Auditions for ABT Summer Training Programs to Begin Friday, January 8, 2021 via Zoom

Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.

American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive Virtual Audition Tour will kick off on January 8, 2021 for a total of six weekends through February 14, 2021.  Intermediate and advanced students, ages 9 to 24, are invited to audition for ABT’s Summer Intensive, Collegiate, and Young Dancer Summer Workshop programs in virtual classes conducted over Zoom.  Registration for virtual class auditions is required, and class sizes will be limited.

ABT’s 2021 Summer Training Programs will be held virtually over 10 weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  An option to transition to in-person training may be offered, with priority given to those who have already enrolled in a Virtual Summer Intensive.  The decision to hold in-person training programs will be made in April 2021 in accordance with local health guidelines, as well as regulations of our University partners where applicable.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2021 Virtual Summer Intensive programs will be held in four sessions: June 14–25, June 28–July 9, July 12–23, and July 26–August 6.  Students enrolled in ABT’s 2021 Virtual Summer Intensive will have the opportunity to take class from and attend seminars by current Company dancers.  ABT’s first-ever Virtual Summer Intensive in 2020 served 1,448 students through 2,160 online classes. Eighty-five Summer Intensive Faculty participated, including 24 current ABT dancers.

Under the supervision of American Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and Summer Intensive Artistic Director Kate Lydon, ABT Summer Intensives focus on developing well-rounded dancers through exposure to a wide variety of disciplines and ABT’s artists, history, and repertory, with an emphasis on classical ballet technique.  ABT Summer Intensives are the primary recruitment tool for the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and ABT Studio Company.  Over half of ABT’s current dancers and 10 members of ABT Studio Company have attended ABT Summer Intensives, including six Soloists and nine Principal Dancers.

Current faculty members from ABT training programs will be joining this year’s Summer Intensive teaching staff, including ABT JKO School Artistic Director Cynthia Harvey, Principal Guest Instructor Ethan Stiefel, and Principal Teacher of the Children’s Division Harriet Clark, along with ABT Studio Company Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky.  Past faculty for Summer Intensive programs have included renowned ABT alumni Charles Askegard, Ethan Brown, Leslie Browne, Wes Chapman, Yan Chen, Carla Stallings Lippert, Carlos Lopez, Amy Rose, Lupe Serrano, and Cheryl Yeager, among others.  Past guest faculty have included ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, Regisseur Susan Jones, and Director of Repertoire Nancy Raffa.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2021 Collegiate Summer Intensive will be held virtually in a single session from June 14–25.  This specialized program, designed for students ages 17 to 24, will focus on technique, ABT repertory, pointe work, modern dance, jazz, and character.  College credit options are available.  Applicants for the Collegiate Summer Intensive may audition at any virtual audition class or by video.

American Ballet Theatre’s 2021 Young Dancer Summer Workshop program will be held in two sessions, June 14–25 and August 9–20. These programs educate young dancers ages 9 to 12 in ballet technique and related topics including nutrition, ballet terminology, classroom and rehearsal etiquette, and injury prevention.  Auditions for Young Dancer Summer Workshop will be held in select virtual classes.  Please see attached audition tour schedule for further information.

Auditions for ABT Summer Training Programs are open to students of all genders who have achieved intermediate or advanced levels of ballet training.  Students can audition by video for all programs.  Merit-based scholarships will be granted during the ABT Summer Intensive Virtual Audition Tour.  Scholarships are available for all three programs.

For more information on ABT’s Summer Intensive programs and to pre-register for auditions, visit www.abt.org/SummerPrograms.  Please see attached schedule for specific tour dates.

American Ballet Theatre and ABT Summer Training Programs are committed to ABT RISE, Representation and Inclusion Sustain Excellence.  For more information, please visit www.abt.org/abt-rise.

Freed of London is the sponsor of the ABT National Audition Tour.

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