Kayla Mak, ABT Studio Company Dancer and Juilliard Student, Shares Her Daily Routine
These days, Kayla Mak jokes that she’s living like Hannah Montana. “It almost feels like I have two different lives,” she says. A fourth-year at The Juilliard School, Mak joined American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in September 2024. Juilliard’s professional exchange program allows Mak to work with the Studio Company while receiving academic credit towards her final year. So while she still hangs with classmates around Lincoln Center, she spends the majority of her week clad in pointe shoes, rehearsing downtown.
“It’s just been a whole new world,” reflects Mak. “I feel like a beginner again, learning about ballet culture and being in the ballet world now, compared to Juilliard, which is more concert-based, conservatory training.”
Below, Mak shares how she balances the end of college life with the exciting start of her career at ABT.
7:45 am: While Mak usually wakes on her own, she sets an alarm just in case. The bird sound on her Hatch Alarm Clock is her current go-to.
8:05 am: Mak eats a big meal to start the day: microwaveable breakfast burritos with some orange juice for a vitamin C kick.
8:50 am: Mak’s morning commute is on the downtown 6 train, followed by a two-minute walk to the ABT studios.
9:30 am–11:15 am: Morning class. Mak completes a series of foot exercises to warm up before class, ever since she tweaked her ankle during Nutcracker season. “I’ve noticed, especially now that I’m wearing pointe shoes all the time, [that] my feet are so crunchy in the morning!”
On Wednesdays and Fridays, Studio Company dancers take a strength-and-conditioning class before their first ballet class, so she’s already warm by the time she’s at the barre.
11:30 am–12:30 pm: Pointe, variations, pas de deux classes, or rehearsal.
12:30 pm: Lunch. Mak packs leftovers or occasionally grabs a sandwich from a nearby bodega.
1–4:25 pm: Rehearsals. “It just depends what we want to rehearse that day, what’s coming up in terms of our tour…sometimes [ABT Studio Company artistic director Sascha Radetsky] just says, ‘Alright, what do we want to work on today?’ ”
Among the company’s repertoire this year, Mak has enjoyed how physically demanding George Balanchine’s Tarantella is, and found familiarity in contemporary pieces like Houston Thomas’ U Don’t Know Me.
During company breaks on the hour, Mak fills up her water bottle or snacks on BelVita crackers. There’s not much time to scroll on social media. “When I’m done at the studio, I still have, like, 98 percent on my phone.”
6:30 pm: Mak heads back to the ABT Studio Company dorms.
8 pm: Dinner. Today Mak has rice, beans, yuca, and picadillo, followed by a sweet treat. “I’m Japanese, Chinese, and Cuban. My dad makes a lot of Cuban food, so I have a lot of that in my fridge.”
9 pm: Homework. Though Mak has fulfilled her general-education requirements, she is enrolled in a remote senior seminar course focused on preparing students for company life and auditions. After rehearsals, Mak lies on the floor to write reflection papers for the course.
11:30 pm: Calls her dad. Mak grew up in Westchester, a suburb of New York City, which allows her to visit her family fairly often, but she still keeps in touch over the phone, as well.
12 am: Bedtime.
Weekends and downtime: ABT Studio Company rehearses on Saturday afternoons, so Mak sleeps in. Sundays are for trips home to Westchester to visit with family and her dog, or day trips to Chinatown with her family. On other days off, Mak books empty studios at Juilliard to improv or spends time with her Juilliard friends: grabbing ramen around Lincoln Center, exploring H-Mart, and visiting friends at their apartments.
Performance weeks: The majority of Mak’s performances now take place on tour with ABT, but she performed solos in Juilliard’s Fall Festival and the Juilliard Gala Celebration. For these performances, she headed to tech rehearsals straight from ABT, getting home later in the evening. When on tour with ABT Studio company, Mak finds time to do homework in hotel rooms. Her traveling super powers? Falling asleep anywhere and packing light.
