Fall at ABT

I grew up training in dance companies for most of my childhood. I never imagined what it would be like working for the administrative side of a dance company. The American Ballet Theatre is one of a kind. Aside from the fact that it is America’s national ballet company, it has the best tools and staff to make the most beautiful art come to life.

At my internship with ABT, I worked in the Education department. The workers in education department are responsible for continuous and fluid education and training within ABT. They are responsible for running the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, where 450 hand picked students are trained by the best professional ballet teachers. The JKO school is made up of two divisions: the children’s division and the pre-professional division. All students are only accepted by audition. When I worked in the office, I often updated attendance weekly. I also helped guide youth dancers to their classroom if they were running late. I got to know the building very well. In addition to office work, I also assisted for a youth division ballet class. Here I got to experience working with children, which was a fun opportunity.

My motivation behind getting this internship, was the ability to learn things that I did not already know. Being a recent graduate, and still trying to find my place in the world, I volunteered for any and every opportunity that presented itself at ABT. I was a volunteer at the family Matinee at the Lincoln Center. This event was my favorite experience at ABT. It was the end of the fall season and Halloween. It was a popular event for kids and their families to come watch our company perform and visit our organized family experience in the lobby of the Lincoln center. I got a chance to be apart of a professional event and see what it was like to work as a team with my co workers. Another perk of my journey at ABT was working with the company’s physical therapist to help with a study on hip replacement surgery in ballerinas. I was required me to get ahold of as many ABT alumni as possible in order to collect survey data on hip replacement. The overall goal was to see a visible difference between hip replacements in ballerinas compared to the general public. This project is still a work in progress, therefore I cannot share any information regarding the results. The overall point is that it was very interesting and it was great that they had a project so diverse from the rest of the company’s work.

I feel like I am going to walk out of here with a more mature outlook on the works of a non-profit institution. There are so many things that need to be stressed in order to produce a successful project. This company has taught me about hard work and patience. I say patience because I assisted the little ones in the preprimary class of the JKO school. Those little munchkins are cute but they are work! At the end of the week I find myself grateful to be apart of a world famous institute. I also love any chance I get to be apart of dance. Dance is an art form that brings people together.  Thankful to have been brought to face with so many great and talented individuals!

Piper Coralli

JKO Intern

Fall 2019