Out of the wings: School of American Ballet graduates remember their first moments in the sun

Dance Magazine, June, 2004 by Roslyn Sulcas

In the spring of 1916 in St. Petersburg, the young Georgi Balanchivadze performed the pas de trois from Paquita with Alexandra Danilova and Lydia Ivanova at the Maryinsky Theater in his school's annual end-of-year performance. Almost fifty years later, George Balanchine's own academy presented the first of what has become an artistic rite of spring: the School of American Ballet's annual workshop performances.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the SAB Workshop, which has seen several generations of students take their first tentative steps into a professional dancing life. Talking to dancers about their workshop experiences confirmed the sense we often have as spectators of this event: For these young performers, it's a chance to exalt in the sheer joy of dancing, and offer us that exaltation at the highest possible level of their craft.

Darci Kistler Opposite, with Cornel Crabtree, Swan Lake (Act II), 1980

Principal dancer, New York City Ballet

I hadn't performed much before my first workshop, and it was wonderful to just get out and dance. When Mr. Balanchine chose me to do Swan Lake, I thought, "Wow, this is where I want to be!" When you're young and working so hard, it's difficult to tell if you are getting better. The workshops allow you to see your own progress. At the workshops I felt that things had gelled, had come together.

Peter Boal Principal dancer, NYCB Faculty member, SAB

I had a solo in Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux's Quadrille with quite difficult bits when I was twelve. It was a turning point for me, because it was the first time I realized that I might be good at this! Until then, every year I thought about quitting dance. I enjoyed it, but there were lots of other nice things to do after school. After that performance, there was no question: By the lime I was 13, I was living and breathing ballet. Now that I teach, I see it from the other side. It's a wonderful feeling when you see how talented and professional the students can be. As a teacher, you feel like a parent, on the verge of tears.

Jeffrey Edwards Artistic Associate, Washington Ballet

I danced Valse Fantaisie on the day Mr. B passed away. It was incredibly unsettling, but also wonderful to be able to dance the work and feel connected to him. We had living legends like Stanley Williams and Danilova to work with. I remember once running forward eagerly at the start of The Sleeping Beauty pas de deux, and Danilova said, "No my dear, royalty never runs." To have those people show you the detail of a port de bras, or epaulement, really stays with you. That history is within me now as a teacher.

Maria Calegari Former principal dancer, NYCB Repetiteur, George Balanchine Trust

Mr. B. was still very hands-on during my workshop years in the 1970s. I remember him coming into rehearsals, adjusting the timing of the music, and watching everyone. He really loved the Workshop. He loved seeing the young people perform, and he adored those old classics that we did. There was a long period of coaching, which was terrific. Suki Schorer and Danilova worked very hard at putting in the detail. These things carry you through the difficult years when you get into the company and suddenly get very little personal attention.

Toni Bentley Writer, former soloist, NYCB

For my second workshop, in 1974, I was ore of three girls chosen by Mr. B to do Aurora. Balanchine would enter the room, watch us rehearse, say a few words in Russian to Danilova, sniff, and leave. Even though I was doing Aurora, I had few expectations. As Danilova said, there will always be a girl who is better than you. You can do a lead in a workshop and spend the rest of your life in the corps do ballet.

Sherri LeBlanc Soloist (just retired), San Francisco Ballet

Alexandra Danilova and Freddy [Frederic] Franklin came to coach us in Les Sylphides; it was amazing to get a sense of how it was originally performed.

There wasn't as much jealousy as you might expect--or perhaps I was just oblivious to it. At the end of the first workshop, a friend literally pushed me into Peter Martins' path to ask him if he had anything for me. I had wet hair, and I was mortified, but he told me I was going to be an apprentice!

Andrea Long Principal dancer, Dance Theatre of Harlem

It's the Tuesday morning afterwards that everyone dreads-arriving at school and finding out who got offers, who got into NYCB. Despite all of that, it's a beautiful time. You rehearse the works for so long that you can explore the nuances and feel really at home in those ballets. You look back after becoming a professional and realize you'll never have that kind of experience again.

Sandra Brown Former soloist, American Ballet Theatre

Being in Balanchine's Union Jack at the 1987 workshop made me realize that acting was an important element for me. Ultimately, that was a major influence on my decision to go to ABT. I remember very much looking forward to the performances, and trying to ignore the underlying pressure. It wasn't spoken about, but you know that a lot can depend on your performance. After the workshop Baryshnikov offered me a place at ABT.