Winter Term Auditions for 6-13 Year olds

Auditions will take place at the School of American Ballet’s headquarters at Lincoln Center in Manhattan on the dates listed below. Applicants must sign up for specific time slots starting after 3 PM on the audition date that corresponds with their current age. Five-year-olds who will be 6 by September 1 should audition with the 6-year-olds age group. Pre-registration is required for these auditions. Visit the link below to register.  Note, there is an audition fee of $38.50 for all auditions at SAB’s headquarters. 

Each spring, SAB holds auditions for 6-10 year olds at locations in NYC boroughs/neighborhoods. In 2026, SAB will hold community auditions at the locations listed below. Pre-registration is recommended but not required for these auditions.

VIEW OUR AUDITION FAQ

• Registration: Registration is required for all auditions taking place at SAB’s Lincoln Center headquarters. Registration is optional but strongly recommended for those who wish to audition at a Community Audition location.
• Age eligibility: Children must be 6 years old by September 1 to audition and enroll for the Winter Term beginning in September of the same year.
• Audition age groups: Children should audition in the age group/audition that corresponds with their age at the time of the audition. Five year olds, who will be 6 by September 1, 2026, should audition with 6 year olds.
• Pointe work (12-13 year olds): Students auditioning for the girls training track, ages 12-13 are expected to have begun beginner pointe work. They will be asked to demonstrate a couple simple relevé and échappé combinations.
• Audition Fees: Audition fees are non-refundable. No exceptions will be made for children who miss their audition appointments, regardless of the reason, or for children who attend a Community Audition after first registering for a paid audition at SAB.
• Tuition assistance is available.
• Schedule: Winter Term classes begin in mid-September.
• Commute: SAB’s training program for children is intended for students who permanently reside in the New York City area. Students who do not live in the tri-state region within easy commuting distance of SAB should not audition for SAB’s Winter Term. Instead, students aged 10 and up from outside the local area should consider auditioning for our annual summer programs each year in January. SAB’s summer programs are designed to enable non-local students to experience SAB’s training and to be considered for an invitation to train in our Winter Term once they are old enough for our residential program (beginning at age 14 or older). For more information about our New York Junior Session, click here.

The School of American Ballet is widely regarded as the leading ballet school in America and is known for the excellence of its classical training as established by SAB’s co-founder George Balanchine. During the School’s September to June Winter Term, accepted students will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of ballet from SAB’s excellent faculty in state-of-the-art studios at Lincoln Center. In the School’s Children’s Division, 6-8 year olds take two 60-minute classes per week, 9-10 year olds take at least three 90-minute classes per week, and 11-13 year olds take classes up to five or six days a week. Beginning around age 9, students are also eligible to be cast in New York City Ballet productions that feature roles for children—most notably the beloved holiday classic George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®.