July 28, 2003
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE NEW YORK SUMMER INTENSIVE STUDENTS TO PERFORM AT LaGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 AT 12:00 P.M. AND 4:00 P.M.
American Ballet Theatre’s New York Summer Intensive Program’s final performances of repertory excerpts and original choreography are scheduled for Friday, August 1 at 12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. at LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City. The performances are the culmination of ABT’s eighth annual Summer Intensive, a six-week training program for 240 dancers, ages 12 to 20 at the Company’s 890 Broadway headquarters. Repertory pieces to be performed include excerpts from La Bayadère, Coppélia, Le Corsaire, La Fille mal gardée, Paquita, Raymonda, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. In addition, the programs will include original choreography by Daniel Baudendistel, Leslie Browne, Hilary Cartwright, Duane Cyrus, Elaine Kudo, Roberta Mathes and Johan Renvall.
Featured among the performers are 27 students who were chosen for the ABT National Training Program, which awards scholarships to outstanding Summer Intensive students. This unique scholarship program enables gifted young dancers to train intensively with local instructors in their hometowns during the school year. The ABT National Training Program encourages its scholarship recipients to maintain the highest standard of achievement in their academic studies while continuing their dance training.
This year, ABT Summer Intensive students Melanie Hamrick, Blaine Hoven, Matthew Murphy, Jackie Reyes and Arron Scott have been chosen to join American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, a small classical company that prepares 12 dancers for professional dance careers with ABT and other leading companies worldwide.
Participants in American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive, directed by former ABT Soloist Rebecca Wright, are chosen during a cross-country audition tour sponsored by Freed of London, Ltd. The annual six-week program, held at ABT’s New York City studios, is a comprehensive course that begins with daily ballet technique class and includes specialized classes in pointe work, partnering, choreography, jazz, character and modern dance. To complement the dancers’ training, seminars are offered on nutrition, Pilates, dance history and acting.
Distinguished teachers for the 2003 New York Summer Intensive are Daniel Baudendistel, Leslie Browne, Diana Cartier, Hilary Cartwright, Duane Cyrus, Olga Dvorovenko, Kristine Elliott, David Howard, Elaine Kudo, Clinton Luckett, Roberta Mathes, Bonnie Mathis, Johan Renvall, Lupe Serrano, Cheryl Yeager, Marianna Tcherkassky and Rebecca Wright. This year more than 1,000 students will participate in ABT’s Summer Intensives in New York and at four satellite locations, including Detroit, Michigan; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Orange County, California; and Austin, Texas.
LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts is located at 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York City. For tickets, priced at $12, or for additional information on ABT’s Summer Intensive and the LaGuardia High School performances, please call 212-477-3030, Ext. 3416.