Original subtitles

-ALLEN: Up, down, up, down. -KAY: Two, three, four, five, two.

-And then tendu pas de bourrée and fourth. -ALLEN: Up, up, hold, knee bent.

-KAY: And pirouette, tendu in fourth. -ARCH: And up, back...

-KAY: And pirouette, and two arms up. -...back, back, side through the foot...

(CAR HORN HONKS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(SWITCHES CLICKING)

KAY: The School of American Ballet is the preeminent ballet school in the US.

FEMALE DANCE TEACHER: ...four, five. One, two,

-three, four. -(BALLET SHOES SQUEAKING)

DENA: Balanchine created the School of American Ballet.

GEORGE: There was nobody that could dance here.

I mean, that we didn't have children at that time

but it was that grown-up, sort of,

teaching them be a little cleaner and, you know,

and teach them how to dance better.

It's where we all learned how to properly perform his ballets.

SUKI: Originally, when he formed this school,

there were no really good schools in America at that time. And he said,

"I need a school because I need to teach my dancers how to dance."

It's a serious place.

RUBY: There's just so many talented dancers

and the fact that they chose me is...

unreal.

DENA: The school is intimately involved with New York City Ballet.

Almost all of the company members trained here.

We wouldn't have New York City Ballet

with the identity that it has without the School of American Ballet.

-First position. -JONATHAN: We really are an elite academy,

but we're trying to train the absolute best in the dance world.

DOMINIKA: New York City Ballet

is one of the major ballet companies in the entire world.

SAM: The dream for me is, of course,

being in New York City Ballet, hopefully after I graduate.

That's everybody's ultimate dream. (CHUCKLES)

When I was about eight years old, I was, like, "I wanna be a ballerina.

"I wanna be a ballerina with New York City Ballet."

SOPHIA: If I am good enough and I stay in SAB

for the many levels that are ahead, then I could be in New York City Ballet

which would be a big deal.

FEMALE DANCE TEACHER 1: Very good, Sophia.

-MALE DANCE TEACHER: And knee... -I want to do ballet for my whole life.

KAY: Some succeed and some don't.

But if you say that's all I can do with my life, I have to dance...

you're in the right place.

-(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING) -(FEET THUDDING)

-KAY: Up, up. Up. -(BELL DINGING)

-FEMALE DANCE TEACHER 2: One, and two... -KAY: Toe, toe.

-Little slow. -...three.

ALLEN: You're here for eight.

-And then go, one... -FEMALE DANCE TEACHER 2: Yes!

-Okay, let's do second group. -...and...

All right, go get your tutus.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

SION: The vast majority of our students are day students,

-aged six to thirteen. -(GIRLS GIGGLE)

And they come from all over the five boroughs

of New York City and also the tri-state area.

And then we have 64 students who live in residence with us

who are in the intermediate and advanced division.

And the intermediate and advanced division in total

is just around a hundred students.

-ANDREW: Plié, and one... -(PIANO PLAYING)

...and turn.

KAI: At first, when I joined ballet as a seven-year-old,

I thought everyone I saw in the ballet,

they were so formal, so, they must be in real life.

But that's not the case.

And if I have a claw... that's not right, you know,

a locked little claw. It has to just be in the right place.

KAI: My first ballet memory was The Nutcracker.

(CLASSICAL BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

I got into School of American Ballet

by my parents taking me to see The Nutcracker

-by the New York City Ballet. -(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

GABBIE: I saw a little snippet. It says, "If you want to be in this show,

"the kids who are performing are at the School of American Ballet."

DENA: The Nutcracker has been going on for well over 60 years.

It's certainly a great example of how Balanchine used children

in his work.

From the youngest children, all the way through the children's division,

until they're about 12.

-He gives them real steps. -(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

DENA: He gives them real steps. Their roles on stage are professional.

It's not a recital of just children,

they're performing with one of the top

-companies in the world... -(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

...and they're performing amazing choreography.

JONATHAN: SAB has always danced The Nutcracker.

And the children's roles, George Balanchine was very clear

about that, that he wanted the kids to be a part of the production.

So, it's been a rite of passage

for many, many, many young kids at the school.

DENA: When Balanchine was a child in Russia,

he had the opportunity to perform at the Imperial Ballet,

and from what I understand, it was a huge inspiration to him.

And I think that he was trying to pay that forward to his students.

I went to the School of American Ballet by winning an audition.

I'd never experienced an audition before, except for when I auditioned for SAB.

SOPHIA: During the audition in Queens, they stretched us

to see how flexible we were.

They told us to do something across the floor.

I got so nervous. I thought I was not gonna make it.

GABBIE: I bugged my mom to let me audition,

so, she let me, thinking that I'd get denied,

but I got in.

KAY: Every April, we have auditions all around New York City.

We usually audition about 700 students from ages six to ten,

and we take about 25 percent of them.

