As part of ABT’s Summer Internship Program, ABT’s Interns and Roundabout Theatre Company’s Summer Interns joined each other for a night at the Metropolitan Opera House. This night, we saw American Ballet Theatre perform Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty with Sarah Lane as Princess Aurora and the dazzling Herman Cornejo as Prince Désiré.
We first met the other interns outside of the opera house at the fountain where we proceeded to take a group picture and continued on to meet ABT’s General Manager, David G. Lansky. He spoke with us about his responsibilities as the General Manager of company, and what his career at ABT and working in arts administration has been like for him. For me, it was incredible to hear about the amount of different tasks that David has, from figuring out the tours of the company, (ABT is a touring company after all) and what it takes to run ABT’s spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House. Along with this, it was great fun to hear about ABT’s experiences on tours in places such as Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Oman along with their upcoming tours.
After speaking with David for a short while, he proceeded to give us a tour of the backstage of the Metropolitan Opera House and he even took us on the stage. What a sight! It was incredible to be on the stage and taking in the view that many great dancers and opera singers have always had. It was also great to be on stage while ABT principal dancers were warming up behind us.
I can say that it was certainly a night to remember that finished with wonderful dancing and glorious music. It was only the beginning of ABT’s summer internship program and I look forward to what’s up ahead.
Iosu Bascaran
2015 Summer Membership Intern
ABT and Roundabout Theatre Interns before the June 11th performance of The Sleeping Beauty
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