Diversity and Inclusion

The School of American Ballet (SAB) considers the artistic representation of cultural and racial diverseness every bit essential to the fine art course.  As a premier training academy whose graduates are poised to join and ultimately head dance organizations worldwide, SAB recognizes its responsibility in creating a community that embodies equity and inclusion through its behaviors, policies, and practices.  SAB believes that it must exist proactive in ensuring access to its auditions and training, as well as in providing the necessary financial, developmental, and social back up for qualified students of all backgrounds.

SAB's Diversity Initiative first launched in 2012 with the intention of bringing more than dancers of color to professional stages.  Since then, the School has experienced significant changes in the pupil body which has inspired deeper organizational learning for all members of the system in regard to diversity, disinterestedness, and inclusion.  No longer an initiative, the School's delivery to diversity, equity, and inclusion is now becoming a lived-priority of the organization and its members.

Since 2018, SAB has been i of twenty-ane ballet organizations participating in The Equity Project: Increasing the Presence of Blacks in Ballet.  This important try is led by Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dance/U.s.a., and the International Clan of Blacks in Trip the light fantastic toe and is described as "a collaborative learning community and cohort committed to achieving diversity and inclusion in professional ballet.

Recruiting and Outreach

Meet the Dancers portion of community lecture demonstrations

The School of American Ballet believes that information technology can all-time influence diversity in ballet through seeking and training a racially diverse pupil body prepared to enter the professional dance world. The Recruiting and Outreach Department works to support this mission and is committed to expanding admission to SAB's programs to students from all backgrounds.  For the 2019-2020 Winter Term, SAB'due south student body is composed of 45% cocky-reporting students of colour.

National Audience Tour

The National Audition Tour provides SAB with the opportunity to audition serious ballet students from around the country for its annual Summer Course and Young Dancer Series.  To increase the number of applicants of color who participate at these auditions and subsequently enroll in its programs, SAB has increased advice with local teachers and schools, too as collaborated with alumni who maintain significant ties to diverse trip the light fantastic communities nationwide.

Student Life

Student Life at SAB is committed to fostering a welcoming, inclusive environs for students in all divisions. The Student Life staff considers 'diversity' to be an umbrella term designating an affluence of scales on which students, faculty and staff may differ from ane another, and is dedicated to promoting conversation and awareness well-nigh these differences.

As a part of SAB's commitment to the health of its pupil trunk, faculty, staff and students are required to participate in professional evolution and programming that address topics of diverseness, inclusion, and empathy. Programming includes:

  • Professional development for faculty and staff, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace as information technology relates to SAB's mission and goals.
  • New Student Experience' Programming: a series of workshops for new Intermediate and Avant-garde students that covers topics such as inclusivity and leadership.
  • Personal Enrichment Programme: a series of workshops for students in all divisions that cover topics such as identity, implicit bias, microaggressions, and empathy.
  • Mentoring and networking experiences for students of color through conferences and symposiums with partnering organizations.
  • Student Life and Residence Life Professional Development, with explicit focus on topics of identity, equity, and inclusion.

Alumni Advisory Commission on Variety & Inclusion

2019-2020 SAB Alumni Advisory Committee

The Schoolhouse of American Ballet'south Alumni Informational Committee on Diversity and Inclusion was formed in 2015 to provide essential support and guidance for the School's Diverseness Initiative. The Committee is comprised of alumni of color with significant ties to the professional dance world who take been invited past SAB's leadership to serve in this consultative role.

The focus of the piece of work of the Committee includes, but is not limited to, national outreach, the building and strengthening of alumni networks, and diversity programming for current SAB students.

2019-2020 Alumni Advisory Committee

Aesha Ash, Founder of The Swan Dreams Project, Ballet Instructor/Motorbus and Pilates Instructor; SAB'south 2018-2020 Visiting Kinesthesia Chair; quondam New York Urban center Ballet corps member, former soloist with Béjart Ballet Lausanne and Alonzo King Lines Ballet

Debra Austin, Ballet Mistress, Carolina Ballet; onetime New York Urban center Ballet corps member; sometime Zurich Ballet soloist, former principal dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet

Darius Barnes, Broadway Performer in Mean Girls; By Broadway shows include Memphis, Spider-Man Plough Off the Night; Cinderella, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Kiss Me Kate, former member of New York Metropolis Ballet, Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera

Hinton Battle, Director, Choreographer, Producer, and Tony Laurels Winner; one-time dancer with Dance Theater of Harlem

Kareen Camargo, Kinesthesia member, Miami City Ballet Schoolhouse and New Earth School of the Arts; sometime member of Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet

Anthony Carr, Dancer, Choreographer, Actor (credits include Hairspray (motion-picture show), Justin Bieber'due south "My World" Bout, Missy Elliot Promo Tour; SAB'south Boys Plan alumnus

Darius Crenshaw, Broadway Performer in The Color Majestic, The Phantom of the Opera, Motown the Musical, Hello Dolly!; one-time fellow member of New York Urban center Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, LA Opera, Opéra de Toulon; Tv and film credits are The Last Five Years, Rent Live

Heidi Cruz-Austin, Co-Director, DanceSpora Dance Company; faculty at Muhlenberg College, Temple Academy and University of the Arts; sometime dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet and Ballet X

Maurice Brandon Curry, Executive Artistic Managing director at Eglevsky Ballet; former dancer with Carolina Ballet, Kaleidoscope Dance Visitor, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, and DancEllington

Duane Cyrus, Associate Professor of Trip the light fantastic toe, University of North Carolina at Greensboro; former dancer with Alvin Ailey American Trip the light fantastic Theater and Martha Graham Trip the light fantastic toe Visitor

Sandra Fortune-Green, Artistic Director, Jones-Haywood Dance School, Inc.; quondam dancer with The Washington Ballet and the Capitol Ballet Visitor

Kiyon Gaines-Ross, Managing director of Company Operations, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Program Manager of PNB's Next Footstep Choreographer Showcase; Resident Choreographer, Ballet Arkansas; former soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet

Robyn Gardenhire, Founder and Artistic Director, City Ballet of Los Angeles; sometime dancer with Cleveland Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The White Oak Dance Project, Karole Armitage

Gladisa Guadalupe, Artistic Manager, Cleveland Ballet; former principal dancer with Ballet de San Juan, Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, The Cleveland-San Jose Ballet, The Cleveland Ballet

Craig Hall, Ballet Master, New York Metropolis Ballet and kinesthesia member, School of American Ballet; former New York Metropolis Ballet soloist

Francesca Harper, Artistic Director, The Francesca Harper Project, Creative Director of the Movement Invention Project, Choreographer; former principal dancer with Ballet Frankfurt and member of Dance Theatre of Harlem; former Broadway performer in Fosse, The Producers, The Color Purple

Gen Horiuchi, Executive and Creative Manager of Saint Louis Ballet; old New York Urban center Ballet main

Aaron Jackson, Faculty member, The Washington Ballet School and The Dance Constitute of Washington; quondam dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and The Washington Ballet

Damien Johnson, Faculty member, The Washington Ballet; former Senior Artist with Ballet Black

Jermel Johnson, Main dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet

Andrea Long-Naidu, Faculty member, Primal Pennsylvania Youth Ballet; SAB's 2017-2018 Ford Foundation Visiting Faculty Chair; erstwhile chief dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and New York City Ballet corps member

Joseph Malbrough, Lecturer in Dance, Purchase College and kinesthesia fellow member, Ballet Academy Due east; former primary dancer with Chicago City Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and L'Opera de Lausanne, Switzerland

Steven Melendez, The Hiland Artistic Managing director at NDI New Mexico; former principal dancer with New York Theatre Ballet, onetime principal dancer with The Vanemuine Theater, Estonia and international guest artist

Monique Meunier, Assistant Professor of Ballet, University of California Santa Barbara and Balanchine Repetiteur; former Ballet Master and Director of Trainee Program at The Washington Ballet; erstwhile New York City Ballet principal

Renee Robinson, Freelance Artist; Lecturer Theatre Studies, Yale University; former dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Henry Seth, Freelance Artist, Ballet Instructor, and Coach; former New York City Ballet corps member

Margaret Severin-Hansen, Main Dancer and Founding Member of Carolina Ballet, Artistic Director of the Ruth Due south. Shur Summer Intensive, Assistant Director at the Triangle Academy of Cary, N.C., faculty member School of Carolina Ballet

Leyland Simmons, Ballet Instructor and Resident Choreographer at Harlem School for the Arts; Choreographer; former dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Ailey Two

Eric Underwood, Movement Director and Choreographer; Model with Purple and Aristocracy Models; one-time soloist with The Royal Ballet

National Visiting Fellows

The School of American Ballet (SAB) established the National Visiting Fellows program in 2015 with the intention of cultivating relationships with teaching professionals from around the state who are committed to training students from diverse backgrounds. This aids in our effort to build partnerships with dance institutions around the country and investigate potential strategies for national evolution. Since it began, SAB has awarded fellowships to over 25 teaching professionals across the The states and continues to maintain relationships with past Fellows. Beginning in 2018 and in partnership with past Fellows, SAB implemented National Outreach programs in Atlanta and New Orleans with gratis masterclasses and teacher training workshops for local students and dance educators.

Artistic Directors' Coalition for Ballet in America

Following the murder of George Floyd, a group of leaders in the classical ballet and dance fields began meeting regularly to discuss and address how to instigate positive and lasting change within our art class. This collective, the Artistic Directors' Coalition for Ballet in America, has turned a critical lens on their organizations and has been working since June 2020 to evaluate practices, policies and biases, to brainstorm and share, and to mind and learn from i another.