The School of American Ballet (SAB), the most renowned ballet school in the US. founded by George Balanchine in 1934, welcomed my Ex.expat group one morning recently.

If you’re unfamiliar, SAB has been the official training academy of the New York City Ballet for the past seven decades. Its purpose is “to provide dancers as well trained as any other technician, whether a surgeon, architect or musician.”

We attended an advanced practice session taught by the amazing Suki Schorer, a Balanchine Trust répétiteur who has turned out ballerinas for over 50 years. From 1959 until 1972, Suki danced with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet.

To learn more about SAB, watch “On Pointe,” a six-part Disney+ docu-series that captures a season in the school.  

 

After our morning at SAB, we had lunch at Cafe Fiorello. Many ordered what the cafe is best known for — their vegetable antipasto bar, where you select from almost 20 options (three for $24.50; five for $31.00).

Other lunch orders included the rigatoni alla vodka ($15) with guanciale breadcrumbs ($25); two short rib meatballs ($11), mussels marinara en croute ($20), caprese salad of burrata mozzarella, avocado and tomatoes ($17) and a quinoa and avocado salad with orange, cucumber, dried currants and almonds ($17).

Cafe Fiorello
Lincoln Square
1900 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
(212) 595-5330
cafefiorello.com/