AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Calling all BT Alumni ages 18+! BT Alumnus and current Board Member Edgar Peterson is choreographing a new work on our alumni to premiere at Kids Dance 2025! The audition will be held at Ballet Tech on Wednesday, November 20th from 5:30 – 7:30pm. This is a paid performance opportunity. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the link in our bio.
Please join us in wishing our Artistic Director, Dionne Figgins, a successful opening night as she stars as Daisy Parker in the Broadway premiere of A Wonderful World – The Louis Armstrong Musical. Congratulations Ms. Figgins and break a leg!!
47 years ago—in 1977—Eliot Feld and former Executive Director Cora Cahan discovered 890 Broadway, a building architecturally ideal for dance studios and rehearsal space. The Eliot Feld Ballet Company had been rehearsing in a hodgepodge of rental spaces since its founding in 1974, and renting 890 Broadway meant that the company had finally found a permanent home. Swipe right to read a New York Times article from November 9, 1977 about Eliot Feld finding 890 Broadway.
Picture 1: Eliot Feld (right) and the Eliot Feld Ballet Company rehearsing. Photo by Lois Greenfield.
Pictures 2 & 3: From the NYT archive.
Picture 4: The entrance to 890 Broadway. Photo by Martha Swope.
Every year our 8th graders have the option to take Audition Prep to prepare themselves for admission to high school performing arts and summer dance programs. Led by Ms. Barry, students review audition techniques, choreograph their own solos, and get ready to move on to the next stage of their dance training.
Here’s our BT Alumni class November lineup! If you would like to participate, please sign up via the link in our bio. We hope to see you there!
More info about classes in December coming soon.
It’s Election Day! During this election cycle, our students have been campaigning to represent their grade on Ballet Tech’s Student Council. With facilitation from 5th grade teacher Ms. Sobolewski, students introduced themselves and presented their qualifications and ideas on how to improve the Ballet Tech community. We are so proud of the wonderful work these candidates have put into this process, and are excited to share the results on Friday!
Happy Halloween!! Today we celebrated with our annual Halloween parade and costume contest. Students and staff strutted down the runway to show off their Halloween spirit! Check out our Instagram story throughout the day for more costume content in the studios.
We are thrilled to have Paul Taylor Dance Company teaching artists Annmaria Mazzini and Winston Dynamite Brown back in the studios with our 7th & 8th graders this week. As part of a 5-day technique and repertory workshop through the Polaris Project, our students will study the powerful and expressive elements of Taylor modern dance, while also learning excerpts from Taylor’s iconic “Esplanade.”
Jada Pearman in Esplanade, photo by Steven Pisano
Shawn Lesniak and Jada Pearman in Esplanade, Photo by Luke J. Merlino
Annmaria Mazzini, photo by Jaqlin Medlock
Winston Dynamite Brown, photo by BeccaVision
8th graders Cosmo and Noah interview Ballet Tech’s Director of Finance, Russell Murphy, who has been a BT employee for almost 27 years! They discuss his career as a professional dancer, his role at Ballet Tech, and his passion for volunteering, among other highlights.
Click here to watch: https://youtu.be/hEB51pphxwc
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, teaching artists Taylor Lovett and Ashlynn Holder-Mosley of Ballet Hispánico came to teach workshops to our entire student body in a range of styles including Mambo, Salsa, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Caribbean, and Soca. A huge thank you to Ballet Hispánico for coming back to work with our students again this year. They had so much fun learning these new styles of movement.
We’re excited to announce our lineup of BT Alumni classes for the remainder of October! If you would like to participate, please sign up via the link in our bio. Please keep in mind the Jotform signup will close the Thursday at 5pm before each Saturday class. The first class is happening this Saturday, October 12th at 12pm. Hope to see you there!
More info about classes in November & December coming soon.
HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! While our students won’t start dance classes until Monday, today they return to 890 Broadway to get into the academic swing of things. Here’s a throwback photo from the first ever first day of school at Ballet Tech, The NYC Public School for Dance, back in 1995! You can see Founder Eliot Feld left center, as well as many other familiar faces from Ballet Tech’s history. Comment below if you see yourself or someone you know!
Happy 88th birthday to Steve Reich! Steve Reich is known for his innovative minimalist musical compositions, which resonated with Eliot Feld so deeply that he choreographed 15 ballets to Reich’s music! His music is noted for its “perceptible processes,” where the careful layering of repetitive figures allows the listener to hear each shift in the music as the pattern changes.
Two of the public domain ballets we shared over the summer feature Reich’s music, “Tongue & Groove” and “Aurora,” check them out on our page if you are interested in experiencing the variety of Reich & Feld’s artistic harmony.
