ABT's JKOS students receive scholarships

[Dale]

From ABT:

STUDENTS FROM JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS SCHOOL

AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS FROM DIZZY FEET FOUNDATION

Sterling Baca, age 16, from Larkspur, Colorado, and Chauncie Parchment, age 15, from Brooklyn, New York, both students of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, are the recipients of full-scholarships granted by the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

The Dizzy Feet Foundation was founded in 2009 by Nigel Lythgoe, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of television’s So You Think You Can Dance, director Adam Shankman, Carrie Ann Inaba of Dancing With the Stars and actress Katie Holmes. The foundation’s goal is to support, improve and increase access to dance education in the United States. Baca and Parchment received two of ten scholarships awarded to young, talented dancers by the Dizzy Feet Foundation in its inaugural year.

“The goals of the Dizzy Feet Foundation are very much in keeping with the mission of dance education at American Ballet Theatre,” said Franco De Vita, Principal of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at ABT. “We have programs to educate teachers, as well as to train dancers. Sterling and Chauncie have outstanding potential and we are proud to have them recognized in this way.”

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, established in January 2004, is a pre-professional classical ballet program currently training students at the Company’s 890 Broadway rehearsal studios. Under the direction of Franco De Vita, Principal, the faculty of the JKO School includes members of ABT’s Artistic Staff, ABT alumni and other prominent teachers. The JKO School follows a specific graded curriculum, divided by age as outlined in ABT’s National Training Curriculum. Each level is designed to be sensitive to the developmental needs of the age group.

For more information on the Jacqueline Kennnedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org/education <http://www.abt.org/education> .

[SanderO]

Congratulations to Sterling Baca and Chauncie Parchment. We'll be looking for you on the Met stage in the not too distant future. Excellent work! There's a lot more ahead of you!