School of American Ballet
Standing effortlessly on the tip of the toes and performing stunning flying movements are perhaps what we all relate first and foremost about Ballet. But the art of movement and balancing on a single toe requires years of practice and knowledge.
It is believed that no one can compete with a ballet dancer in a matter of elegance and posture. One of the most beautiful dance forms, Ballet is often also regarded as the toughest too.
What is Ballet?
Ballet is a classical dance form that combines drama, musical backdrop and beautiful stage presentation with dance to present a concept in a large magnitude visual perspective. Developed and remodified in various parts of Europe, Ballet uses multiple dance forms in a very balanced sequence, thus presenting such an appealing concept to the audience.
Ballet combines music with choreographed dance moves in such a way that the final presentation is a beautiful architecture of stunning mastery. The origin of the dance form is slightly controversial but based on the documentation available, and it is believed that it is a creation of the 15th century Italian Renaissance period.
Variations in Ballet
European countries have their own variations of Ballet. French Ballet is different from Russian or Italian Ballet, but their basic concept remains the same. The 4 main broader category of Ballet includes
- Classical
- Contemporary
- Neoclassical
- Romantic
Each form of Ballet takes years of practice and dedication to excel in. It is rare to find all these specialization under one roof unless the school is one of the best. School of American Ballet is one such rare finds that are known for producing some of the most prominent Ballet dancers of the world.
The History of the School of American Ballet
The school has a historical beginning that is unlike any other. Created by the trio heavyweights George Balanchine, Lincoln Kirsten and Edward Wardburg in the mid-1930s, the school was already marked to go great things in the future.
It all began as a small concept of training and helping the poor and helpless Russian immigrant dancers who had hoped to make it big in America. When the school opened its doors officially for the first time in 1934, it had 35 poor, and neglected teenagers and young adults struggling to self sustain in the harsh post-war world.
Attached to the New York City Ballet Company which is based at Lincoln Center of Performing Art, the Ballet School today is among the top 5 best Ballet Schools of the world. &5 yrs after its inauguration, the school receives National medal of art, the highest award for Performing Arts in America from President Barack Obama himself in 2009.
Why choose the School of American Ballet?
Known for producing some of the greatest names in the world of Ballet, SAB is not just a simple school that trains dancers. The institution creates experts and unbeatable dancers who are recruited by the biggest Ballet companies in the world.
Years of intense training along with in-depth rooted knowledge about the history, moves and details of each dance step, are all a part of the education system at SAB. the program length varies depending on the calibre and age of each training at the School of American Ballet.
Entry into the admission list of American School of Ballet is entirely based on multiple rounds of auditions, where every individual participant are tired and tested to check their potentials and interest towards the subject of Ballet.
Once a student of the School of American ballet, it's an entirely different future. Every step towards successful completion involves regular and rigorous hours of theoretical and practical knowledge. With a faculty counts itself among the best in the world, every student learns the intricacies of Ballet with attention to the smallest of details and points.
Ballet is about expressing emotions and feelings through art form of dance and that is only possible when the dancer understands every nuance and the backstory well. Evoking the right emotion through body movement requires extensive training and expertise, which the School of American Ballet is famous for.
The seven significant movements in Ballet, which includes Plie, Relev, Tendu, Glissade, Saute, Elance', Tourne can only be entirely learned if the Ballet school has the level of expertise among the faculty members. SAB is primarily known worldwide for students who are well versed with each of these movements. In fact "Fouette", which is believed to be the hardest Ballet move only doable by a few, is also a signature of SAB.
Entering the School of American Ballet
- As mentioned above, admission at SAB is not an easy task. Initial admission begins at the age as early as 6 yrs old. However there are special ballet variations that do take in students who are between 12 to 16 yrs of age, however with prior knowledge and experience in dance form.
- Summer programs are organized each year, where 20 students from all over the country are selected based on nominations, recommendation and level of talent for a few weeks of intense but experience good training program. The ballet dancers who attend these programs every year are among the few lucky individuals who can learn from the best.
- The WInter program also has the same pattern with the number of students chosen to be 35 instead of 20 and the duration of the program extending to 12 weeks instead of 8 weeks of summer training.
- Although SAB is a co-ed school, the Boys and Girls lesson and classes are entirely different. The levels of assessment for grading the students are also different for boys and girls. The reason for the different training style is multifactorial and can only be understood by experts in the field.
- With boarding and availability of full scholarship, School of American Ballet has all the required amenities on board to help a child become the best ballet dancer possible. Students are applying from far away locations have the option to reside at the boarding house provided by SAB.
School of American Ballet is every ballet dancer's dream. Studying here for a few yrs not only establishes one's future career
, but it also helps the dancer become compatible with any world-class ballet performers.
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Author: Frank Taylor