Pre-registration is recommended but is not required. The audition fee for pre-registered students is $35 USD. The audition fee for in-person registration at the audition is $40 USD. If you pre-register, you are guaranteed a spot at the registered time. To pre-register, please visit Audition Information.

Students should audition with their age group at the time of audition even if they will have a birthday before the summer. Eleven-year-olds who are applying for the Summer Intensive must be eleven years old at the time of the audition.

At the audition you will be required to submit a black-and-white or color photo ranging from 4 x 6 inches to 5 x 7 inches that shows the student’s first arabesque line (on pointe or demi-pointe) clearly in center (not at the barre), as well as one informal headshot. Students auditioning for the Young Dancer Summer Workshop may submit a first arabesque photo on flat. Though not required, it is recommended by ABT staff that first arabesque photos are taken in a dance studio. Female students should have hair pulled into a bun for their headshot. Photographs will not be returned.

It is best for students to have two or three months of experience on pointe at the time of the audition. If the student is not ready to begin pointe work, she may still audition. However, students who attend an ABT Summer Intensive will be expected to participate in pointe classes every day.

Twelve-year old students at the pre-pointe or beginner pointe level can be considered for the Young Dancer Summer Workshop and should audition with their own age group. For more information on the YDSW, please click here.

We cannot accommodate the scheduling of individual auditions in New York. If you cannot make it to a scheduled audition, please submit a video audition. Please click here for further details on how to send a video audition.

Dancers who wish to audition for the ABT Studio Company should attend the Summer Intensive audition for their age group in New York on February 2. The ABT Studio Company is open to advanced dancers ages 16-20. Please bring a resume, headshot, and first arabesque photo.

ABT will send you a confirmation email upon the receipt of your Pre-Registration Form or Video Audition.

ABT has two days of auditions in New York and Long Beach to accommodate the number of students that audition in these cities. You may pick either day to audition. The second day is not a call back.

Only 12-year old students at the beginning pointe level are eligible for the Young Dancer Summer Workshop.

11-year-old students interested in the Alabama Summer Intensive must be 11 years old by the date of the audition on the National Audition Tour. They should audition with their age group.

If an 11-year-old student is interested in the Summer Intensive and the Young Dancer Summer Workshop, they should audition with their age group on the National Audition Tour. If the student attends a Young Dancer Summer Workshop audition for ages 9-12, they will not be considered for the Summer Intensives.

Dancers who are auditioning in New York and would like to be considered for both the Young Dancer Summer Workshop and the Summer Intensive may audition on January 5 or February 2.

Students exclusively interested in the Young Dancer Summer Workshop should audition at starred locations on the National Audition Tour.

Students interested in the Young Dancer Summer Workshop must be at least nine years old by July 6, 2020 for the Costa Mesa location, by July 20, 2020 for the Dallas location, and by July 27, 2020 for the New York location. Dancers may only attend one Summer Intensive or Young Dancer Summer Workshop audition.

The National Audition Tour serves primarily to admit students to the ABT Summer Intensive Program.  Students may audition for the ABT JKO School at select cities.

Students interested in auditioning for the 2020-2021 School Year may audition with their age group in Atlanta (January 26); Chicago (February 16); New York (January 5 only); Washington, DC (January 20).  Students should only consider auditioning if they are realistically willing to relocate to New York.

Alternately, enrolled Summer Intensive students may sign up to be reviewed for possible acceptance to the full-time ABT JKO School through their Summer Intensive participation. Specific audition information will vary by site. Please see the corresponding student handbook in the spring for more information.

The audition will be a ballet class starting with barre and progressing through center work. The last thirty minutes will be reserved for men’s jumps and pointe work.

Yes. Girls should wear pink full-length tights, black leotards, and ballet slippers, and should bring pointe shoes if applicable for the last twenty minutes of class. Boys should wear white t-shirts, black full-length tights, and ballet slippers.

We evaluate dancers on the level of their classical ballet technique, with special attention to adagio, jumps, turns, and pointe work. We also assess dancers on their retention of combinations, stamina, musicality, work ethic, attitude, and potential.

You can submit a video audition. Video auditions must be completed via the online portal which will open on November 15, 2019. The priority deadline is January 1, 2020. The final deadline for video auditions is February 15, 2020. Please click here for further details on how to send a Video Audition.

No, we do not close our auditions or cap them at a certain number. ABT may create overflow classes to accommodate all registered students.

The audition results are sent via email to the primary email address listed within 10 business days after the audition date. If you do not receive your results via email within two weeks of your audition date, please contact the Summer Intensive staff at [email protected].

