School of American Ballet Hosts Workshop Performance Benefit 2013 Tonight

The School of American Ballet announces the Workshop Performance Benefit 2013 tonight, June 4, 2013, honoring Peter Martins' and Kay Mazzo's 30th Anniversary at SAB. Cocktails begin at 5:30pm at Morse Hall at the Juilliard School, 155 W. 65th Street, followed by the performance at 7pm at Lincoln Center's Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 155 W. 65th Street, and dinner and dancing at 9pm in the School's Studios in the Samuel B. and David Rose Building, 165 W. 65th Street, 5th floor. Attire is cocktail or festive. Tickets begin at $300 and tables begin at $15,000. To purchase tickets, a table, or for more information, contact Natalie Schweizer at nschweizer@sab.org or (212) 769-6610.

The Workshop Performance Benefit 2013 is The School of American Ballet's most anticipated event of the year. The annual Workshop Performances are SAB's only public performances and a rare opportunity to get a sneak preview of the ballet world's up and coming young stars. A Benefit Dinner follows the Tuesday evening performance at Lincoln Center, and attracts more than 550 arts patrons, corporate VIPs and New York's social elite for a seated dinner and dancing in the SAB studios, which are transformed into elegant dining rooms for the evening.

The event is headed by Chairmen Liz and Bill Armstrong, Stuart H. Coleman and Meryl Rosofsky, and Sasha Galantic; Corporate Chairman Rosemary T. Berkery, USB Financial Services; and Young Patron Chairmen Brynn Jinnett and Chelsea Zalopany-both are SAB alumna.

Peter Martins and Kay Mazzo, both former New York City Ballet principal dancers under George Balanchine, have been members of the School of American Ballet faculty for the past 30 years. MR. Martins was named Balanchine's successor as Chairman of Faculty in 1983, and Ms. Mazzo became Co-chairman in 1997 after her earlier appointment to the faculty by Mr. Balanchine in 1982. Together they have maintained SAB's position as the leading U.S. academy of its kind-upholding the standard of excellence established by SAB's founders while expanding programs and resources to carry the School's mission into the twenty-first century. On June 4, MR. Martins and Ms. Mazzo will be presented with theMae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Service in recognition of their exceptional guidance and leadership over the past three decades.

The all-Balanchine performance will include Divertimento No. 15, Le Tombeau de Couperin andWalpurgisnacht Ballet. As in years past, the performance will once again provide audiences with a unique opportunity to witness the pre-professional debuts of the nation's most talented ballet students as they prepare to embark on professional ballet careers with notable companies around the U.S. and abroad.

Additional performances of the evening's program will take place at Lincoln Center's Peter Jay Sharp Theater tomorrow, June 1 at 2pm and 8pm.

Tickets for the 2013 Workshop Performances may be purchased online at www.sab.org/workshop. Ticket prices are $50 for June 1 (2pm and 8pm). Tickets for the June 4 benefit performance and dinner dance are available at $100 (performance only), $300, $1,000, $1,500 and $2,500. The Peter Jay Sharp Theater is located at 155 W. 65th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway).

The School of American Ballet, the official training academy of the New York City Ballet, was established in 1934 by legendary choreographer George Balanchine and philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein as the first and most essential step in their quest to create an American classical ballet company.

SAB, located at New York City's Lincoln Center, is the premier ballet academy in the United States, training more students who go on to become professional dancers than any other school. SAB's former students fill the ranks of the New York City Ballet and other leading U.S. and international ballet companies.

Pictured: Les Petits Riens at the 2012 Workshop Performances. Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik.