After five weeks of gorgeous, if intense, performances at the Metropolitan Opera House during American Ballet Theatre’s 2026 Summer Season, ABT dancers are sure to be ready for a brief summer break. So in the time between the final bow on the Met stage and their return to the rehearsal studio on the first of September, what are some of our favorite dancers doing with their hard-earned time off?

The short answer: much of the same.

Just because ABT is taking a break from the studio and the stage, it doesn’t mean that the dancers are following suit. All over the country, ABT Company members are performing in a vast array of works, taking their talents from the Hamptons down the road all the way to the West Coast!

Soloist Sierra Armstrong appeared in both the Hamptons Dance Project and in the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival—which are just about two weeks apart. Sierra began rehearsals for the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival while she was still in the depths of the 2026 Summer Season at the Met with ABT. Alongside ABT corps de ballet dancer Andrew Robare, Sierra prepared to bring Antony Tudor’s The Leaves are Fading to the Festival as the duo made their debuts on the Lake Tahoe stage.

While still in Lake Tahoe Sierra began rehearsing Mantle for the Hamptons Dance Project, which she was revisiting having performed it just last fall. And she’s not slowing down after that. Directly after returning from the Hamptons, Sierra, alongside many fellow ABT dancers, brings the same piece to the Joyce Ballet Festival. Sierra is using the Met season momentum to continue working during the summer hiatus and instead of it bogging her down, it revitalizes her artistry.

“It’s really great to have these dancing opportunities during our long summer layoff so I can continue to grow technically and artistically, especially after the Met season when we’re so in shape and are so comfortable on stage from dancing for five weeks straight,” Sierra shared. “It’s nice to keep that energy going.”

Also bringing their talents to the Hamptons this summer, corps de ballet dancer Duncan Lyle is making his Hamptons Dance Project choreographic debut. Duncan’s piece Pas d’Aurore is a classical work featuring a lost score by Ludwig Minkus from the 1883 ballet Night and Day. Originally created during the 2025 ABT Incubator program, Pas d’Aurore is a piece that Duncan was immersed in every step of the way. Beyond the choreography, Duncan took precious time to curate the costumes and music to completely fill out his vision.

“I’m honored to be able to contribute something to Hampton’s Dance Project,” Duncan shared. “It also aligns with my desire to bring high-level ballet to more intimate spaces and on a more intimate scale. … It’s a ballet that is meant to be sunny and joyful and I hope the audiences in the Hamptons feel that. An outdoor location in the summer is a perfect setting.”

Like Sierra, Principal Dancer Skylar Brandt will be showcasing her talents across many stages this summer. Skylar made her Nikiya debut in Boca Ballet Theatre’s production of La Bayadère on the first of August. While balancing principal roles during the ABT Summer Met Season, Skylar began learning Nikiya. As a part of her process, Skylar watched many different interpretations of the same part, and for Nikiya specifically she primarily referred to videos of Gabriela Komleva and Altynai Asylmuratova.

“I love the atmosphere at Boca,” Skylar notes. “All of the students and staff are fully invested in putting on a strong production.”

Boca Ballet Theatre is a space that Skylar is especially familiar with, having premiered her Odette/Odile in Swan Lake in 2021. Further, this summer’s production reunites Skylar with a familiar face in former ABT dancer Sterling Baca, who Skylar grew up with. After her time in Florida, Skylar heads to Mexico City at the end of August to perform alongside ABT Principal Dancer Issac Hernández in his annual gala, Despertares.

While all of these artists are certainly prioritizing dance during their time away from ABT, they also intend to soak up the summer just like the rest of us. Whether that be taking family vacations, planning a splendid wedding, or working on personal creative projects, all three artists are taking the time to fill their cups before diving back into the ABT world for the 2026 Fall Season!