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ABT/Segerstrom Center for the Arts create new dance school


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Official release:

American Ballet Theatre and Segerstrom Center for the Arts Announce Creation of New Dance School
The Center and ABT bring renowned ballet training program to Southern California
Junior Associates Program begins in January 2015 and Young Dancer Summer Workshop in June 2015
Scholarships and free community classes to be offered Registration begins on November 19 for September 2015 Fall Semester
COSTA MESA, CA – Expanding their 27-year relationship, Segerstrom Center for the Arts and American Ballet Theatre announce the creation of the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School on the Segerstrom Center campus in Costa Mesa, CA. The combined resources of American Ballet Theatre, America’s National Ballet Company® and Segerstrom Center, one of the world’s leading presenters of dance, will offer unrivaled opportunities for training and nurturing future generations of dancers and dance audiences as well as furthering the development and evolution of dance. The school carries the name of Orange County philanthropist William J. Gillespie, who has been a board member of ABT since 1999 and an enthusiastic and generous donor to the Center for much of the institution’s history.
The ABT Gillespie School will open in September 2015 and is operated jointly by Segerstrom Center for the Arts and American Ballet Theatre. Alaine Haubert has been appointed Principal of the ABT Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center. A former dancer and ballet mistress with ABT and noted dance teacher and coach, Haubert will work with ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie and Melissa Bowman, Director of the Children’s Division of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York. All classes will be taught by teachers who are certified in ABT’s highly respected National Training Curriculum, will feature live accompaniment and will be held in Segerstrom Center’s dance studios which have been used for rehearsals by all of the world’s leading international ballet companies.

“American Ballet Theatre and Segerstrom Center for the Arts have dedicated themselves to furthering the development of, and appreciation for, one of the most expressive of all art forms – dance, which has been a cornerstone of the Center’s artistic programming since its inaugural season,” said Center President Terrence W. Dwyer. “Bill Gillespie is a tremendous champion for dance. His generosity enables two of his beloved arts organizations to make a significant and lasting impact on the world of dance and our vibrant and diverse community. It is hard to imagine a more passionate supporter of dance and the training of its next generation of great talents.”
The annual 36-week program of the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School begins with a Fall semester starting September 14, 2015. There will be nine class levels open to students ages 3-14 and tuition starts at $1,150. Registration for the ABT Gillespie School begins November 19.

As part of its commitment to the community, Segerstrom Center for the Arts is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to the 36-week program as well as offer a series of free classes for the community throughout the year as part of the ABT Gillespie School. Dwyer said, "The Center is committed to making sure that our education programs, including the ABT William J. Gillespie School, are available to as many children as possible from communities across Orange County. We look forward to engaging as many people as possible through our community classes and our scholarship

programs." Scholarships will be available on a limited basis; an application form will be available along with the enrollment materials at SCFTA.org/ABTGillespieSchool. The schedule of free community classes will be available at a later date.
American Ballet Theatre CEO Rachel Moore stated, “American Ballet Theatre and Segerstrom Center have had many conversations about our shared passions and visions for enriching the world and future of dance. We are delighted that the ABT Gillespie School is another rewarding collaboration. I also extend our gratitude to Bill Gillespie for helping make possible this shared dream with his signature generosity and commitment to world class dance and community.”

William J. Gillespie is a long-time benefactor of the arts in Orange County. In addition to his longstanding support of American Ballet Theatre and Segerstrom Center for the Arts, numerous other institutions have benefited from Gillespie’s participation and support, including UCI, where he established the Gillespie Scholarship in Ballet Studies, Pacific Symphony and a diverse range of charitable and educational causes throughout the region encompassing youth and education services, environment and animal care, family and elder services and research. One of his many contributions to the Center is the William J. Gillespie Concert Organ, a magnificent instrument and stunning visual focal point of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.

“This is an exciting and, in many ways, precedent-setting arts collaboration that has far reaching potential for the future of dance in Southern California and beyond,” stated William J. Gillespie. “I congratulate the Center and ABT for embracing this concept and forging this alliance. It is my great honor to support this collaboration and the emerging talent that will be developed through this excellent training program.”

American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie said, “ABT is part of Segerstrom Center’s artistic history; we have come to Orange County regularly since the Center’s first season in 1986. It is a rewarding and important collaboration, and all of us at ABT are excited that we will have this new year- round presence through the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. We thank Bill, who has been a valued ABT board member for many years, for presenting such an important gift to Orange County, ABT and to the whole world of dance that will benefit from the achievements and success of the school and its students.”
Beyond the professional training that they will receive, students in the ABT Gillespie School will be offered many additional opportunities to enrich their ballet studies: priority opportunities to audition to appear in ABT performances at the Center, including the March 2015 world premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty and the December 2015 Center premiere of Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, as well as participation in the ABT Summer Intensive, master classes, meet-and-greets with visiting companies, backstage tours and special ticket offers for dance performances at the Center.

