“The School of American Ballet is the closest thing that the United States has to a national dance academy. Founded in 1934 by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein as a training ground for what would become New York City Ballet, it is as rigorous as the Paris Opera Ballet School, the Royal Ballet School in London and its own most direct ancestor: the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, where Balanchine trained. Of the 304 dancers, ages 7 to 18, who auditioned this year, only 68 earned spots.”