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ABT Incubator

Photo: JJ Geiger.

ABT Incubator

ABT Incubator is a choreographic program providing a focused lab to generate and inspire ideas for the creation of new work. Open to ABT dancers and outside choreographers chosen through an audition process, ABT Incubator provides participants with resources to explore and experiment as choreographers with dancers from American Ballet Theatre.

Under the direction of ABT Principal Dancer David Hallberg, ABT Incubator was established in 2018, building on earlier choreographic workshops that Hallberg catalyzed for the Company. In 2020, ABT dancer Jose Sebastian was named director of ABT Incubator.

2023 ABT Incubator

The 2023 ABT Incubator took place January 3-13, with new works created on ABT dancers by five choreographers. The workshop culminated in a performance on January 13,2023 at the Schimmel Center at Pace University.

2023 ABT IncubatorChoreographers

Eva Alt (she/her) is a dance artist based in New York City whose works span disciplines across practice, choreography, teaching, writing, new media, and performance. Her work asks fundamental questions about the standard boundaries of the dance world and challenges the way audiences perceive the career of a dancer. Alt received her training at the Boston Ballet School, performed with the Boston Ballet and BalletMet, and danced works by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. In 2021, she choregraphed, curated, and produced How Beautiful Everything Is Before It Gets Its Name, a group dance show that explored the place in between rehearsal and performance. Since 2018, she has taught her own ballet classes for all levels in downtown New York City and developed a community around recreational dance for adults. Her forthcoming solo show Eva Altwill take place at NY Live Arts in 2023.

Mark Caserta (they/them) was born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia and received their BFA in Dance & Ballet Performance from the University of the Arts, School of Dance. They danced professionally with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz De Montreal (BJM), and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Caserta has been awarded the Philadelphia Rocky Award for Outstanding Dance Performance, the Pennsylvania Ballet Choreography Award, and Choreography Awards from Youth American Grand Prix. Caserta has been commissioned by Gibney Company, Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Seattle, DanceWorks Chicago, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Kit Modus, Peridance Youth Ensemble, PA Ballet II, The Ailey School, Pace University, and University of the Arts, School of Dance. Currently, Caserta is Artist in Resident at University of the Arts, School of Dance, Contemporary Faculty at Gibney Dance NY & Peridance Capeio Arts Center, a guest artist with MindLeaps, and a freelance educator, dancer, and choreographer. Mark founded BigKid Dance in 2018.

Roderick George (he/him) was born and raised in Houston, Texas, and spent his formative years training at Ben Stevenson’s Houston Ballet Academy, The Alvin Ailey School, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). He has danced for Ceder Lake Contemporary Ballet, Basel Ballet/Theater Basel, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, and The Forsythe Company. George’s choreographic work has been shown at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, the DanceLab at Ballet Basel, the Ballett Basel School, and The Surburbia project with the GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. Eager to delve into deeper creative explorations with a growing group of close artistic collaborators, George founded kNoname Artist in 2015. Most recently, George was a YoungArts Fellow Winner for the 2021-2022 season, allowing him the opportunity to further develop The Missing Fruit, an upcoming evening-length kNoname Artist production set to premiere in 2023.

Tyler Maloney (he/him) was born in Wyckoff, New Jersey and started his training at a young age in different styles of dance including jazz, modern, contemporary, hip-hop, and later ballet at the local YMCA. At the age of 11, Maloney went to American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive and was accepted into the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, where he trained for the next four years. In 2010, Maloney performed the role of the Nutcracker Boy in the premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Maloney joined ABT Studio Company in 2013, became an apprentice with the main Company in December 2015, and joined the corps de ballet in April 2016. His repertory includes the Mandarin and one of the Three Ivans in Aurora’s Wedding, Leading Gypsy in Don Quixote, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Harlequin in Ratmansky’s Harlequinade, Let Me Sing Forevermore, Harlequin and Mother Ginger in Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, the Indian Prince and a Fairy Cavalier in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, and The Boy in Whipped Cream.

Luciana Paris (she/her) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and began her ballet training at the age of seven with Elena Perez. From 1991-1996 she studied at the Colon Theater Superior de Art Institute with Katty Gallo and Raul Candal. In 1996, Paris was invited by Maximiliano Guerra to join Ballet Camara and tour with the company in Argentina. She then joined the Teatro Colon Ballet as a soloist where she performed the role of Red Riding Hood in The Sleeping Beauty. In December 1996, Paris joined Julio Bocca’s Ballet Argentino as a principal dancer and became Bocca’s dance partner. Paris joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in October 2001 and was appointed a Soloist in August 2015. In 2012, American Ballet Theatre designated Paris as a Certified Teacher.

Previous Workshops

ABT Incubator was conceived in 2010 under the title The Innovation Initiative. The Innovation Initiative took place in 2010, 2011, and 2014, before being relaunched as ABT Incubator in 2018.

Below are the choreographers that participated in these past workshops and the works they created.