Prior to its September 2015 opening, the school will introduce two new programs: ABT Junior Associates Program, created specifically for the ABT William J. Gillespie School, and the ABT Young Dancer Summer Workshop. These programs and the adult classes beginning Fall 2015 are designed to ensure that students of all ages in Orange County have access to the creative and innovative world of dance and can advance seamlessly through the school’s curriculum levels. Additionally, there will be an Inaugural Open House on May 16, 2015 to welcome students who have registered for the program and their families, introducing them to the school administration, faculty, facilities, and to learn more about ABT’s National Training Curriculum.

ABT Junior Associates Program
Monthly intensive sessions will be held on Sunday January 11, February 22, March 29, April 26, May 31 and June 14, 2015 for students ages 10-18. Classes are geared towards the intermediate and advanced dancer, and will include specialized training in technique, ABT repertory, pointe work, men’s class, partnering and character. Participants in the ABT Junior Associates Program will receive priority opportunities to audition for roles in ABT’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty at the Center March 3- 8, 2015, as well as future productions at the Center. Tuition for the ABT Junior Associates Program is $600. Registration begins November 19, 2014. Please visit SCFTA.org/ABTGillespieSchool.

ABT Young Dancer Summer Workshop
A two-week Young Dancer Summer Workshop will be offered June 29-July 10, 2015 for students ages 9 – 11 and for 12-year-olds at the beginning pointe level. The Young Dancer Summer Workshop is designed to educate participants in ballet technique and related topics, including ballet terminology, classroom and rehearsal etiquette, nutrition, and injury prevention. Tuition for the Young Dancer Summer Workshop is $1,200. For audition information, please visit, ABT.org.

The goal of American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is to provide the highest quality ballet training consistent with the stylistic requirements of ABT and to provide dancers with a rich knowledge of classical technique and the ability to adapt to all styles and techniques of dance. The school will incorporate ABT’s National Training Curriculum, a comprehensive set of age- appropriate, outcome-based guidelines consistent with the best practices in the fields of sports psychology, child/adolescent development, nutrition and training. The teaching methods of ABT’s National Training Curriculum incorporate elements of the French, Italian and Russian schools of training and are currently in place at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Classes focus on building a solid foundation in ballet technique with an emphasis on proper placement and safe progressions of movement while remaining sensitive to the needs of younger dancers. Classes include classical ballet technique, pointe, boys class, character and body conditioning.
For more information about the ABT William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, to enroll or to learn more about the classes and scholarship program, visit SCFTA.org/ABTGillespieSchool, call (714) 556-2122 ext. 4100 or e-mail ABTGillespieSchool@SCFTA.org.
Alaine Haubert will be the Principal of the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie Dance School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Haubert studied with George Balanchine and his illustrious post-Diaghilev faculty at the School of American Ballet in New York City. In 1965, she joined American Ballet Theatre, where she performed corps de ballet, soloist and principal roles. In addition to dancing classical roles, she was coached by such diverse and exciting contemporary choreographers as Antony Tudor, Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Eliot Feld, Birgit Culberg, Harald Lander and Glen Tetley. She later became a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet until a serious back injury ended her performing career.

Haubert has taught and coached dance in Europe, Japan, Canada, United States and the Caribbean. She was member of the dance faculty of the University of Hawaii for seven years. In 1993, Haubert was invited by American Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie to return to New York as ballet mistress.

Haubert served on the dance faculty of California State University, Long Beach for six years. She continues her association with ABT, traveling throughout the U.S. auditioning dancers for the ABT Summer Intensives (one of which is held in Orange County each summer, presented by Segerstrom Center for the Arts in partnership with ABT and the University of California, Irvine). She was artistic coordinator of the ABT Detroit Summer Intensive for 15 years and, for the past three years, has directed the ABT Summer Intensive at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

The Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Recognized as one of the premier dance companies in the world, American Ballet Theatre brings the highest quality dance and dancers to audiences across the globe. Celebrating its role as “America’s national ballet company,” ABT tours nationally and internationally, performing for over 400,000 people annually.

Under the direction of Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith from 1940-1980, ABT developed a repertoire that honored the past while encouraging the development of the art form through the creation of new works. ABT’s mission, to create, to present, to preserve, and to extend the great repertoire of classical dancing is evident in its presentation of the classics such as Swan Lake, Giselle and The Sleeping Beauty and seminal works by choreographic masters of the 20th and 21st centuries including George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Twyla Tharp and Alexei Ratmansky.

