The School of American Ballet
Accepting the 2009 National Medal of Arts on behalf of the School of American Ballet is School Chairman of Faculty and Artistic Director of the New York City Ballet Peter Martins. He accepted the medal from President Barack Obama at an East Room ceremony at the White House on February 25, 2010. The National Medal of Arts is a presidential initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts and is the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence.Photo by Richard Frasier
Bio
The School of American Ballet is recognized for its achievements in forging a dynamic classical ballet tradition in the United States and is one of the world's central institutions of ballet teaching. Founded by the legendary choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, the school has been recognized for instilling Balanchine's incomparable standard of classical excellence in its students, who form a "who's who" of American dance -- among others Suzanne Farrell, Arthur Mitchell, Maria Tallchief, Ethan Stiefel and Darci Kistler, as well as Broadway stars Chita Rivera and Hinton Battle. The school is the official academy of New York City Ballet and is led by the company's artistic director Peter Martins.