Week of August 3-7, 2020
To Read
To Watch
To Do
California Week
with the ABT William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Did you know that American Ballet Theatre’s home is in New York City?
Did you know that American Ballet Theatre has a second home all the way across the country in Costa Mesa, California?
For over 30 years, American Ballet Theatre has performed at Segerstrom Center for the Arts (formerly Orange County Performing Arts Center), presenting a number of ABT premieres, including Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird (2012), Whipped Cream (2017) and Of Love and Rage (2020)
In 2000, the SCFTA became a satellite program for ABT’s Summer Intensives and in 2015 launched an official ABT School on the west coast.
Under the direction of Principal Alaine Haubert, the ABT William J. Gillespie School finished their spring 2020 semester strong virtually with 288 students enrolled! Now in its fifth year, the School offers classes in ballet technique, pointe, character dance, pas de deux, body conditioning, and men’s classes between their Children’s and Pre-Professional Divisions. The School’s location at Segerstrom Center provides unparalleled access to world-renowned companies and experiences including master classes, artist receptions, ticket offers, and lectures by visiting artists. Students have also benefitted from the opportunity to work and perform with American Ballet Theatre in productions of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Whipped Cream, and Harlequinade during their tours to Costa Mesa.
According to Haubert – who has been associated with American Ballet Theatre since 1965 as a dancer, coach, Ballet Mistress, adjudicator, director of Summer Intensives, and advisor for the ABT National Training Curriculum – her goal for the ABT Gillespie School and as a teacher is to “share Ballet Theatre’s history and her experiences with Lucia Chase, Antony Tudor, and Agnes de Mille.” She believes firmly in having “the theater in the School” and considers it her job to “share the musicians and the choreographers, not just the vocabulary and technique…to pass on a torch to future generations.” Haubert has chosen her faculty carefully and credits all teachers at the ABT Gillespie School on their passion for teaching; “there are so many good ballet teachers, but you need to have passion to make a difference.”
