Stephanie Saland

Ballet, Pointe, Variations

Stephanie Saland was born in Brooklyn, New York and entered The School of American Ballet at age 15. Three years later she was invited by George Balanchine to join the New York City Ballet in time to participate in the historic Stravinsky Festival in 1972. She sustained a 21-year career with the company, dancing a major portion of the Balanchine repertoire as well as principle roles in the works of Jerome Robbins.

Stephanie has appeared on television in the PBS program “Choreography by Balanchine” (part of the Dance in America series), followed by “Apollo” with Baryshnikov and ABT, as well as a telecast of Peter Martin’s colaboration with “Ray Charles in Concert with the New York City Ballet”. Her last televised performance was in the “Vienna Waltzes” section of the “Balanchine Celebration” on PBS in 1993. Stephanie’s frequent association with Jerome Robbins led to a showcase of her work in “Fancy Free” and “Antique Epigraphs” in another “Live From Lincoln Center” production.

As a guest performer, Ms. Saland danced with Rudolph Nureyev at the Gershwin Theater in New York and performed “Giselle” with Alexander Gudonov in Miami. At Playwright’s Horizons in New York she taught movement for student actors. In addition she co-taught and helped develop a body-awareness class for actors with theater teacher Caymichael Patten, before moving to Seattle in the fall of 1993.

Since finishing her performing career, Stephanie moved on to teaching ballet for varying levels of students and professionals. The programs and companies she has taught for include The New York State Program in Saratoga, The Kansas City Ballet, The San Diego Ballet and Ballet Argentino in Buenos Aires (the company of Julio Bocca). She also guest teaches at “STEPS” in New York City and for the American Academy of Ballet, and the Princeton Dance Theater … the School of American Ballet Theater’s Susan Jaffe. In Denmark, Stephanie has taught numerous times for the Bartholin International Summer Program and at Dansens Hus. In the fall of 1999 Ms. Saland guest taught for her former company, The New York City Ballet. In 2003 she had the pleasure to teach at Alonzo King’s San Francisco Dance Center.

Stephanie taught for three weeks in Madrid for La Compania Nacional de Danza of Nacho Duato and for two other Conservatories and traveled to various schools in Mexico to offer classes. She has joined a wonderful roster of teachers each summer for the American Academy of Ballet, run by Mignon Furman.

In 1998 Ms. Saland initiated a movement class for opera singers for the season of the “Young Artists” program at the Seattle Opera. She also taught for the Pacific Northwest School, in the open program and variations classes in the upper levels. Peter Boal, in his new role as director at PNB has brought Stephanie in to coach dancers for some of the repertoire. Currently Ms. Saland offers ongoing ballet classes at “Velocity” on Capitol Hill in Seattle, as well as continuing to teach for Spectrum Dance Theater.

For the past few years she has taken part teaching for the Dutch Dance Festival in Sittard, in the south of Holland. Since 1997 Ms. Saland has maintained an ongoing connection between Seattle and Los Angeles teaching for the “City of Angels Ballet”, an academy located in L.A. targeting an immigrant community in one of the most densely populated areas of the city. In the fall of 2007 Stephanie taught Master Classes at the Marlborough School for Girls in Los Angeles, and for an intensive in Long Beach, CA.