Two and a half weeks left before we are supposed to head home to California. I have a book deadline to meet and a manuscript to edit for a client. All my time is being eaten up by apartment hunting (on line mostly since I can’t find anything affordable that we can all–Julian, my husband, and me–fit into, and obsessing about how to make attending the School of American Ballet (SAB) possible for Julian. And every way I look I see a dead end.
This so-called offer to attend SAB year round seems a mixed blessing…or more like a curse at the moment. There is still no room in the dorm. There is also no financial help for the dorm–if we got Julian in. The website says there are honorary scholarships, but we keep getting told there is only financial aid for the SAB portion of the program–the actual tuition for dance classes. I had two boys ready to be chaperoned; one found a free place to stay. Then I found one more; neither one has parents who will commit 100%, which makes it impossible for me to rent an apartment for all of us. Basically, that leave me looking for an apartment for just my family. Worse yet, today the public school, Profession Performing Arts School, told me there may be no room for one more student in their senior class. Ack! Blech. I’m pulling my hair out.
It would be one thing if I thought we should just bring Julian home and put him back in the program at City Ballet School. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a great program. It is. It helped Julian immensely. Everyone who sees Julian who saw him dance last year says so–and it got him all those scholarships this summer. However, from what we’ve been told to date from Willy Burman, Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, as well as a few others, SAB is the place for Julian. Balanchine is the basis for all contemporary dance, says Desmond, and Willy says Balanchine translates into all styles of classical ballet–and every company these days is doing Balanchine works. Plus, having SAB on your resume is something a dancer wants, and being in that final show to get seen by all those company representatives definitely offers a unique opportunity not found elsewhere.
From Julian’s perspective, SAB demands perfection. No one else has demanded that of him, he says. He said the classes at SAB were the hardest he has ever taken. He liked the style. He says he improved as much in 5 weeks at SAB as he did in 9 months at City Ballet, although he concedes he was learning something totally new (and putting it to use).
Plus, despite his desire to stick it out at his high school and wanting to go to prom and pep rallies and grad night, he says he’d really love to go to a school where he would be accepted. He’d love to dress how he wants and just be himself. He thinks he can do that in NY.
All that said, I’m left trying to figure out how to house three of us in a one bedroom apartment in NYC for $2,000 or less per month, half rent/half house sit my house in California so my cat is also taken care of, and get Julian enrolled in school–all while my editor says I must suddenly turn in my last chapter and a half earlier than expected and I took on an editing job I wanted to farm out because…well…I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to make $1,500 to $2,000 ( a month’s rent).
And it’s hot and humid. I walked blocks and blocks today with my back pack on my back. I had a big dark square on my shirt when I was done. I went to Dunkin’ Donuts to get a coffee thinking it was cheaper than Starbucks (it wasn’t) and was so frustrated and tired (oh, my aching legs), that I also got a donut.
Oh, and my husband is still in Germany.
The highlight of my day, however, was telling Desmond about the news (acceptance at SAB) and getting his feedback and help. I loved hearing him praise Julian…of course. What dancin’ boy’s mom wouldn’t. (He sees improvement over last year…) After he confirmed that Julian should accept the spot at SAB, I also loved having him take on OUR problem! He immediately offered to make calls to Professional Performing Arts School, SAB, his short-term housing connection, and Laguardia High School. Oh, how nice it is to know people in high places. I won’t tell you who he called when he couldn’t get the SAB registrar on the phone…I had to laugh! Talk about knowing people… Whether any of this will make any difference, I don’t know. But I felt so relieved to know someone with way more pull than I have was taking on Julian’s cause.
Will I sleep tonight? Probably not. I probably won’t rest until we have a spot in a high school for Julian and housing somewhere.
Right now, I need to work. Otherwise, I won’t have a book published or a client to pay me. In the meantime, I’ll pray and trust that everything is working out…
Nina, is renting a place outside of NYC a possibility for you guys? Could Julian take the train or the ferry in to school? Just wanted to throw that out there as a possibility in case you haven’t thought of it yet, that’s sort of the plan we have in mind if my J ever finds himself in that same position.
Hey Nina!
Congratulations to Julian on his offer! Some of the girls at CBS read your blog, and Cyan told me about your latest entries today. I have to say I’m not a bit surprised (I believe I can even say “I told you so” since I knew he’d get an offer to stay, and I was pretty sure he’d take it if he was! š ). It’s a great opportunity, and I know he’ll make the best of it.
Of course – we’ll miss you guys. (No to mention the carpooling! Ah well…it was great while it lasted….) Keep in touch!
This seems really too much – to arrange everything with so little time!! You must be really stressed out.
Maybe Julian could finish high school back home where I understand he has excellent training and then apply during the year for next year full time and then maybe he could get a scholarship for the dorms as well. This is what I am thinking for my son. Of course we are in a different situation He has been to SIs in the States for 2 summers now ( we live in Israel) and he would love to go full time at a residential ballet program in the US but we have decided to wait until he finishes high school.
By the way – I love your blog.
SAB does not offer scholarships for the dorms or for ballet classes during the winter term. ABT offers scholarships for classes during winter term but no housing at all…so no scholarships for that. I don’t know about other programs.
The fact that Julian can get seen by so many companies when he “graduates” from SAB is a huge draw, as is the fact that he will have SAB on his resume. Plus, he’s unhappy at his HS. You’ll read in my next post that the dorm issue and HS issues were resolved… That said, this is HUGE decision.
I’m so excited that you are reading all the way in Israel! Whoo hoo. All my relatives live in Israel. Julian would love to go back to Israel some time.
You have to find a place withing the five boroughs of NY to be in the school system. So, no, we have to be in NYC or Queens or Brooklyn or Staten Island or something like that.
When you wrote this, Laura, everything was up in the air. We were still trying to figure out a way to make it work…we weren’t sure we could. Things have solidified now.
We will definitely miss you guys, too. Sorry about the car pooling…:~(
As for the offer, it came late in the game, and SAB doesn’t offer scholarships during the year…and financial aid, well, we won’t talk about that. Basically, it’s not an offer. It’s an acceptance into the school. But, yes, he got one…as you predicted. As for whether he’d take it, we weren’t sure at all. We did a lot of exploring, as this post says. We asked those who knew better than we did. Then we decided.