HONORING NYCB’S 75TH ANNIVERSARY
A once in a lifetime tribute to Art and Love with my NYCB family. Grateful to Mr.B and all the energies and that converge past, present and future. 75 years!
News & Interviews
SAB Spring Ballet Connoisseurship
Balanchine’s Episodes - with Stephanie Saland and Michael Trusnovec
Episodes was created in homage to Anton von Webern’s complete orchestral works. Balanchine invited modern dance titan Martha Graham to choreograph the first section for her company. Balanchine then choreographed the second section for New York City Ballet, with an additional solo for Paul Taylor, who was then a member of the Graham company and later developed his own technique and choreographic identity. Since 1961, NYCB has performed its section alone, without the solo created for Taylor.
SAB Fall Ballet Connoisseurship
Unit II: Comedy in Ballet - Jerome Robbins' The Concert
Jerome Robbins’ The Concert (Or, the Perils of Everybody) is a one-of-a-kind comedic ballet portraying a cast of quirky characters at a piano recital. Chopin’s music sets the scene for the laugh-out-loud antics as the recital attendees lose themselves in the music. New York City Ballet principal dancer and SAB faculty member Sterling Hyltin and former New York City Ballet principal Stephanie Saland will talk about portraying the “mad ballerina” in this ballet. Saland will also share insights from working with Jerome Robbins directly.
Studio 5 - New York City Center
Tiler Peck and Stephanie Saland - Dances at a GaThering
City Center’s Studio 5 goes virtual with a five-part series—Great American Ballerinas—featuring conversation and performance excerpts from three of today’s leading ballerinas: Misty Copeland, Sara Mearns, and Tiler Peck, hosted by dance critic and historian Alastair Macaulay. In this special series, each dancer works live with another acclaimed dance artist, including Nina Ananiashvili, Merrill Ashley, Alessandra Ferri, Stephanie Saland, and Pam Tanowitz.
Pointe Magazine – January 2019
Article: Turnout 101: Where does it come from, and how can you get more?
Quote: Former New York City Ballet principal Stephanie Saland uses imagery to help her students find and engage their deep hip rotators. “I call it spiraling,” she says. “Stand in parallel with imaginary jars under your palms. Unscrew a jar to the right, and unscrew a jar to left, and then do the same with the thighs. The feeling of rotating with downward ground reaction force gets the muscles to recruit in a way that’s useful and consistent.”
Pointe Magazine – September 2018
Article: Where Do you Hold Your Tension?
Quote: Saland suggests visualizing a mask that’s painted onto your face dripping off “almost in puddles down the front of your body.” This relaxes facial tension and sends your focus inward. Remember that in class, sometimes, you can just make the effort without feeling that you must project out.
Pointe Magazine – March 2018
Article: Balanchine Protegee Stephanie Saland helps dancers connect with their desire to move.
Quote:
Culture from Marcie sillman – DECEMBER 2017
Marcie Sillman: Not-so-random thoughts on culture
Article: A body in Motion
Quote: You’re never too old to dance. That’s what former New York City Ballet soloist Stephanie Saland says. Actually, she never used that phrase in conversation with me; that’s the attitude, and the reality, I saw when I sat in on a class she leads …………
Dance Magazine – february 2017
Jerome Robbins Centennial being celebrated…
ARTICLE: HOW TO NAIL THE MAD BALLERINA ROLE IN ROBBINS’ FUNNIEST BALLET.
Quote: I asked Saland what she remembers about dancing this role when Robbins was still alive. (She was with NYCB from 1972 to 1993, the last nine years as principal, and is now a master teacher in Seattle.) “He called it the mad ballerina role,” she said. “The comedic aspects only work when we do not play to the joke, but believe her thoroughly. It was so much fun, although Jerry was phenomenally particular about timing, especially with comedic work.”
Jerome Robbins Award - 2011
2011 Jerome Robbins Award
Quote: On September 30, the 2011 Jerome Robbins Award was shared by 30 former or current New York City Ballet principal ballerinas, 4 posthumously, who danced several principal roles in Jerome Robbins’ ballets. Vital to the decades of Jerome Robbins’ creative life at New York City Ballet, the honorees are…………
Dance Magazine - July 2007
Article: The Double Edged Mirror
Quote: Saland believes that if the mirror is not used carefully, its detriments can outweigh its benefits. “Dancers are often their own harshest critics,” ………….
Dance Magazine - July 2006
Article: Teachers Wisdom by Gigi Berardi
Quote: What advice would you like to share with young dancers? One of the best strategies for longevity in dance, and maintaining sanity, is to always remind yourself of the bigger picture. Comparing rather than loving is incredibly harmful…….
Pointe Magazine - November 2001
Article: Artist at the Barre
Quote: “My honesty was the most alluring quality I had,” says Stephanie Saland, whose 21 years at New York City Ballet were marked by a transparency of feeling unusual in a company known for abstract ballets. Dancing lead roles in ballets by Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, Saland illuminated each step and gesture with a clear sense of intention…..