Interning with American Ballet Theatre this semester was an amazing opportunity, and I am grateful for this experience. Although my internship was remote, I was able to see many incredible performances in-person including the Fall Gala, Giselle, and Pride Nights. It was very special watching live ballet again after the pandemic. I come from a ballet background, and back in high school when I would attend ballet summer intensive, my friends and I would always go to see ABT.
Interning with ABT allowed me to see all the work that went on behind the scenes. I had not known about arts administration as a career until my junior year of college. At ABT, I worked as a development intern for this semester and learned how to use various software applications like Raiser’s Edge. In addition, I worked on filling out donation and expense forms, along with writing acknowledgment letters. Other projects included donor research and preparing materials for the Fall Gala. I learned a lot through listening in on weekly special events, major gifts, and development meetings, and how different departments interact with each other.
The internship was overall very educational and has helped greatly with my career development. Weekly guest speakers helped me understand different roles within arts management. I was able to meet the other interns in person during the performance of Giselle, and everyone was so kind and welcoming. I would recommend this internship to anyone interested in arts administration.
Anna Zheng
Development Assistant Intern
Fall 2021
abtinterns 
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