Gelsey Kirkland and Alexander Godunov

[Drew]

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

Kirkland has had her school for many years now,  but as far as I know,  no notable dancer has emerged from it.  In fact,  I'm unaware of any professional who claims her as a teacher.  Am I missing anyone?

The school closed some years ago. I did a search to find the exact date and didn’t succeed. I assume it was too hard to make a go of it financially. And obviously SAB and other longer established schools would draw the most ambitious and talented students in the New York area. But reviews that I read of  the school and company  (whatever ‘company’ meant) performances were very good. For what it’s worth, I vaguely recall reading professional dancer bios that mentioned the academy, so I assume some students went on to professional careers even if no-one high profile. But I can’t say I remember specifics. In any case Kirkland appears to have overcome many of her earlier problems. I think that is admirable even if her school didn’t last long enough to have a bigger impact. My point wasn’t that she was a world famous teacher, but that she became a teacher and her involvement with and contributions to ballet didn’t end with her stage career.
 

Edited to add that her school’s publicity featured ideas about student health etc. that are probably increasingly coming into fashion in many schools. I have no idea if these were implemented successfully or not. One would have to talk to some of the students who attended. 

Edited June 28 by Drew

[California]

59 minutes ago, Drew said:

The school closed some years ago. I did a search to find the exact date and didn’t succeed. I assume it was too hard to make a go of it financially. And obviously SAB and other longer established schools would draw the most ambitious and talented students in the New York area. But reviews that I read of  the school and company  (whatever ‘company’ meant) performances were very good. For what it’s worth, I vaguely recall reading professional dancer bios that mentioned the academy, so I assume some students went on to professional careers even if no-one high profile. But I can’t say I remember specifics. In any case Kirkland appears to have overcome many of her earlier problems. I think that is admirable even if her school didn’t last long enough to have a bigger impact. My point wasn’t that she was a world famous teacher, but that she became a teacher and her involvement with and contributions to ballet didn’t end with her stage career.
 

Edited to add that her school’s publicity featured ideas about student health etc. that are probably increasingly coming into fashion in many schools. I have no idea if these were implemented successfully or not. One would have to talk to some of the students who attended. 

My memory is that it closed because of the COVID lock-down in 2020 and never re-opened. I'm guessing that trying to do on-line classes was a bridge too far. At least judging from social media, she now lives in Maine with second husband Misha Chernov.

She used to stage some very nice productions. I have an old DVD of La Sylphide from her school with Herman Cornejo as the guest artist. 

[ABT Fan]

A former colleague of mine’s daughter was a student at Kirkland’s school. She loved it there and the performing opportunities. Raved about Kirkland as a teacher. I don’t recall why they closed, but it’s very unfortunate that it did.