54 - Daniela Aldrich, Apprentice ~ NYCB

Today I am talking with Daniela Aldrich who from Carlisle Pennsylvania and who now dances as an apprentice with NYCB.  Daniela spent two years at the School of American ballet before being asked to be an apprentice.   Nearly all of the current members of New York City Ballet received training at the School of American Ballet and entered the Company through the Apprentice Program, which is jointly administered by NYCB and SAB. Only students enrolled at the School are eligible for apprenticeships. NYCB does not hold auditions. Each year, NYCB Ballet Master in Chief Peter Martins invites a small number of advanced students, usually ranging in age from 16 to 18, to become apprentices, providing the first stage of their professional careers. Apprentices take class and rehearse with the Company six days a week at NYCB’s Lincoln Center facilities.    Apprentices learn roles in a wide array of works from NYCB’s vast repertory and may perform in up to eight ballets per season in addition to the full five-week season of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker.