ABT Summer Intensive's Final Show
Lindsay Karchin checks in with
Pointe from the end of ABT’s summer intensive. See her other blog entries here.
The ABT New York Summer Intensive had its final performances on Friday at the Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens. On show day, all of the students had a one hour warm-up class at the ABT studios, and then took the subway together to get to the theater. The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts is a beautiful high school with an amazing stage and theater. The seven levels of dancers were divided into different classrooms to begin applying stage makeup and putting on costumes for the pieces in the first half of the show. Before each piece, dancers warmed up in the hallways, and everyone was careful to cover their pointe or flat shoes so that the wax from the floor would not transfer to the stage and make it slippery. The first half of the program presented repertoire from classical ballets, while the second half was primarily contemporary pieces. Both performances were to a full house, and it was exciting to have our teachers, friends and families there to see a part of what we have been working so hard on this summer. Most students were able to see part of the dress rehearsal, so we can’t wait to see the entire shows when our DVDs arrive in the mail!
On behalf of all of the students at the summer intensive, I’d like to thank our teachers, all of the administrators, including our great counselors, the accompanists, and the physical therapist. We are so fortunate to have Rosalie O’Connor taking pictures during our dress rehearsal and performances, so that we will always have memories of our amazing summer. This program provides an incredible experience to dancers who not only want to improve their ballet technique and performance quality, but who also want to work on modern dance, and have fun with classes in other styles such as jazz and character. Personally, I feel that I have become a stronger dancer during these five weeks, and in speaking with many of my friends at the end of the program, they all agree that they have improved a lot this summer. I’ll miss my friends from California, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Florida, and so many other places, but I hope to see them again next summer at ABT!
