The School of American Ballet is the closest thing that the United States has to a national dance academy...Of the 304 dancers, ages 7 to 18, who auditioned this year, only 68 earned spots.
On this particular morning, at 9:45, Elias Baseman, 11, and his mother, Diana, waited patiently in the hallway outside the audition studio with the other 11- and 12-year-olds. With a crisp new bowl cut and freckles splattered across his nose, Elias (dressed in the black tights and white T-shirt that are regulation for boys) used the wall to balance as he warmed up.
New Canaan /
Darien Monthly Magazine