-FEMALE STAFF MEMBER: Hi there. -MALE VOICE: Morning.

FEMALE STAFF MEMBER: Here for the SAB auditions?

You're going to head right down the hall to check-in.

-FEMALE STAFF: What's your last name? -YEJE: Yeje.

-How do you spell that? -Y...

-FEMALE STAFF: Y. Okay. Perfect. -E-J-E.

-YEJE: But are you a little excited? -Hmm. Just a tiny bit.

KAY: We're in Chinatown because we want...

-KATRINA: Hmm. -...our school to be diverse.

We want the art form to be more diverse.

We want the New York City Ballet to be diverse.

And so, a lot of people have never been to Lincoln Center.

And so, we come to them.

-Straighten your knee. Yes. -KAY: Okay.

-(KATRINA MUMBLES) -We're gonna go to the side.

-(WHISPERS) Ow. -KATRINA: Oops!

-Okeydoke. -Okay.

KATRINA: Turn around and face the stage. Head up.

-(EXHALES) Leg is up. -Okay. Okay, hold on.

-Leg is up. (CHUCKLES) -It's up.

-We're going to point the toes. -KAY: Mm-hmm.

-Oh, yeah. -KAY: Okay.

-Good. Good, sweetie. -KATRINA: Good job.

KAY: Ballet is an unforgiving art form.

-Let's straighten this. There we go. -(BONES CRACKING)

KATRINA: Point your toes. Okay!

KAY: For a six and seven-year-old, I can look at their body

and see if they have what you need to have to study classical ballet.

-Okay, thank you! -KAY: Good.

-KATRINA: An arch in the foot... -KAY: Mm-hmm.

...and rotation, the turn out,

and also, the extension,

they have to be... the flexibility has to be there.

(PIANO PLAYING)

KAY: And then we see them go across the floor.

You see how the legs fall and the fluidity of the movement.

KAY: If they like to move. KATRINA: Yeah.

-KAY: Yeah. -KATRINA: They love the music.

KAY: Good, Tiggy.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

KEVIN: So, if you don't know any dance steps, you can just skip.

So, you guys know how to skip, right?

ALLEN: We're always optimistic.

But maybe, yeah.

You never know what it's going to be.

That one could go to Girls I or she could go to Prep

-depending on which... -Which one is that?

-Head up tall. -ALLEN: I mean,

there's some lovely kids that we were trying for,

but not quite advanced enough for the age and it'd be hard to bridge that gap.

Up, point, put your hands on your waist. That's right.

-She's pretty strong. -Yeah, she's ready for One, I think.

KATRINA: I had to have them going across the floor twice

to just make sure it was really as good as I thought.

And it was real.

Here we are.

-(SPEAKS IN SPANISH) -Okay.

KATRINA: Can you relevé up for me? Straighten your knees.

When you can get up there, we say, it's like a little platform.

You can just balance up there.

Hers was just amazing.

KAY: Okay, Ava? Hi.

We're gonna do the other one, tendu back.

Now, get super tall, lift your head. Good. Point the toes. Good.

Good. Turn around. Face me.

First position. And the left one, point, and close.

-The girl for Girls II has beautiful feet. -Yes, she does.

Beautiful, beautiful feet.

And a shape, the shape the foot wants to make.

-The turnout is very nice... -KAY: The turnout is extraordinary.

...but she's strong enough that she can pull up out of it.

-And she has a good jump. -Yeah.

-KATRINA: That's a good jump. -KAY: And she did it musically,

-meaning she had kept the rhythm. And... -I guess.

-...she'll be in Nutcracker. (CHUCKLES) -Oh. Oh, yeah.

I was telling Trina whenever she says, "lift your head up"

to the children I... I lift my head up.

(BOTH LAUGH)

KAY: As far as seeing who will ever go further...

it takes ten years.

It takes ten years and... at least...

and then we get an idea.

I look at our advanced students here at the school,

and again, because there's so many different things

that they have to be dealing with,

that you just don't know until they start maturing a little bit.

I used to think I could always choose them.

The one that would be exactly the, you know, the principal dancer.

I have a good idea, but... And sometimes I'm right,

but I'm not always right... (CHUCKLES) ...unfortunately.

Hold my hand. You do. And pas de bourrée, fifth, fourth.

Yes, everything has to move forward.

We can't move backward in life, we can only move forward.

-Dee, dah, dee, dah, dah. Dee, dah, dah. -(PIANO PLAYING)

Stay, stay, stay, watch out. And two, stay, stay, stay.

One, two, three, and a two. That's it. And a one, two, three.

TAELA: With ballet, it's about the artistry,

and, like, why you dance, and how you dance.

It's just a chance to, like, let go. A chance for me to be vulnerable

without having to, like, talk about it, you know?

Yeah? You're there because they want you and they love you

and you have to remember that. All the other...

-let it fall away, okay? -Mm-hmm.

-Bye-bye, baby. Have so much fun, okay? -Bye.

It was my last class here.

It's kind of bittersweet, but, you know, it was a good class and I enjoyed it.

I'mma go this way for you guys to look taller. One,

-two, three. -(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

Taela had offers from Houston Ballet and Bolshoi, and, she got a lot.

But SAB, like, she... (CHUCKLES) she just... she don't even... she don't...

she don't see nothing. All she see is S-A-B in her face.

I'm like, "Taela, but look at all..." "No, I'm going to SAB."

TAELA: Well, School of American Ballet was the very first ballet school

that I had done summer intensives at. And even just watching videos on YouTube

of all the other students at the School of American Ballet,

I just instantly fell in love with that place.

And I knew that's just where I wanted to be.

(SEWING MACHINE WHIRRING, CLACKING)

(SEWING MACHINE WHIRS)

MARTHA: I am making leg warmers for Taela.

And I'm working on a new print...

that she really liked.

It's not finished yet but can you try this one?

TAELA: Probably, the biggest thing I'll miss about my mom

is her liveliness and her spirit.

-MARTHA: Does it feel like it's too tight? -No.

-Don't tell me, "no." -TAELA: I'm being honest.

And then when they go, you'll be like, "Ma, you know what, it was too tight".

Go back and let me see.

TAELA: She just makes me feel better anytime I'm down.

And anytime I have a bad class, she always convinces me

that, like, it's gonna be fine,

I just need to work harder and stuff like that.

-Okay. -TAELA: And so, she makes me feel safe.

MARTHA: Last year, she was invited to SAB...

but I did not feel that it was the right timing.

Taela was very disappointed. She is my only child.

But I feel it will be selfish of me not to let her go.

-Because she eats, sleep, breathe ballet. -(DOG WHINING)

(BIRD CHIRPS)

Let's do Dominika's favorite combination. Out, envelopé,

we go to relevé, sous-sus, the arm opens, plié, and return.

Your Russian heritage is coming back.

DOMINIKA: Ballet is everything to me.

It's delicate and it can be dramatic.

How I move and the music makes me feel emotional.

FEMALE STUDENT: Thursday's the Thursday?

-FEMALE STUDENT 1: Bye, Zoe. -Bye!

-FEMALE STUDENT 1: Love you. -(CHUCKLES) Love you too!

-FEMALE STUDENT 2: Bye, Zoe. -DOMINIKA: Bye!

I didn't really know about the School of American Ballet

until two years ago. My friend, he was, like,

"I'm gonna audition for the School of American Ballet."

I was, like, "That's probably something big that I would wanna be a part of."

(PIANO PLAYING)

DOMINIKA: So, I started doing my research and seeing all of these beautiful dancers,

I was just, like, "I should try it out."

(CHUCKLES) I got in. And I was very excited

because I wasn't really hoping for anything.

I was so happy.

PILATES INSTRUCTOR: Use your breath, come all the way up.

DOMINIKA: This year is gonna be my second year

at the School of American Ballet.

I was born in Florida.

Both of my parents are Russian.

-How was your practice? -Good.

-Good? -(CHUCKLES)

-Like always? -DOMINIKA: Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

(IN RUSSIAN)

-DOMINIKA: (IN RUSSIAN) -LARISA: (IN RUSSIAN)

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

(PIANO PLAYING)

(CLAPS HANDS)

(KEYS JANGLE)

DOMINIKA: It is easier for my dad to let me go.

DMITRY: No, no, no, no.

DOMINIKA: Because when he was 12,

he went away to boarding school for hockey.

(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)

(CHUCKLES)

DMITRY:

DOMINIKA: My dad was a very determined person.

He makes me motivated to reach my goals.

I would love to be, of course, a dancer with the New York City Ballet.

The dancing, the music, the costumes, the sets.

Everything is just... I can't live without it.

(SUITCASE WHEELS RATTLING)

-(WEIGHTS CLINK) -(OBJECT CLICKING)

(WEIGHTS CLINKING)

SAM: Ballet dancers have to be strong to achieve their dream.

-(BENCH CLICKS) -(METAL CLINKS)

SAM: People think of ballet dancers as really either stuck up or weak.

That's it's, like, these people who wear pink,

and jump, and turn, and spin.

But really dancers are athletes.

(CAR HORN HONKING)

SAM: I live with my two moms, Elle and Marjie.

And I live with my sisters, Rachel and Sadie.

Where's your bed?

MARJIE: Well, the weeds seem really happy.

It's everywhere. (EXHALES)

SAM: I came to be at the School of American Ballet

by doing regional auditions in Pittsburgh.

I go back to school on September first.

I'm very excited. (CHUCKLES)

When I first started, I was 11.

Everyone in my family is really supportive of me doing dance.

I really wanted to have, like, a ballet barre in my room,

and so, I asked my mom, and she actually made this for me

which is really cool. And it's like a bamboo bar.

