ABT Studio Company spotlights the dazzling promise of ballet’s next generation
As part of the Next Generation Festival 2025 at the Royal Ballet & Opera, the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company presented a spectacular showcase of its young dance talents, performing an impressively broad repertoire that spanned excerpts from full-length classical ballets, modern ballet works, and contemporary dance pieces. An extension of the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City, ABT Studio Company is led by Artistic Director Sascha Radetsky and seeks to prepare dancers for careers in the American Ballet Theatre’s main Company or other leading ballet companies worldwide.
It is clear that Mr Radetsky and his team thoughtfully curated a programme of nine works designed to showcase the remarkable breadth and depth of the company. Across these pieces, the dancers showed incredible technical precision and artistic maturity, seamlessly transitioning from the classical rigour of the Swan Lake Act III Pas de Deux to the playful and cheeky charm required by the contemporary piece Interplay. The dancers also faced some minor technical difficulties, including a brief delay and audio issues, however they handled it like professionals and continued their performances without disruption.
Highlights of the evening included Tarantella by George Balanchine, the Rose Adagio from The Sleeping Beauty by Marius Petipa, Night Falls by Brady Farrar, and Human by Yannick Lebrun. Despite Tarantella opening the programme, Kayla Mak and Max Barker burst onto the stage with confidence and charisma, effortlessly delivering the sharp footwork, musical precision, and strong energy characteristic of Balanchine’s choreography. Sooha Park shone as Aurora in the Rose Adagio, her exquisite port de bras capturing the youthful excitement of a girl on her sixteenth birthday. Night Falls was performed by Paloma Livellara and Elijah Geolina whose beautiful lines and attentive partnering brought lyrical depth to the piece. Finally, Kayla Mak stunned the audience once again in Human, showcasing not only her technical versatility but also her expressive power. It was a thrill to watch her excel across multiple pieces that demanded such a wide stylistic and emotional range.
What an incredible evening showcasing the future of American ballet! It was an unforgettable evening for me as I got to witness the beginning of the next generation at the American Ballet Theatre. Kudos to Sascha Radetsky, Claire Florian, Yan Chen and Stella Abrera for nurturing and supporting such incredibly talented dancers.