One would think being an intern at American Ballet Theatre, America’s National Ballet Company, would be opportunity enough. However, that is just the beginning! This summer during the 75th Anniversary season I am lucky enough to be a marketing intern for ABT. This includes working in the company’s offices and selling merchandise at The Metropolitan Opera House.
One of the first great parts of being intern at ABT is the intern exchange program. As part of an intern exchange program with the Roundabout Theatre Company we took a backstage tour of the Met with ABT’s general manager David Lansky, learned what it takes to tour a major ballet company around the world, and got to see the new restaging of The Sleeping Beauty by Alexei Ratmansky. But that’s not all.
Every week, all of the ABT interns gather for morning meetings and we are lucky enough to have guest speakers. We had the chance to meet former ABT Principal Dancer Ethan Stiefel, every dancer’s dream. He gave great insight into the transitions dancers make after their performance career. We also the pleasure to meet with Valentino Carlotti, who is on the Board of Trustees for ABT and Misty Copeland’s sponsor. Specifically he is the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee and is extremely involved with the company. He spoke about his background – where he went to school and his current career. However, his love for the arts and view on life was truly inspiring. Among his great advice he said, “You do have thoughts, ideas, and perspectives! Don’t be afraid to speak. Form your narrative”. Like I said, inspirational.
Lastly, the best thing about this internship is that I get to combine both of my majors and passions: arts administration and dance. Experts in both fields surround me and I’ve learned so much in such a short time. It’s a great time for time for dance and it’s a great time for summer internships.
Ashley Alvarez
Marketing Intern
Summer 2015
Ashley on the stage of the Met
abtinterns 
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