Young Dancers Heed a Call to Arms and Legs

While lots of youngsters were dreaming up ways to relax this summer, thousands of kids around the country were lining up to get their chance to sweat and strain.

The hopefuls were auditioning for one of four American Ballet Theatre summer programs that put younger dancers together with ABT professionals.

Orange County steps into the arena for the first time this week by hosting one of the programs at the Performing Arts Center. UC Irvine provides housing. The whole three-week course of study culminates in two public performances Aug. 25 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

“We auditioned about 3,000 kids in 17 cities around the country,” company executive director Louis G. Spisto said in a recent phone interview from his New York offices.

“Many of them are very serious and will pursue careers in ballet, but many will not. The program is for those who are interested in dance, but not necessarily on a career track.”

Dancers Converge on Costa Mesa

One hundred dancers from around the country were assigned to Costa Mesa. They are taking four classes a day, focusing on basic technique, choreography and repertory. They also attend a daily seminar on nutrition, yoga, dance history, acting or music theory.

Guiding them are familiar former ABT soloists and principal dancers, including Leslie Brown, Rebecca Wright and Robert Hill.

“We’ve always wanted to be involved with more outreach programs, and this is an opportunity to do that,” center president Jerry E. Mandel said recently. “Outreach is important, and developing that next group of dancers is important.”

Identifying new talent is one of two main goals for the summer programs. Six students have been asked to move to the ABT Studio Company. “Very often, dancers in the ABT studios make it to the full company within a two-year period,” Spisto said.

Participants also get a chance to win scholarships that allow them to stay at home and study ballet during the regular school year.

None of this comes cheap, however. The fee for the three-week Orange County intensive program is $1,000. (Prices at workshops vary because they last as few as three weeks or as many as six.)

The company does offer some aid; about a dozen students in Orange County are on scholarship, Spisto said.

Hoping to Expand Program

ABT’s other goal, Spisto said, is to “serve the communities in which we perform and keep ABT well known as America’s dance company.”

“That’s why we’re called American Ballet Theatre. We like to think of ourselves as serving not only our home city but also as serving communities around the country.”

ABT’s other sites this year are New York City, Detroit and Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“We like to have programs associated with centers or presenters that work with ABT. We’ve had a good relationship with the Performing Arts Center that goes back to its opening, and we’re building upon that relationship.”

Spisto and Mandel hope to repeat the program next year and perhaps expand it, though no decision has yet been made.

“We want to look at this one and see how it works,” Mandel said. “So far, we’re very happy with it.

“But I would like to do a whole summer of this ballet school that would terminate in a performance on our stage. This year we can’t do it because we’re just booked. But with our new halls and enough planning, we’ll be able to have students dance on our stage.

“With our new facilities coming on, we’re going to have a lot of space to do more educational activities.”

* Students in American Ballet Theatre’s Orange County summer intensive program will dance Aug. 25 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive. Repertory will be announced. $12. (949) 854-4646.

Chris Pasles can be reached at (714) 966-5602 or by e-mail at chris.pasles@latimes.com.