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Pupils Get Taste of Ballet’s Big Time

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Times Staff Writer

Students were clamoring to get in, five times more than could be accommodated. You could say that American Ballet Theatre’s summer intensive program was a hit.

Last fall, more than 3,500 dance students auditioned in 23 cities across the country for the 700 openings at five ABT training sites, including Orange County.

“I am astonished at how many people want to do these kinds of programs,” summer intensive director Rebecca Wright said in a recent phone interview.

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“Some people want to get into the schools, where they hope they’ll be seen and hired for the winter. Some just want to go and do summer work. Others go because they’re going to get a master class from someone in the company.”

The program, which began Aug. 6, ends with two performances at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

The mission of the program, according to Mary Jo Ziesel, ABT education director, is “to provide the highest quality training to young dancers and to provide a thorough dance experience with a comprehensive curriculum for the development of a well-rounded dancer.

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“The summer intensive is a feeder for the studio company, which in turn is a feeder for the main company. Of the 12 dancers selected for the studio company every year, I would say over 30 of them have gone into the main company in the last three years under the direction of John Meehan. Two of those dancers were recently promoted to soloist. So the program really works.”

There are 130 students in Orange County, divided into four groups according to age and ability.

“It’s a very strong group,” Wright said. “They’re very lovely.”

This is the second year Orange County has hosted the event. Classes are held at the Performing Arts Center. UC Irvine provides housing.

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Classes last about two hours and cover topics ranging from pointe work and other aspects of ballet technique to nutrition and acting for dancers. Afternoons are devoted to learning classical and contemporary repertory in preparation for the Friday performances.

In addition to Wright, the teachers include David Allan, Daniel Baudendistel, Gabrielle Brown, Alaine Haubert, Clinton Luckett and Charles Maple.

The program is part of ABT’s education and training division and operates on audition fees, tuition and grants from both private foundations and the New York State Arts Council.

The fee for the three-week Orange County program is $1,350, plus an additional $1,350 for food and housing. (Prices at ABT summer workshops vary because they last as few as three weeks or as many as six.)

The company does offer some aid. Eighteen students here received full scholarships (covering tuition, but not housing); five received half-scholarships.

“Every student who participates in the summer intensive program is considered for our national training program,” ABT education director Ziesel explained.

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“That awards scholarships to young dancers who have shown promise and achievement from each of the satellites. We award them money to study at home during the year and also a scholarship to come to the summer intensive in New York or one of the satellites.

“We have some kids who have been on the national training program for several years, who have then even moved into the studio company, which is a preprofessional training company made up of 12 dancers handpicked by the artistic director of the studio company, John Meehan, and [ABT artistic director] Kevin McKenzie,” she added.

“We find very talented students in California. It’s one of the highest talent pools for us.”

Two of the dancers from this program will receive scholarships to go to New York next summer, according to summer director Wright.

“The education program at ABT has grown faster and larger than any other single program there,” she said. “We have outreach programs in New York, in three or four high schools, and then we have another program for children. And we have this program for the professional training of the kids.”

Wright, 53, is also the director of the dance program at Adelphi University on Long Island. She was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and with ABT and also danced on Broadway. She has been a dance faculty member at California Institute of the Arts, Cal State Long Beach and UCLA.

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“I was so fortunate to come to Southern California and get into the academic world,” she said. “The skills I learned in the academic world and the way I had to attain my tenure and justify my theories and what I saw really gave me skills that a lot of dancers don’t have.

“Every year I try brand-new things because the market shifts and education shifts, and I’m always trying to look toward the future and yet stay committed to classicism, which is history. I feel very fortunate that I can do both worlds.”

Students of the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive Program will dance excerpts from “Swan Lake” and other ballets, plus modern works Friday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine. $12. (949) 854-4646.

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