ELLE: Once Sam started elementary school, he was a very serious student.

He became a pensive young man.

And I didn't see him smile until I saw him dancing on the stage.

(FEET TAPPING SOFTLY)

ELLE: He just... he just lit up when he was on the stage.

It was clear he was having fun up there, very clear.

And I could see, when he was trying to make that decision,

about, you know, "How serious am I gonna be with ballet?"

It was a heavy weight on such a young person.

He really made a very grown-up decision to commit himself to ballet.

No.

(CAR HORN HONKING)

(RAIN PATTERING)

(IN RUSSIAN)

-SAM: Hi. How are you? -Good!

-How was your summer? -(SUITCASE HANDLE CLICKING)

It was pretty good. How was yours?

-How was your summer? -DOMINIKA: Good, how was your summer?

It's so good to see you!

-(LAUGHS) -DOMINIKA: (SQUEALS) Oh, my God!

-ALEX: Are you ready to be back, though? -Uh, sort of. (CHUCKLES)

"Uh..." Well, that didn't sound very... (CHUCKLES)

SAM: I used to get really homesick.

Living in New York at, like, the age of 16,

you do need, like, a certain level of independence.

-Bye! -ELLE: Call me if you need anything.

I'm just gonna stay focused, study, try my best.

-How are you? (CHUCKLES) -SAM: Hi, nice to see you.

You finally know you're staying over, right? (CHUCKLES)

RUBY: This is my second year.

My first summer at SAB, they asked me to stay,

but that year I decided to decline

and come back home for another year just because I was younger,

and I really wanted another year with my family.

-But the next year, I said, "yes." -(TROLLEY WHEELS RATTLE)

RUBY: I love the dorms and get along with everyone really well.

And I found some friends and it was very easy

-to feel at home. -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(WOOD CLACKING)

If we don't then I'll wake up and hit my head on it.

My dad and I usually fly together to New York.

He gets me settled.

-And then he flies back the same day. -(WOOD CLACKING)

DOMINIKA: No.

(CHUCKLES) No!

My parents are not dance parents. I actually like having my parents

not being that involved

because it makes me more responsible.

BOTH: (IN RUSSIAN)

DOMINIKA: And then I don't have a lot of things

To worry about, like, my parents asking a weird question. (CHUCKLES)

TAELA: One, and two.

(GRUNTS) We're here, finally! (CHUCKLES)

RACHEL: Are you by yourself or is your mom here?

-TAELA: By myself. -RACHEL: You're so brave!

(CHUCKLES) I honestly loved being away from home.

You're on speaker now.

MARTHA: How did it go? How was your ride to the airport?

It was good. Rachel and Emilia are here. (CHUCKLES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

TAELA: They're building my duvet together.

It's just so exciting being in New York.

You're with all your friends and you meet all these new people.

Do you want to put on the blue one first? Or the white one?

-I really couldn't care less. (CHUCKLES) -(CHUCKLES) You couldn't care less. Okay.

We got a mysterious email saying that they wanted to talk to us ASAP.

(LAUGHS)

So, that was a big change. He had already finished

most of his college... (CHUCKLES) ...applications.

He was gonna be a senior in high school.

But he's always loved ballet. He's worked really hard at it.

So, it's kind of amazing.

CHAD: We're really coming to terms with the idea

that he was about to take a different life path,

away from an academic future that we honestly hadn't expected.

Coming from a much more traditional American life of sports,

I think that the devotion to anything

as simultaneously beautiful and technical as dance

is really amazing.

So, to see that all come together for him is... is just beautiful for me.

KAREN: He's been dancing since he was three.

For me, there's just multiple time frames happening,

like, I see him little, big.

Like, right now, I'm beginning to actually see him

as a adult male dancer.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

ELIAS: Sometimes they forget, and it's like,

"Oh, when you're in college next year."

But it's not them trying to decide for me where my life is gonna go.

My parents want whatever is gonna make me happiest.

And right now, that's dance.

(BUS ENGINE RUMBLING)

(BUS BRAKES SQUEAKING, HISSING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

KAY: I think it was our first trip in Russia, and...

Balanchine is right there.

He's got his little tie on that he always would wear.

There I am, back there.

I was probably... 17, maybe.

I've been with the school for 34 years.

Up, down, pas de bourrée, up, plié.

One... back, back...

I was a student here also.

I went from the school to the company.

I danced 20 years with the company.

This is New York City Ballet when I was Sugarplum Fairy.

But it's, you know, hmm.

And that's my son... (CHUCKLES) ...who was in the school.

He was Prince in Nutcracker.

This picture is the audition in Chicago for The Nutcracker

when I was eight years old.

It was totally eye-opening for an eight-year-old.

Balanchine was working with us children. It was always a joint venture.

He trusted us.

And this is a picture of Mr. Balanchine with his kitty cat, Mourka.

He loved cats.

He liked the way they jumped, and how they came down softly.

So that, when we teach, that's what we talk about.

We talk about coming down through the feet,

not banging down on the heels.

He always felt his cats did that.

With Balanchine, the first thing that he always taught us...

musicality.

The music is there, and that's what you dance to,

with speed, with accuracy. You're always in control.

When he was older, he said that he really didn't care

what would happen to his ballets because he wasn't gonna be here,

nobody would be interested.

But the school has kept his style, his aesthetic going.

And also danced around the world.

And it's alive.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -Hi, everybody. You ready to get started?

CARRIE: Hi, everyone. I'm Carrie Hinrichs, Executive Director of SAB.

Whether it's your first, or second, or third winter term with us,

or you've been here since you were a child,

welcome to SAB's 86th school year.

So, just stop and think about what a history you are now a part of

by being at this school.

Balanchine said he wanted teachers who were dancers as well.

Sauté. Six, seven...

I've been teaching here since the fall of 2015.

Lay back. Lay back right here.

And I was a dancer before that with the New York City Ballet.

My training began at the age of seven. The training here is very regimented.

We will assist you with your steps towards becoming a professional dancer.

This will include filming variations for video submission,

how to file your taxes, apartment hunting.

There's even an etiquette dinner, which I loved. It was really fun

-for me to learn some new things, too. -(STUDENTS CHUCKLE)

ALLEN: We want them to excel.

It's not just a recreational school, so to say.

These are gonna be professional dancers.

SION: You all are sharing a lot of space and a lot of time together.

Nobody up here expects

that you all are going to be best friends the entire year

or that you're never going to have any social conflicts.

By being mean, or exclusive,

or doing anything to intentionally hurt someone

is never ever acceptable in this community.

You guys are gonna be each other's friends and families for the rest of your careers,

and that groundwork needs to be started while you're a student here.

DENA: Having been a student here at the school,

and then becoming part of the company, and coming back here to teach...

Up to the fifth ring.

...it's just a wonderful feeling of family that is rare in a work environment.

I've had quite a journey here.

I first came to SAB as a student, 23 years ago.

I was fortunate enough to begin teaching here

at a pretty young age in the company.

We do need to see some stuff from you guys.

One of the things that especially is important for me,

is that you all show up with 110 percent commitment.

The teachers here are so passionate about taking Balanchine's legacy forward.

And Balanchine's style is not easy. There's a lot of detail.

But I promise I'm going to work my hardest

to assist all of you to reach your dream of being a professional dancer.

I'm looking forward to hopefully what's going to be a really great year.

(STUDENTS APPLAUD)

(BELL DINGS)

ZOE: I came to the school four years ago.

When I got accepted my family decided to come with me to New York.

(PIANO PLAYING)

So, my mom, my dad, and my little sister,

they sold our house back home in California,

and they all moved to New York for me,

which was so amazing, and I'm so grateful that they did that.

-(PIANO CONTINUES PLAYING) -STERLING: Good!

ZOE: And so, to come here and to be able to learn from teachers

that had learned from Balanchine himself...

was like... mind-blowing to me.

It was the Balanchine aesthetic that I was so drawn to.

"How do they move that fast?" "How do they dance like that?"

STERLING: On the ground! Good!

ZOE: It looked so natural.

It's like the most beautiful way that someone could dance,

and I wanted to learn how to do that.

And then tombé pas de bourrée and fourth, and pirouette...

JONATHAN: We have a few members still left from the Balanchine generation

who have really been charged with carrying on the absolute legacy

that Balanchine left for the school.

Teaching our students in a very specific way

that matches the Balanchine aesthetic.

SUKI: Use your head. It should help. And two.

Effacé, plié, and...

Now, two arms up.

It's a very big jump from classical to Balanchine.

(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

DOMINIKA: Classical ballet is usually known for their slow movement.

Everything looks very swan-like.

-(PIANO PLAYING) -SUKI: Forward, and two...

DOMINIKA: Balanchine is so different.

School of American Ballet trains us the Balanchine technique.

On the floor. One and a two, good.

DOMINIKA: In the Balanchine technique,

everything is like little sparks of fire.

-SUKI: ...lift it up. -(PIANO PLAYING)

KAY: And one...

When you do something like a grand battement,

other people would lift the leg up and bring it down.

Up and down, and up and down.

And what we say is, you lift it up, and you put it down.

I lift, I put down. I lift, I put down. So, you're always in control.

Knee lift, hold. (GRUNTS)

With Balanchine, it's exact. And how do you put your head?

And how do you hold your hand? And where are your eyes looking?

...and straight.

One and down and up and out.

SAM: With the Balanchine method, I feel like pliés are,

you should already be warm for them because you are performing pliés.

You need to be in the zone already for when you're doing them, for sure,

because they're not just like this slow luxurious thing

where you're taking your time.

Like, you really need to be focused on them.

