Sab

[Guest pointequeen]

Is it true that SAB requires a specific body type?

[Victoria Leigh]

Well, not for their SI, Erin. I've known quite a lot of students who attended there and were not at all alike physically. Also look at the company! Many different sizes and shapes there I think most professional schools and companies look for good proportions, long legs, good feet, good rotation, and of course good training, musicality, and some sense of artistry! There is a sort of stereotype of a "Balanchine Ballerina", however, I don't really think that is all they accept at the school.

[Mel Johnson]

The School of American Ballet (SAB) is well-known as preferring the "Balanchine Body" which might be called "mannerist" by art historians. It means long, very long legs and arms nearly as, a very short torso, a long neck and a small head. That is not to say that students who started out in the school and didn't quite turn out that way will be thrown out, but avenues to study elsewhere often mysteriously appear! Young dancers transferring in to SAB programs will have a much easier time of being accepted if they have the above body type. That's not to say that for summer purposes, non-conforming body types aren't selected, but there had better be a good sturdy technical reason for getting in! As the dancer gets closer and closer to the age where company membership could be a possibility, the requirements get more and more stringent for a body that will conform to company (NYCB) norms. And a technique to match. As an old teacher from the faculty there once told me, "They don't like us to take time to teach remedial.":(

[SABgurlie24]

While there is a certain body type many of the dancers have, I don't think its such a big deal as some people make it out to be. While I know my fair share of people like that, their were other students who were short and a touch overweight for what is considered to be the ideal of a dancer. They want dancers who they think will look best in the Balanchine technique, and those are the Balanchine body types. But if you have talent and want to audition, certainly do not let the fact that your body doesn't sound exactly like that keep you from doing so.

[Guest dancergal]

I used to go to SAB and I don't think they had a specific body type. The students who go there range from being short and average weight to tall and extra skinny. And I don't think that they showed a preference in either type. They just worried about your talent, not your body type. If you want to try out for SAB, try out, like SABgurlie said. Don't let thinking that you have the wrong body type stop you.

[Mel Johnson]

Especially in the summer!;)

[Guest pointequeen]

This doesn't have to do with SAB specifically but in general.

Could you not be accepted in a company because or your body type? ex. medium or short legs, medium to long torso, medium neck, medium sized head

[Guest pointequeen]

What exactly do they mean by the dancer needs to have physical qualifications?

Thats what is written on the summer program information.

[Mel Johnson]

What place is that from? If I weren't further informed of what it meant, I would assume it means two legs with a foot on the end of either, two arms, one (only) head - you know, the usual things.

[Victoria Leigh]

That is a poor choice of words to just say "physical qualifications", but I guess they are assuming that dancers who are qualified for a major program have some idea of what the physical qualifications are for a ballet dancer. Of course each school, company, and program probably have slightly different criteria, therefore that statement is really not a very good thing to put in their information. If they want a specific body type, then they should say so. Otherwise, I think it is pretty obvious that they are not interested in someone without at least most of the things which are necessary for ballet, ie, good proportions for a dancer (longer legs than torso, not overweight), flexibility, good feet, good rotation, and good coordination. An ability to move well through space, and musicality are also qualities they will look for, along with quality training, of course.