Former Rock School student Taylor Stanley to debut as Romeo in New York City Ballet’s “Romeo & Juliet” on February 18th and 22nd with Erica Pereira!
Stanley began dancing with The Rock School at the age of three in his hometown of West Chester at sister school Rock West. He joined Rock Center in Philadelphia when he enrolled as a Rock Academics student in 2007.
Check out some photos of Taylor dancing during a visit to The Rock School! Rock School Ballet Mistress Jennifer Wheat has literally watched Stanley grow as a person and dancer since she taught Stanley at both Rock Center and Rock West.
Stanley has worked hard within NYCB and the speed at which he has moved up within the company has been impressive. He began as an apprentice in 2009, and then in 2010 he was offered a contract to join the corps de ballet of NYCB. Stanley almost immediately began to dance in debut Soloist roles, including Christopher Wheeldon’s “Polyphonia.”
Congratulations Taylor! You deserve all the best, and all of us here at The Rock School are so proud of you and delighted to hear about your success! Merde!
Photos: Artistic Advisor - Violette Verdy
As a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, Violette Verdy danced in more than 25 starring roles and was the favorite of great choreographers George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and many more.
Verdy has made leaps and bounds with her buoyant style and grace. She was the very first female artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet and among her countless honors and accomplishments, she holds the title of Chevalier (Knight) in France’s National Order of the Legion of Honor, France’s Highest decoration, awarded to her in June of 2009.
It is no doubt that Violette Verdy is one of the premier ballerinas of our time, and The Rock School is honored to have such a maestro of classical ballet as its Artistic Advisor.
Enjoy some photos of Violette Verdy teaching the upper level students at The Rock School.
(from left to right) President & Director - Bojan Spassoff, Director - Stephanie Spassoff, Artistic Advisor - Violette Verdy, Artistic Faculty - Natasha Zeiger
Want to see even more photos of Violette Verdy teaching at The Rock School? Check out The Rock School’s Flickr Page, by clicking here.
Taylor Stanley: Polyphonia Debut with NYCB
Congratulations to former Rock School student Taylor Stanley! He will be making his debut in Christopher Wheeldon’s “Polyphonia” with New York City Ballet tonight! You might remember when Stanley came to visit us during our 2010 Summer intensive.
Taylor Stanley visits The Rock School
Former student Taylor Stanley and Rock West Principal Teacher Jennifer Wheat, embrace during a visit to The Rock School during the summer intensive program.
Taylor Stanley has been dancing with The Rock School since the age of three when he began in his hometown of West Chester at Rock West. Stanley joined Rock Center when he enrolled as a Rock Academic Program Alliance (RAPA) student in 2007.
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Stanley is now 19 and still working hard as a dancer. In 2008, Stanley was awarded a Merit Scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet where he only studied a year before becoming an apprentice at New York City Ballet in the fall of 2009. We were delighted to have him back in The Rock School’s studios, and are proud to announce that Stanley recently received a contract and will be dancing in the corps de ballet of NYCB.
Daniel Ulbricht
Daniel Ulbricht joined The Rock School’s summer intensive guest faculty on Monday and Tuesday during our 4th week of our summer program. Mr. Ulbricht is part of The Rock School’s permanent guest faculty. He is a pleasure to have at Rock Center where students are motivated by his success, hard work and constant encouragement.
Enjoy some photos of Mr. Ulbricht teaching a Boys class, a Mens class, and partnering below. *click to enlarge*
Daniel Ulbricht was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and began his dance training at the age of 11 at the Judith Lee Johnson Studio of Dance, studying with Lenny Holmes. He also studied at Les Jeunes Danseurs with Javier Dubraq and attended the Chautauqua Summer Dance Program, training with Jean Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. In 1999, Mr. Ulbricht was invited by the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, to continue his training during their Winter Program. As a student at SAB, Mr. Ulbricht performed with New York City Ballet as a Jester in Peter Martins’ The Sleeping Beauty. In December 2000, he became an apprentice with New York City Ballet and in November 2001 he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. In January 2005, Mr. Ulbricht was promoted to the rank of soloist and principal dancer in May 2007.
Since joining New York City Ballet, Mr. Ulbricht has danced featured roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Peter Martins, Jerome Robbins, Richard Tanner and Lynne Taylor Corbett. Mr. Ulbricht is a part of The Rock School’s permanent guest faculty during the summer intensive program.
