The School of American Ballet (often referred to by its initials, SAB) is located in at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is considered the most prestigious and notable ballet school in the United States and teaches some of the most talented young dancers in the country. It is also the official academy of the New York City Ballet and a portion of its students graduate into some of the finest ballet companies in the world including New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and others. According to SAB, alumni of the School of American Ballet make up over 90% of New York City Ballet. Some alumni include "Maria Tallchief, Tanaquil LeClerq, Jacques d'Amboise, Allegra Kent, Arthur Mitchell, Patricia McBride, Edward Villella, Suzanne Farrell, Kay Mazzo, Helgi Tomasson, Fernando Bujones, Gelsey Kirkland, Heather Watts, Merrill Ashley, Jock Soto, Peter Boal, Kyra Nichols, Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Ethan Stiefel, Ashlee Simpson, Wendy Whelan," according to SAB's brochures, along others who have studied at the school, such as Paloma Herrera and others currently studying at the school, such as Madeleine Martin. Students are chosen through audition. Children's division auditions for the 2007-08 school year included six-year-olds for the first time; previously, the youngest students were required to turn eight in the year they began their studies. Children in the younger divisions are able to perform in various ballets with the company including George Balanchine's famous 'The Nutcracker, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Peter Martins's Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty. The most advanced students perform in a workshop at the end of each year where the heads of many prestigious ballet companies choose several of them to join their companies, including New York City Ballet. The school also has a summer program where it selects around 200 dance students from across the country to train for 5 weeks. This summer program is one of the most selective ballet summer programs in the country. During the summer program, students are divided into six girls' classes and two boys' classes. A small group of students from the summer program may be invited to enroll in SAB's winter term. The current faculty of School of American Ballet includes, among others, Peter Martins, Kay Mazzo, Peter Frame, Katrina Killian, Darci Kistler, Andrei Kramarevsky, Susan Pilarre, Suki Schorer, Jock Soto, Nikolaj Hübbe, Olga Kostritzky, Sean Lavery, Elizabeth Walker, Sheryl Ware, and Gabrielle Whittle. The School of American Ballet was founded by famed choreographer George Balanchine, with assistance from philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein, in 1934. They wanted to start an American classical ballet company, and needed a source of dancers, and hence a school to train them.
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