All results from the priority video audition submissions received by January 1, 2020 will be sent by January 20, 2020. All results from the priority video audition submissions received by February 15, 2020 will be sent by March 1, 2020.

The audition qualifies dancers for consideration in all Summer Intensive locations. We ask students to consider carefully which programs they are most likely to attend and rank them in order of preference on their registration card. We take this ranking into consideration along with which site we feel best matches each student’s age and ability. We cannot guarantee a student’s placement in the program based on his/her first choice or geographic preference.

No, we do not give out audition results over the phone. An email will be sent to the primary email address provided on the audition registration card when results are available.

Unfortunately, ABT is unable to provide specific training feedback from the audition classes. Generally, students who are not accepted to one of ABT’s programs should continue to work on overall strength, technique and pointe work. We encourage prospective students to continue working hard to achieve their goals and we hope to see them in the future.

ABT uses a general waitlist and there is no rank system. Students on our waiting list will be called based on their audition scores. We are unable to disclose audition scores.

We will begin contacting students on the waiting list during the first week of March until the beginning of May. We will notify you via phone or email which of our sites have spaces available. At that time, you will receive more information on how to enroll in the program.

ABT awards a limited number of full and partial scholarships to the 2020 Summer Training Programs. Scholarship decisions are made based on merit at the time of the audition. All students are taken into consideration, so it is not necessary to apply. ABT will notify students who are awarded scholarships at the time of acceptance. We also encourage our students to explore alternate funding possibilities for their summer training. Several students have had success in finding local or corporate sponsors.

Details on when to make tuition payments can be found on the Audition Information page of the ABT website. Secure online tuition payments can be made using major credit cards through the online student site. Details will be emailed to accepted students.

Though some lecture and elective offerings may vary by site, the daily structure and curriculum of all Summer Intensive programs is identical.

• Students will attend class or rehearsal Monday through Friday from approximately 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Our programs in Florida, Alabama, Orange County, and Texas include electives or lectures on Saturdays. All Young Dancer programs are Monday through Friday.
• On the first day of the program there will be a placement class to determine student levels.
• All levels will include daily technique classes followed by pointe or pas de deux.
• Other class offerings may include: Variations, Modern, Character, Jazz, Musical Theater, Yoga, Pilates, Music, Acting, Mime, Nutrition, Meet the Artist, Injury Prevention and Dance History.
• Dancers may have rehearsals on occasional evenings.
• All students will have the opportunity to participate in a final performance showcasing selections from ABT’s repertoire. The final performance is on the last day of the program and is usually scheduled for the early afternoon.

Housing costs are not included in the tuition payment made to ABT; there is an additional room and board fee made to the institution at which the student will be living. Please read below for housing information for each program. For more information on each site, including tuition and housing costs, visit Summer Intensive Sites.

• New York: No supervised housing is provided. ABT maintains a list of resources to help dancers find short-term housing. View our Housing Resource List.
• Florida: Housing and three meals per day are provided by the dorms at University of South Florida. A day student fee will apply to all students not residing in the dorm.
• Alabama: Housing and three meals per day are provided by the dorms at the University of Alabama. A day student fee will apply to all students not residing in the dorm.
• Texas: Housing and three meals per day are provided by the University of Texas at Austin. A day student fee will apply to all students not residing in the dorm.
• California: Housing and three meals per day are provided by the dorms at the University of California at Irvine. A day student fee will apply to those students not residing in the dorms. Day students can also purchase a meal card to use on campus.
• Collegiate: See New York Intensive.
• Young Dancer Summer Workshop New York: See New York Intensive.
• Young Dancer Summer Workshop, Orange County: No supervised housing is provided.
• Young Dancer Summer Workshop, Dallas: No supervised housing is provided.

To receive the full benefit of the intensive summer training, all students must attend the program in its entirety. As a policy, there are no exceptions to this rule.

The number of pointe shoes needed for the Summer Intensive depends on the strength of the dancer’s feet, the brand of shoe, and humidity. Dancers will be on pointe every day in very humid weather. Therefore, we suggest that each dancer brings approximately one pair of shoes per week. Dancers are encouraged to take care of their shoes and use hardeners when necessary to lengthen the life of their pointe shoes.

The Summer Intensive Final Performance will exclusively showcase ABT Repertory.  Students will learn and perform excerpts from ballets performed by ABT.  To learn more about ABT’s repertory, please visit the Repertory Archive.

The college credits awarded during the Collegiate Summer Intensive are completely dependent upon the College/University that you are attending. The College/University will determine how many credits to award you and whether those credits can be transferred. ABT will provide your College/University with your attendance and grades for the program and the total number of hours spent in the classroom.