts of my music the most. I think because you can add a lot more feeling which is what I love — when something is simple but you can still can have feeling. And the end as well, when everyone came together, and people were doing different things. I think that was also one of the things that inspired me and was really nice.

“I had them have their hair down. I wanted it to be fun. I didn’t want anything about it to be pretentious or scary. I just wanted it to be a celebration of dance.”

Noah: I think I really just wanted my piece to be almost like a community. I kept incorporating that they would hug each other and come together, then break apart. I kind of had that idea beforehand. I went to the ballet for the first time again, and I was so struck by seeing people dance together again. So I really wanted to incorporate that. I just thought it was so beautiful. I was not concerned with making it difficult or impressive. My main goal was the four of them dancing together. I had them have their hair down. I wanted it to be fun. I didn’t want anything about it to be pretentious or scary. I just wanted it to be a celebration of dance.

Dominika: For my music, it was a string quartet, and I had four dancers. I liked playing with them each being a certain string instrument. And having each of them dance to a different undertone of the music because there were deeper sounds and lighter sounds, which gave them a role of a string to play. That also helped me come up with different canons when a certain person does a step and another does a step. Also, like Noah was saying, a sense of community, and that helped with them dancing for each other. That was a big part of it.

MP: I know you are in class with masks, but it is another thing to be dancing a performance with a mask? How challenging was that for you?

Sahel: I was so amazed by how much feeling my dancers were able to communicate even though they had a mask on. It was definitely an obstacle, but dancing to Izonna’s piece, my stamina is definitely there because of the mask.

“I just watched Glass Pieces, and I think that influenced me wanting them to wear color tights because I thought that was so beautiful.”

MP: How do you come to decisions on what the dancers are wearing for your piece and how it’s coordinated?

Izonna: Last year, in the first rehearsal, I said, “This is what I want.” And then by the last rehearsal, it looked nothing like I said in the first rehearsal. But it was still very simple. This year I didn’t want to do a color or anything because it would be hard to coordinate which color. I really liked the simplicity of black and then adding a belt. The guy in my piece wore a little green trim on his shirt, but you couldn’t even see. It was nice and simple, but it still had a little something. I thought it fit my piece better than any color would.

Sahel: I really think costumes can change the atmosphere of a piece. I definitely envisioned something going into it. It was a permutation in the end. I decided on a black leotard with colored tights, but the colors were changed because I think the whole theme of the piece really deepened as it went on. And in the end, I loved it. I think the costumes really added to it. I was a lot less prepared than last year. Last year we got them made. This year it was a little last minute, but I think it was just as beautiful.

Dominika: I liked when my dancers got to wear one of my favorite colors. A nice grey, blue kind of reminded me of Opus 19 by Jerome Robbins, which is one of my favorite ballets. I liked having them in the same colors; I liked to see them in union. But I also wanted them to be comfortable in what they were wearing so I let them choose what style leotard they wanted to wear. It didn’t really matter to me as long as they were in similar colors. I also added little head pieces — little jewels and pearls. They reflected on the music’s delicate side while also being out there and powerful.

Sahel: I just watched Glass Pieces, and I think that influenced me wanting them to wear color tights because I thought that was so beautiful. And I think we had watched [New York City Ballet’s] Fall Fashion Gala right before, and I was like, “Bright tights!”

Noah: I was never particular about a costume. All I cared about was that their hair was down. I went in the first week and asked, “Is their hair allowed to be down? It needs to be down.” As far as the color, I just saw blue with the music, but I was open to whatever. One rehearsal, I just had them bring in all the blue leotards they had, and we just laid them out in the studio and picked. I didn’t want to micromanage it too much, but luckily two of them had one of the same blue leotards and the other two had another of the same. And there was two and two. It really put my mind at rest that there was symmetry.

Dominika: I feel like for Noah and I, it was like synesthesia where we hear a certain sound and see a certain color. It was very clear.

Noah: I don’t actually have that, but I do see colors whenever I listen to music.

“It was like synesthesia where we hear a certain sound and see a certain color.”

MP: Do you think you want to choreograph again in the future? How are you feeling about working on choreography now?

Sahel: I think it’s really important. It’s amazing that we have this opportunity here because I think it’s important to have the opportunity to add to the art form and to express our own artistic expression. Sometimes ballet can become monotonous, and this really allows us to be creative. I also think it’s important because we have the Female Choreography Workshop — especially as a woman of color to be able to add to the art form and showcase different sides of dance and different styles of what could be.

Noah: I’d definitely love to do it in the future, because I just think there are so many directions you can take it. At first, I thought I need to make something really different and contemporary. Then I got in the studio, listened to the music, and thought, “This is ballet.” The music just told me to do ballet. So I made something really balletic, which I thought was pretty too. But now I want to try something different that’s not so standard and so classical ballet. The more you do it, the further you can take it.

Dominika: There’s so many different directions you can take. You choreograph this one piece. It’s not all that you’re capable of; it’s not all that you wanted to do. It could only be a maximum of five minutes, so you can’t really put a lot into five minutes. There’s definitely a lot more to discover. Not only are you impacting the dance world, it also furthers you as a dancer because you get to know the ins and outs of when a choreographer is choreographing on you. You understand what they’re going through. You better know their language because you have to communicate to your dancers while in rehearsals. I think it’s an overall great experience for all of you as a dancer, a choreographer, a person.

Sahel: Yeah, like Dominika said, it’s definitely a different perspective standing in front of a room. And you’re also getting to form what your style is, what you may like seeing, and what may influence you as a dancer. And we’re in the perfect place for it because we get to see new works all the time. There’s so much dance in New York. And I think Balanchine’s ballets are always pushing the envelope.

Izonna: I think I would do it again because I can do something that’s been done before but put my own twist on it. And I could do things that I haven’t done before. You can really take it wherever you want because it’s your own choreography.

Dominika: It’s also great to do it in this kind of setting at this school because we get to see our friends choreograph on each other. We get to know them a lot better. We can see how they work with other people, seeing what’s in their head when they listen to a piece of music. It’s so interesting. I loved watching everyone’s piece, and everyone comes up with something completely different, which is very refreshing. And we’re not just all doing ballet. Ballet comes from a lot of different forms and shapes.

“And you’re also getting to form what your style is, what you may like seeing, and what may influence you as a dancer. And we’re in the perfect place for it because we get to see new works all the time. There’s so much dance in New York. And I think Balanchine’s ballets are always pushing the envelope.”

Sahel: It’s also valuable as a dancer because you’re getting to learn how to work with different choreographers, different people.

Noah: I also like that you get to decide how you’re going to run the room and what kind of environment you want to create. That was something that I thought about because we’ve all had so many ballet teachers and so many choreographers throughout our time dancing. Some of those experiences have been really positive, and some have been really negative. I was really passionate about not making a rehearsal room that was a place people didn’t want to be. You finally get to take control of that, which is really special.

Dominika: You’re very much in charge, and you want to make it the best you can for everyone. It was a very positive, fun thing to do.

Sahel: I really believe that if your dancers are happy and enjoying themselves, the piece looks so much better.

MP: This has been really great! Thank you so much for coming and talking to me.