Today, under the artistic direction of former ABT Principal Dancer Kevin McKenzie, the Company remains steadfast in its vision as “American” and continues to bring the art of dance theater to the great stages of the world. It has made more than 30 international tours to 45 countries and has been sponsored by the State Department of the United States on many of these engagements. In keeping with its long-standing commitment to bringing the finest in dance to the widest possible audience, ABT has recently enjoyed triumphant successes with engagements in Hong Kong, Havana, Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.

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There is some serious money in neighboring communities like Newport Beach, so the school might be a way of connecting with more major donors, along with Gillespie. And perhaps Gillespie is looking for a way to make ABT less New-York-centric.

Also, Segerstrom in Costa Mesa is adjacent to Santa Ana, which has a huge Latino population. I wonder if they'll tie this in with Project Plie, which is not mentioned, although they do mention limited scholarships and free community classes.

Still, it's not as if there is a dearth of ballet schools in that region. E.g., there is a large and well-established dance school nearby (Southland Ballet Academy: http://festivalballet.org/fbt/index.html) which does several nice performances each year with major guest stars (I saw Gomes and Murphy and they bring in others of that stature). I would guess they will see some serious enrollment loss.

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I will elaborate. This seems like a money grab for the company, pure and simple. The school (not the summer sessions) has been around 10 years and is not exactly bowling me over with top dancers. I'm not talking about the Studio Company. That has worked out well. Between the school and the teaching program etc..it's all about making money. Because you can tell that the company is hurting financially. And there's nothing wrong with making money. Maybe I'm being too hard. Maybe it will give them an edge in getting top West Coast talent.

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I think you hit the nail on the head Dale. There is no artistic advantage to this scheme. It's all about giving this wealthy donor an organization to put his name on so he gives the company lots of money. The JKO School (unlike the studio company) has not yet turned out any top level talent, although it may in the future. There is no point in now starting a second school on the West Coast. Very cynical of McKenzie, but I guess desperate finances call for desperate measures. You have to hand it to him and Rachel Moore in creating this scheme, though. Maybe they will pay themselves X-mas bonuses for coming up with this one.

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Glorya Kaufman has been pouring money into sponsorship of dance events in LA in recent years, e.g.:

"Glorya Kaufman presents Dance at the Music Center": http://www.musiccenter.org/about/Our-Programs/

(At least New York has not yet seen "Really Rich Person presents Ballet at Lincoln Center")

And the new Glorya Kaufman School of Dance at USC: http://kaufman.usc.edu/about/

So now ABT has tapped into uber-wealth in Orange County with Gillespie, and no doubt they hope he brings his circle of friends over to support ABT. They are moving the Ratmansky Nutcracker and the Sleeping Beauty premiere to Segerstrom next year, so this could all be related. Perhaps they feel the NYC donor community is maxed out at this point and this is a way to cultivate serious money in CA.

It's no secret that southern California remains the last major US region without its own major ballet company, so what's a donor to do if they want serious involvement with a major company. Yes, the LA Ballet formed a few years ago by Colleen Neary is there, but it's very small and performing in minor venues, usually with recorded music. It's interesting that their donor list does not include either Gillespie or Kaufman. You have to assume LAB tried with them. http://losangelesballet.org/

It's disgraceful that the arts are so heavily dependent on private fund-raising in the U.S., but they are, so it's hard to fault companies for reaching out to cultivate those donors any way they can.

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From the OC Register Article:

In reality, fewer than a handful of ABT’s company dancers are students who have risen up the ranks of the Onassis school in New York. None of the company’s 25 principals and soloists graduated from the school, according to the dancers’ biographies on the ABT website.

About 30 percent of the corps de ballet is made up of Onassis alumni, but a closer look reveals that the vast majority most only attended for the final year or two to polish off their skills at ABT’s invitation, after having been scouted from the audition-only summer sessions or at ballet competitions like the Youth America Grand Prix.

I've wondered about this, JKO is pushing its curriculum for "associated" schools such as Ballet San Jose, but there is no "proof" in the pudding yet???

Seems like it would have been simpler to invest in an existing school in Orange County, give them the Segerson scholarship opportunities and performance opportunities for the family oriented story ballets. Hmmmmmm.....time will tell. Ballet people can be snarky and there are small business interest to protect as well.

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I think you hit the nail on the head Dale. There is no artistic advantage to this scheme. It's all about giving this wealthy donor an organization to put his name on so he gives the company lots of money. The JKO School (unlike the studio company) has not yet turned out any top level talent, although it may in the future. There is no point in now starting a second school on the West Coast. Very cynical of McKenzie, but I guess desperate finances call for desperate measures. You have to hand it to him and Rachel Moore in creating this scheme, though. Maybe they will pay themselves X-mas bonuses for coming up with this one.

I don't agree about the lack of artistic advantage -- if ABT is going to succeed where so many California-based companies have failed, and really create a second home in SoCal, they do need to tap into local donors and to the local dance community. True, a school that only goes up to age 11 is not going to groom performers for the mother company, but it will give those families a sense of belonging to the institution, and any company with a school will tell you how important that is for the health of both organizations.

