Year In Review | Membership Newsletter – July 2021
Guest Teachers
Each year, SAB Intermediate and Advanced students have the opportunity to take class with esteemed guest faculty, giving them crucial experience with new styles and perspectives as well as exposure to potential future employers. Our guest teachers this Winter Term included:
Visiting Faculty Co-Chairs:
- Leyland Simmons, Dance Chair for Harlem School of the Arts
- Alicia Holloway, Dance Theatre of Harlem dancer
Guest Teachers:
- Peter Boal, Artistic Director, Pacific Northwest Ballet
- Lindsay Fischer, Artistic Director, National Ballet of Canada
- Noah Gelber, repetiteur for William Forsythe
- Damien Johnson, Faculty, The Washington School of Ballet
Cultural Programming
Our Lassalle Cultural Program aims to give students the ability to explore the history of ballet within the larger context of classical and contemporary art, as well as to ensure that they have opportunities to experience New York City’s vast cultural landscape in ways that are educational and enriching for their developing artistry. While the programming this year had to be adjusted for safety, students were able to take part in many special opportunities this Winter Term:
December 2020
Our students in the Children’s Division who performed in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® in 2019, enjoyed free, virtual admission to a recording of that year’s production through Marquee TV. While we greatly missed having this performance in-person in 2020, we were glad to be able to bring this beloved event to these students and their families to enjoy while at home.
January 2021
West Side Story Panel Discussion
We held a virtual panel discussion for students in the Intermediate and Advanced Divisions with three guests from the upcoming West Side Story film: choreographer Justin Peck and dancers Brittany Pollack and Harrison Coll. They shared with students their SAB to New York City Ballet journeys, their professional career opportunities beyond ballet, and details and stories from their experiences on the film.
February 2021
This program featuring SAB alumna Adriana Pierce showcased her most recent work #QueertheBallet, a pas de deux piece she choreographed for two female-identifying dancers. In this program, we discussed her journey from SAB to her professional endeavors and her identity as a queer woman in ballet, as well as how she and current, and future dancers can continue to recognize and challenge heteronormativity within the ballet world.
March 2021
Forbidden: Screening and Discussion with Giada Matteini and Niusha
This program featured NYU Tisch faculty member Giada Matteini and her short film, Forbidden. This film showcases Niusha, a 20-year-old Irani woman living and dancing in Tehran, and highlights the challenges and risks dancers take every day by performing this art form that is strictly forbidden in their home country. Niusha actually joined live us from her home in Iran, in the middle of the night, for this talkback and screening opportunity, sharing her story and what ballet means to her. It was a humbling, enjoyable program for both staff and students in virtual attendance.
April 2021
“Inventing Dance: From Antiquity to Balanchine” – Presentation by Oliver Bernier
Oliver Bernier, author, historian, and SAB Board Member, shared his arts expertise with members of the Children’s Division during a virtual program in which he walked attendees through dance depicted in various works of art throughout the ages.
May 2021
Talkback Opportunity with Gianna Reisen
SAB alumna and notable young choreographer Gianna Reisen joined members of the Intermediate and Advanced Division for a virtual talkback opportunity. Students viewed the works she choreographed on SAB’s Intermediate-level students for the 2021 Winter Ball, Ten at Home and Solo? Repeat!, and learned about Gianna’s professional and pre-professional journeys, her processes and experiences as a female choreographer, and her reflections of being an artist during the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 2021
SAB alumna, renowned ballet dancer and choreographer, and member of SAB’s Alumni Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Francesca Harper joined members of SAB’s Children Division and their families for a virtual conversation. She spoke about her professional career, contemporary works of ballet, and what she envisions as the future of the art form.
Student Choreography
The Student Choreography Workshop was first developed in 1997 to give SAB students their first explorations into the choreographic process and has blossomed in the years since. Many young choreographers, such as Justin Peck, Troy Schumacher, Lauren Lovette, and Gianna Reisen, created their first pieces when they were students participating in this program.
This year, the program was modified to accommodate SAB’s pandemic protocols. It was important for us to give our students the opportunity to explore their choreographic voices, even if it had to be in a more restricted way to maintain student health and safety. As examples, there was no partnering, and choreographers could only work with fellow students in their living “pods.” Despite these challenges, our seven choreographers were able to create inspiring new works on their peers and carry on this tradition of the choreographic process.
Virtual Classes and the Return to the Studio
The 2020-2021 Winter Term training schedule fluctuated between in-person and remote training, to ensure we were providing maximum safety for our students, faculty, and staff throughout the pandemic. After returning to the School in September for the first ten weeks of Winter Term, our dancers were sent home for an all-virtual training schedule beginning in late-November.
“Virtual ballet classes were extremely challenging, but I feel so lucky to have had such understanding teachers during the process. Many times I felt as though I wanted to give up because there didn’t seem to be an end to COVID in sight. However, our teachers motivated us every day and really encouraged us to keep going.” – Gianna, 18
Our students returned to the School in April, and our Advanced Division dancers quickly began rehearsals for our first-ever outdoor Spring Showcase performances in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center, in place of our annual Workshop Performance at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.
Over 50 of our advanced students performed a selection of variations by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins for our community in early June. We were thrilled to see our dancers shine on stage once again.