The annual end-of-summer ritual called orientation began on Sunday, August 24, as 206 new students arrived on campus to start their Juilliard lives. A week-and-a-half of activities were meticulously planned by the Student Affairs Office, in collaboration with many other departments at the School. With guidance from Clara Jackson, assistant director of student affairs, 20 orientation leaders took the initiates under their wings, as they partook of orientation’s many options: tours and information sessions, salsa and African dance lessons, Broadway shows, karaoke night, a Circle Line cruise, excursions to museums, the Bronx Zoo, Chinatown, Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park, and many more. The events enabled new arrivals to get to know each other, Juilliard, and the Big Apple a little better before the school year began.

Mark Umstattd, Ronnita Miller, and Djore Nance get energized at Playfair on August 25. (photo by Kenneth Karpel)

Slide Show: Orientation 2003