TAELA: Technique is so particular.

They want something the way they want it to be done.

Arm in second. Yeah.

Right. Girls, every single position is so important.

And you're turning out from your hips,

so, you're not gonna roll over on your feet.

The movement of the hips, the arms, the heads,

it is all very specific.

But that is what I believe is the most interesting part about it.

I think the most challenging are the details

and the movements in between big movements.

-SUKI: Let the head hang. -DOMINIKA: Making it all clear...

-SUKI: And come over here. -...and making it seem seamless.

SUKI: Okay, good. Well, before we go there,

Dominika it looks like you go too far back into your knee when you turn,

so, that your... Try to get taller into your hip, then into the knee.

This is forward, and don't lock into that knee.

DOMINIKA: It is very hard, and it takes determination.

SUKI: That was better.

I feel like in a couple more years, I'll get it. (CHUCKLES)

Well, welcome back. Okay, have a good year.

-Stay healthy. Good, thank you so much. -(STUDENTS APPLAUD)

SCOTT: I don't remember, are we going on Thursday or Friday?

-I think it's Friday, right? -Mm-hmm.

(TRAIN ENGINE RUMBLING)

I go to School of American Ballet six days a week.

A typical day, I would leave school about ten minutes early.

Doing my homework on the train.

Friends from my school, they mostly do lacrosse, soccer, basketball,

everything I'm not good at.

CHRIS: You're ready to do some puzzles now or wanna read some more?

I wanna read some more. I just have, like,

-one more page. -All right.

I go to school at I.S. 230, Queens.

And then I go to SAB four times a week.

So, I go on the 7 train to Queensboro Plaza.

Eight minutes, maybe?

-Eight minutes? -Eight minutes.

(TRAIN ENGINE RUMBLING)

(IN SPANISH)

ISABELA: I dance three days a week.

So, my mom has to pick me up early 'cause I have school.

We take the limited 1 bus from the Bronx.

ANGELICA: (IN SPANISH)

ISABELA: And then the 2 train.

And then we hop off on 72nd street, and then the 1 train.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

KAI: That's a bit over turnout. So, yeah.

CHRIS: What's the right amount of turnout?

Well, it's, like, enough that you have balance,

and that you're working on it, and that you feel something.

But not that you're like...

The first couple of years doing ballet,

the one thing I didn't look forward to was the commute.

I had to go through all the drama of being on the subway.

Fourth, which is in... in my opinion, the hardest. And then fifth is just...

(TRAIN ENGINE RUMBLING)

SOPHIA: This year, we have classes at SAB five days a week.

-(CAR HORNS HONK) -(BUS BRAKES HISSING)

KELLY: Homework? A lot, a little?

Not too much, I have a lot of computer homework.

-Computer? -Yeah.

School ends at 3:30,

and usually, my classes at SAB start at 5:30.

So, I have a little time to do my homework before class.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(BELL DINGING)

AVA: I was really excited 'cause I really, like, wanted to get in.

Who's Ava, you're Ava?

It was really nerve-racking

'cause you didn't know till, like, a long time after, if you got in or not.

So, you're just, like, waiting for the email to come.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

It's the first day of class and it's exciting

because we get to see new faces as well of returning students

and it's kind of putting the pieces back together.

-Let's go. -(GIRLS GIGGLE)

ALLEN: Our prep division is a little bit of a precursor to ballet.

It's for six and seven-year-olds, mainly.

Put your right foot front in fifth position.

No wiggles.

We wanna bring them in as a clean slate.

And so, the first thing we start to do is a little bit of stretching.

Training the muscles the right way,

so that they're not forcing into positions,

because ballet is all about extreme positions

that you wouldn't normally do as a human being.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(PIANO PLAYING)

ALLEN: Okay. Ooh, save. Good save! And up, keep going!

-(PIANO PLAYING) -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

-KATRINA: Tight, together, and... -(BALLET BARRES CLACKING)

...girls, tight, tight, tight, together.

-ALLEN: Many of our preps... -(BALLET BARS CLACKING)

...up to 90 percent, continue on into our Girls and Boys I.

-(PIANO PLAYING) -KATRINA: Up, down...

KAY: Everyone has a certain color leotard that they have to wear in their classes.

It's as if you're going into your performance.

You have your costume,

and you're prepared, and your hair is up,

and for the men, the hair is... not unsightly.

SHERYL: And then lift up tall, tall, tall. There!

One other thing, boys, when we come into class,

let's have our shirts tucked in. Okay? Because it just looks nice.

And then, also, I can see what's going on with your hips as well.

Remember how we hold the fingers?

All the fingers together except for the pinky.

Now, who is the person that decided this was a good idea

for us to hold our fingers like this for people your age? Who?

SHERYL: Exactly!

-One line for 2C and one line for 2A. -(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

KATY: That way we don't get confused again.

Can we make a single line, and we're gonna align you up by height,

and then we're gonna go through names, and where we stand. Go right there.