Here’s the complete list of all the ballets Eliot choreographed to Reich’s music:
The Grand Canon 1985
Aurora I & II 1985
Medium: Rare 1985
Bent Planes 1986
Echo 1986
Kore 1988
Clave 1991
Ion 1991
Tongue and Groove 1995
Chi 1995
A Stair Dance 2004
Proverb 2004
Sir Isaac’s Apples 2005
Isis In Transit 2008
Photo credits:
Image 1: Steve Reich photographed by Jeffrey Herman; Image 2: Buffy Miller in “Kore” photographed by Lois Greenfield; Image 3: Fang-Yi Sheu in “Isis in Transit” photographed by Lois Greenfield; Image 4: Chris Vo in “Proverb” photographed by Lois Greenfield; Image 5: “A Stair Dance” photographed by Stephanie Berger.
MZ Wallace, a designer bag company based in NYC, collaborated with New York City Ballet (NYCB) Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild and Joseph Gordon to create a collection of bags with the specific needs of dancers in mind. The Dancer Collection has officially launched today and we are incredibly excited to announce that Monica Zwirner and Lucy Wallace Eustice, the founders of MZ Wallace, have generously decided to donate 10% of all sales to Ballet Tech to support our Ballet Tech Across New York (BTANY) enrichment program! In addition, MZ Wallace donated 120 bags to Ballet Tech for us to distribute to our students.
On September 16, Megan Fairchild and Joseph Gordon visited Ballet Tech alongside MZ Wallace Director of Marketing Eliza Sniatkowski, Brand Consultant Anja Tyson, and photographer Cynthia Edorh to surprise our students with the new bags! We are deeply grateful to MZ Wallace for this generous contribution and would like to extend a huge thank you to all who helped make it happen.
Please enjoy these photos from the surprise announcement, taken by Cynthia Edorh.
From left to right: Joseph Gordon, Megan Fairchild, Eliza Sniatkowski, Anja Tyson
From left to right: Megan Fairchild, BT Executive Director Maggie Christ, BT Artistic Director Dionne Figgins, BT Principal Veronica York, BT Director of External Affairs Andrew Ennis, Eliza Sniatkowski, Joseph Gordon.
Did you know that when Eliot Feld founded Ballet Tech’s school in 1978, it was called The New Ballet School? The New Ballet School operated similarly to our current Introduction to Ballet program, which in its first year involved bussing 138 students from 8 different elementary schools to take beginner ballet classes at Ballet Tech’s studios.
But as students grew older and their training became more time-intensive, it became clear that it would be more efficient if academics and dance training could happen in the same building.
The school’s excellent reputation as a tuition-free dance academy led to an unprecedented partnership with the NYC Department of Education. Beginning in the fall of 1995, Ballet Tech students were able to take academic and dance classes all under one roof, making it easier for them to focus on their studies both in the classroom and in the studio. That’s the model we continue to use to this day.
Here are some images from the first day of on-site academic studies in 1995 and two photos of Roseanne Caruso teaching dance at The New Ballet School in the 80’s.
Last week, our middle school students attended a workshop with Harkness Center for Dance Injuries on the importance of nutrition and the role it plays in their mental and physical well-being. As dancers, it is vital that they fuel their bodies with the necessary nutrients to meet the demands of the studio. Thank you to Ella Otto & Kristen Stevens for a wonderful workshop!
Today was our first day of dance class for the 2024-2025 school year! Students are happy to be back in the studios and are excited for what this year has in store. We’re looking forward to sharing more about their dance education as they continue to learn and grow!
We are elated to finally introduce Ballet Tech’s new Principal, Veronica York! Ms. York first joined Ballet Tech in January 2024 to serve as Interim Principal after the retirement of longtime BT Principal Roy O’Neill. Prior to joining Ballet Tech, Ms. York was the Assistant Principal at Townsend Harris High School for 13 years, overseeing Guidance, Instructional Support Services (Special Education), and Music & Arts. With two decades of educational experience, including positions as an elementary teacher and a School Counselor/College Office Director at LaGuardia Arts High School, Ms. York is rooted in fostering strong social-emotional relationships, achieving administrative successes, and driving educational innovation. A proud product of the NYC PS system, she believes that student – staff relationships are the foundation of student success.
As we prepare to kick off the school year tomorrow, Ms. York shares this message:
“Welcome back to school, everyone! I hope your break was filled with joy, relaxation, and memorable moments. I am thrilled to be starting my first full year as the Principal of Ballet Tech, New York City Public School for Dance. This role is a true honor, and I am incredibly excited to begin this journey with such a vibrant and talented community.
We have a lot of new and exciting things ahead. As we kick off the new school year, I look forward to connecting with our new families and embracing the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. Together, let’s make this year a fantastic one, filled with growth, creativity, and inspiration.
Here’s to a wonderful year of learning and dancing! 🩰✨”
Welcome to our community, Principal York!