ABT Studio Company
Shubert Theatre
Nov. 7, 2026
“Stars and Stripes,” “The Sleeping Beauty,” and “Bernstein in a Bubble”: On Saturday night the ABT Studio Company offered these selections and more to create one night full of joyous dance at the Shubert.
This junior company of the American Ballet Theatre is composed of dancers between the ages of 17 and 21 who are considered rising stars of the ballet world. Thirteen dancers filled the Shubert stage with graceful and adventurous moves and the rest of the Shubert with a thunderous response to each and every performance.
Eight eclectic acts were offered, some of them broken into smaller performances that featured multiple solos or alternate groupings or pas de deux. For those who do not know, pas de deux is French for “step of two.” This reporter found herself immersed in a whole new language, both literal and figurative, as I became immersed in the dance.
Three of the performances featured a pas de deux: “Stars and Stripes,” which opened the show and included music by John Philip Sousa, “Cerulean Skies,” and “Don Quixote.” One solo performance featured the song “Tatum Pole Boogie” by Art Tatum and showcased dancer Wendel Teles adding a flair reminiscent of a 1940s musical movie star to his moves. The other four performances featured interchanging combinations of larger groups of dancers who would perform parts of that piece solo, then in multiple combinations, or as the entire group. Each one had its own distinct beauty and grace.
Speaking of beauty, “The Sleeping Beauty (Rose Adagio)” piece was a particular highlight with Princess Aurora — performed by Delfina Nelson-Todd — shining brightly as she decides which of her four suitors she may want to marry. This dance features a series of the Princess balancing en pointe while each suitor turns her in a circle. She then lets go, balances herself, and then takes the next suitor’s hand without losing her stance. In a show full of awe-inspiring moves, it is one that stands out as a sign of strength, independence, and once again, grace. The Princess may need a hand here and there, but she is also her own woman.
The performance of “Dig the Say” saw the use of a red ball between the dancers, who rolled the ball to one another and past one another off the stage. The athleticism of these performers was obvious throughout this dance and the entire program. My husband and I both marveled at the way these dancers were able to perform such bold and strong moves in a precise and beautiful way. I often found myself holding my breath with every leap and landing, every turn and twist, every shoulder carry.
Which brings me back to the language of the dance. Some of the terms used in ballet were well known to me, like plie and pirouette, and some were not, like the aforementioned pas de deux and Rose Adagio. Part of the excitement felt during this show was the idea of learning something new. As we discussed it more my husband and I realized that we were pretty sure we had never been to a live ballet performance before. While that may surprise some (and trust me, as I thought about it, it surprised me as well), what it mostly did was create a new space for a new love. Every new act, new costume, and new choreography presented during this show made me eager to see more. I even made note of all of the dancers’ names so I can follow their careers, especially after reading in the program that 85 percent of the dancers in the American Ballet Theatre are alumni of this program (many of them go on to dance in ballet companies worldwide as well).
What a gift, to find an art form offered with such breadth of imagination, incredible skill, and utter charm and fall in love at this stage of my life, and in the form of such rousing rising talented artists who are only just beginning to make their mark and show the world what they can do. After the show was over, I saw a young girl twirling on the sidewalk underneath the streaming light on College Street. I could not have said it better myself.