As they go through,

and it gets harder and harder, each year is an exponential jump

from one to two, two to three.

ISABELA: I'm in Girls II.

We wear light blue leotard.

I believe, I was four when I started dancing ballet.

ALLEN: Look down and see if it's a perfect fifth.

Yes? If it is, put a thumbs up.

Very good. Relax.

ISABELA: Last year was my first year and I was very scared.

I thought I was not gonna make friends because...

I just... I was different.

ALLEN: Wrap. One, stay...

ISABELA: In school, we get to choose what person you wanna be.

I picked Maria Tallchief.

She was an amazing dancer who was a Native American.

She decided that she was gonna do ballet.

She was in the New York City Ballet.

And because of her, we can all dance now.

Again, plié. Push.

ISABELA: I really wanna be in The Nutcracker

-like Maria Tallchief. -ALLEN: Good.

And one, down...

AVA: I'm in level Girls II.

We're doing stuff with one hand on the barre now.

-Five, six... -Need to keep the head up.

AVA: And we do grand plié now.

...seven.

And we're learning all of the positions that we face,

like, croisé, en face, effacé.

Plié, switch to effacé front, good!

Effacé is kind of, like, open to the audience.

MEAGAN: Good, close and back...

AVA: Croisé means to cross,

so, you're crossing your body to the audience.

MEAGAN: And the arm comes down and then we start the other side.

-ALLEN: With each level, it's not just... -(PIANO PLAYING)

"...you're doing this combination, you're doing that combination,"

it's like building something from start to finish.

One... two, that's it, three.

You're not holding your breath, though, right?

Good. We have to breathe while we don't move.

-Four, five... -(PIANO PLAYING)

(GRUNTS) I want that more there, you know that. Seven.

Let's do this one more time, gentlemen.

And one... two... three... four...

KAI: I started SAB when I was seven.

...six, and seven...

KAI: I just like to move I think.

...one, two...

I just feel like I'm in kind of, like, a safe zone, almost,

and I'm in a place... where I just do what I like.

It's nice to be able to express myself. That's what I feel when I dance.

I like expressing.

I worry about being corrected a lot, sometimes.

Point, point. See, I think this first one gets a little too high you guys.

We almost look like we're kicking ourselves. (CHUCKLES)

I do try to fix my corrections, but the more I worry, the more I mess up.

Down the front of the leg as we go, so, we don't trip ourselves.

Front. That was good. One more time. Let's do it.

-(PIANO PLAYING) -And fifth, to the hands.

Good, Kai.

And down, very good, that's right.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

-(BAND-AID RIPS) -(WRAPPER RUSTLES)

All my callouses, like, went soft and now I have blisters.

FEMALE STUDENT 3: Now we're gonna get blisters.

FEMALE VOICE: 'Cause then your knee's already turned out.

KAY: Advanced students here at the school, they're very busy.

Everyday they're going back and forth to academic school,

and then they come in, and take their classes here.

(PIANO PLAYING)

KAY: They have to do technique classes, variation classes...

pointe classes, Pilates class, music classes.

And they do their tendus, millions of tendus,

every single day, the same thing. It's like brushing your teeth.

Just talking about it makes me exhausted.

Every single day, I wake up around 7:00, 7:30.

I eat breakfast and then I start my schoolwork.

TAELA: Every morning, I would just do some stretches

and, like, exercises for a little bit.

I am going to Professional Children's School

for high school. It's, like, five blocks away from SAB,

so, I can just walk there every morning.

SAM: It's a school for kids that have a profession,

like, for me it's dancing.

A lot of people are on Broadway there.

The school provides a schedule for you

that allows you to continue with your profession

while also getting a good education.

And I have a physics class in the morning and then I have history.

TAELA: I have Algebra II and English.

I check out and I head back to School of American Ballet.

After that I go back to school,

and then after that I go back to ballet. (CHUCKLES)

So, the back and forth, back and forth.

MALE TEACHER OVER COMPUTER: How is stoichiometry used to determine

the ratio of reactants and products in chemical reactions.

-DOMINIKA: I do online school... -(KEYBOARD CLACKS)

...until nine o'clock, and warm-up until 10:30,

and then we have class from 10:30 to 12:00.

After lunch, I go up and do more schoolwork.

-(MACHINE CREAKING) -DOMINIKA: If I don't have that much

I would go to Pilates.

SAM: I usually go to Pilates,

or if we have weight training, I go to that.

And then I have ballet which ends at 7:00.

Go to rehearsal at around 7:30 until 9:00.

DOMINIKA: After that, I'll usually eat dinner

and we would have rehearsals.

KAY: And then you have time, and where are you gonna spot? Front?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

Sophia, Daddy's gonna come and probably pick up Thalia.

She'll probably be asleep when you get home, say, goodnight.

