Does College Mean Giving Up Ballet? Columbia University's Student Ballet Company
Get early access to ad-free episodes and exclusive panel discussions by joining our Patreon We sat down with Henry "Hank" Lichtmacher, Sreya Sathish-Kumar and JiaLi Deck, three members of the board of directors of the Columbia University Ballet Collective, the school's oldest student-run ballet company, which is marking its 20th year. All came up through serious pre-professional training at places like Ellison Ballet, City Ballet San Francisco, ABT JKO and Houston Ballet II. The three discussed how they raise most of a roughly $40,000 budget, rent theaters off campus and hire the choreographers who create new work for the company each semester. Well-known choreographer, Justin Peck, staged one of his first works here. Off the stage, the company runs a free weekly class on campus, teaches ballet in New York City public schools and organizes the Ivy Ballet Exchange. We also talked about college applications. Most admissions readers don't know much about ballet, so how you describe your training, what goes in your dance supplement and who writes your recommendations all matter.They also shared how they handled the transition from full-time training to dancing as an extracurricular. JiaLi is now a dance major, while Hank and Sreya dance far less. Interestingly, all three told us that dance is more fun now than it was when they were in serious pre-pro training. CBC's fall gala is December 5 at the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Follow @columbia.ballet.collaborative for details. Links: Summer Intensive Boot Camp Submit Ballet Competition Reviews Read Our Ballet School Summer & Year-Round Reviews Instagram: @BalletHelpDesk Facebook: BalletHelpDesk TikTok: @BalletHelpDesk Chapters:00:00:00 Meet Sreya, Hank and JiaLi 00:08:25 The dance major vs. extracurricular ballet 00:10:49 Why Sreya chose college over the pro route 00:15:42 Why Hank left Houston Ballet II for Columbia 00:21:38 What is the Columbia Ballet Collaborative? 00:24:21 Running a ballet company on a $40,000 budget 00:28:42 How CBC chooses choreographers 00:35:05 Who can join and how auditions work 00:37:50 The Ivy Ballet Exchange 00:40:14 Applying to college as a pre-pro dancer 00:41:54 Does elite training give you a leg up? 00:49:35 How did they have time for everything? 01:02:28 Leaving full-time training for college 01:10:57 Should you dial back ballet in high school? 01:12:32 Dance and identity in college 01:20:53 What they wish someone had told them 01:24:58 Columbia's other ballet companies 01:26:49 What stressed them out that seems silly now 01:32:49 Where to see CBC Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/ian-aisling/new-future License code: MGAW5PAHYEYDQZCI
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