The JKO may not have many national caliber artists in its alumni roles yet, but it's early days for that, really. They seem to be placing the students they're training, and that's a good place to be at 10 years. And if ABT is using the school as a kind of pre-apprentice service, they are no different than many other schools attached to companies.

I think a project like this is certainly the product of canny planning, but I wouldn't necessarily call it cynical.

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From the OC Register Article:

In reality, fewer than a handful of ABT’s company dancers are students who have risen up the ranks of the Onassis school in New York. None of the company’s 25 principals and soloists graduated from the school, according to the dancers’ biographies on the ABT website.

About 30 percent of the corps de ballet is made up of Onassis alumni, but a closer look reveals that the vast majority most only attended for the final year or two to polish off their skills at ABT’s invitation, after having been scouted from the audition-only summer sessions or at ballet competitions like the Youth America Grand Prix.

I've wondered about this, JKO is pushing its curriculum for "associated" schools such as Ballet San Jose, but there is no "proof" in the pudding yet???

Seems like it would have been simpler to invest in an existing school in Orange County, give them the Segerson scholarship opportunities and performance opportunities for the family oriented story ballets. Hmmmmmm.....time will tell. Ballet people can be snarky and there are small business interest to protect as well.

I do wonder how this will affect the other schools in the area, but I can see why the donor would want to give to an established name, rather than to pitch what would be venture capital into a local school and try to increase its brand.

Right now, between this project and the new conservatory/college programs that are being established in the area, there's a lot of re-positioning going on in SoCal dance. It's going to be very interesting to follow along with the developments.

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I think this development calls into question whether ABT is serous about offering high caliber ballet training anywhere, including at the JKO School. There are reasons that pretigious institutions like SAB refrain from this sort of gimmick.

Yes. And it might be noted that at many established (and wonderful) companies in this country the "Balanchine style" has been displayed and preserved without taking anything away from each company's "individual style". SF Ballet, Boston, PNB, Miami City Ballet are a few examples. Each of these are currently run by ex NYCB dancers. All have excellent schools that train beautiful dancers. None have felt the need to have an" extension" of SAB as part of their training programs. And it might be noted that in each of these cases there are other schools in these cities that likewise offer good training. I do feel that to put the "JKO" label out there cheapens the product to some degree. As a few others on this forum have mentioned, there still are not a lot of dancers of high (or higher) quality being turned out at JKO. I know a few teachers who have taken the JKO "courses" that qualify them to teach that method, but in reality are not better teachers now than they were before. Much of the public is unaware or ignorant of what qualifies as good, or great teaching. They see a label and run to it. But the proof will always be in the product. In putting their name on it ABT and JKO will be responsible for it and it's care and handling. Time will tell.

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SF Ballet, Boston, PNB, Miami City Ballet are a few examples. Each of these are currently run by ex NYCB dancers. All have excellent schools that train beautiful dancers.

In the case of San Francisco Ballet (SFB), though, there is no link between the excellence of the school and the principal dancer ranks. If you read the bios of the 18 principals at SFB, not one lists the SFB Ballet School as their primary schooling experience. Of the 18 principals, only 3 show that they went through the traditional corps to soloist to principal route. In fact, 9 of the 18 joined the company as principal dancers. (For the record, I didn't see any mentions of the School of American Ballet, either.)

I guess what I'm saying is that you can have a thriving company that does not depend on its school for its principals. And SFB is certainly thriving. If we had a vote on this board to determine whether ABT is still a member of the 'Big 7' or whether SFB has supplanted it, I think SFB would get some votes. Which suggests that the "But first a school" mantra need not be determinative if you have an artistic director with intelligence and taste.

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I'm just curious. Are all or most of the NYCB principal dancers got all their training in SAB?

Without studying the bios, I would say they received at least some of their training at SAB, not "all." They at least capped off their training with a year or two or more at SAB. For ex. They might have studied at Central PA until they were 13 or 14 and then spent a few years at SAB before entering the company. Exceptions are Garcia, De Luz and Le Cour.
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I assume the training only up to age 11 is temporary and will be pushed back as the institution grows? Perhaps this is because they want to assure that they are turning out high calibre students by age 17 rather than trying to put a year or so of retraining onto dancers trained elsewhere? Many decades ago, I studied with the new principal, and have nothing but respect for her. The way the ABT system has reached out to improve standards across the country and across a wide variety of schools is to be admired. Only a minescule fraction of students can make it into the elite schools like SAB and SFB and many of these are limited by body type. To assume none of the others could make a contribution to the field is shortsighted. I also don't see how having one more school hurts Southern California. It hasn't exactly hurt the New York dance scene to have lots of ballet schools.

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