-THALIA: Bye. -Bye. (SMOOCHES)

-All right, have a good class. (SMOOCHES) -(THALIA GRUNTS)

Warm-up. Yeah?

SOPHIA: I'm in Girls IV, or green.

I've been dancing ballet for nine years, since I was two.

You get really close with everyone in your class

'cause you spend a lot of time with them.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

SOPHIA: Ella is one of my really close friends.

ELLA: This is my fifth year.

Sophia became my close friend last year in Girls III.

I love SAB. I think of it as, like, my ballet home.

Girls, we're ready for class now, so, let's head on up.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(GIRL GIGGLES)

ELLA: I've met a lot of people over the years.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(GIRLS GIGGLING)

Close friends, I really love them. (CHUCKLES)

STERLING: All right. girls. Left hand on the barre, heels together.

-(PIANO PLAYING) -It's up, up. Okay?

SOPHIA: The beginning of the year, you, kind of, review some stuff

from level three.

We're doing the same steps but different variations

to make them more challenging.

Slowly, we're getting

-to the more difficult side of each step. -STERLING: And plié. Hips up.

ELLA: Ballet's a really great foundation, which is something you can build on.

And lower. Get taller as you place the heel onto the floor.

And then no movement. There should be, "Ah, that's different!"

-and then still breathe, okay? -(CHUCKLES)

It's more than just a dance style, it's like a way to move your body.

(PIANO PLAYING)

ELLA: We have like a set curriculum.

STERLING: That's nice, Ana. Very nice posture there.

ELLA: Pliés, tendus.

STERLING: Really brush the floor, brush, and one, and two...

SOPHIA: Most of my classes, you do the barre first

and then you go to center.

Now, we get to do our turn.

It should just be a little... (INHALES) ...up and then down. That's right.

SOPHIA: And then you go across the floor.

(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

SOPHIA: My favorite out of those would be across the floor,

'cause you really get to move along with the music,

and you forget about what's happening outside,

and just dance and be free.

Very nice, girls. We're finished. Good work tonight.

-(STUDENTS APPLAUD) -All right. You're welcome.

You're welcome. Good job, everybody. Good.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

DENA: I don't wanna get too confused with all the papers, so...

We should start with the smallest class.

-DENA: Okay. -Then do the boys.

DENA: We have to cast,

rehearse, and stage all the ballets that the children are involved in

for the New York City Ballet.

The Nutcracker is the biggest one because it involves so many children.

We always have almost a hundred more kids than we can cast. (CHUCKLES)

We have very little time before we have to cast for The Nutcracker.

We have two casting sessions, the first on Sunday.

So, Arch Higgins and I are going to be observing classes

of the youngest children who we have not yet met,

because we either don't teach them, or they're new students to the school,

so, that we can have, sort of, a preview before we see them on Sunday.

By watching the classes that they're in now,

we can see certain things that are important.

We're not looking for perfection.

We're looking for their ability to follow instructions.

(PIANO PLAYING)

DENA: Wow, look at that turnout. Second to last.

-I know. -(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

-ARCH: Flexible feet. -SHERYL: One...

-Did you see? Little... -Her?

-Yeah. -Yeah.

-Yeah. -(BALLET MUSIC PLAYING)

Very flexible. Ava.

And then... and then, what about for party scene.

ALLEN: Stomachs are lifted.

-Hands in front of your shoulders... -Oh, yeah.

We're looking to really notice those children

who can surprise you.

-ARCH: The smallest angel? Probably. -DENA: Cute. Oh. Not bad.

ALLEN: That's it. Not bad.

-(HANDS CLAPPING) -(BALLET MUSIC CONCLUDING)

ARCH: Okay.

Well, what's... what's the name right in front of us?

Eight, nine, ten, 11, so angel.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(ANGELICA GRUNTS SOFTLY, SMOOCHES)

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(SMOOCHES)

-(IN SPANISH) -ANGELICA: Hmm?

(IN SPANISH)

ANGELICA: (IN SPANISH)

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

ELLA: I had seen Nutcracker years before SAB,

and so, being able to audition to be in the show is really cool.

I don't know if I'm gonna get a role, and so,

it's stressful but it's also exciting.

Class was good?

SOPHIA: The Nutcracker is a really magical show to be in.

-I had gotten into The Soldiers... -(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)

...my first year.

This year I'm gonna audition for the Candy Canes.

I'm kind of nervous.

I mean, I feel, like, you always get kind of nervous for an audition.

I get really nervous sometimes. I'm like, "Oh, no, what if I mess up?"

But I come with an open mind and... I'm hoping that I'll get in.

If I focus on it too much, I'd just work myself up. (CHUCKLES)

AVA: I was so excited 'cause I watched The Nutcracker last year,

and then that was, like, what made me wanting to join SAB.

-ISABELA: (IN SPANISH) -ANGELICA: (IN SPANISH)

(ISABELA SPEAKING IN SPANISH)