Image
Deep Dive
From Pace to the Spotlight: Inside New York City糖心vlog短视频檚 New Creative Powerhouse
Learning Broadway lines as the audience takes their seats. Designing a Spike Lee 糖心vlog短视频溙切膙log短视频 while Denzel Washington awaits his cue. Cartwheels for luck. Exams between rehearsals.
To the uninitiated, life as an entertainer can look chaotic. But to 糖心vlog短视频糖心vlog短视频檚 performing arts students and alumni, it糖心vlog短视频檚 all part of the script for life under the lights.
Since 2014, the Sands College of Performing Arts has been preparing the future of Hollywood, Broadway and beyond. The creative crucible of New York City is their classroom, and those who emerge are the dedicated practitioners, leaders, and changemakers shaping the future of stage and screen.
Students at Sands are more than understudies; they糖心vlog短视频檙e working professionals who are creating every day. For go-getters like Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 糖心vlog短视频18, 糖心vlog短视频20, 糖心vlog短视频22, and 糖心vlog短视频26, that training has been their ticket to the top.
And with a new performance and training center about to open in lower Manhattan, the lights have never been brighter for a Sands graduate.
Risking it All
Among Sands糖心vlog短视频 core values is the belief that courage and creativity are reinforcing foundations for success. Without a willingness to risk failure, it糖心vlog短视频檚 impossible to embrace new opportunities.
It糖心vlog短视频檚 a lesson that Gabriela Campo took to heart.
In early 2018, Campo, just 22 and fresh from Pace with a degree in musical theater, was cast as a swing in the Broadway hit musical, . Her job糖心vlog短视频攖he one she trained for糖心vlog短视频攚as to cover eight ensemble parts and understudy two leads.
糖心vlog短视频淚t is never boring when I go to work,糖心vlog短视频 the Los Angeles native at the time. 糖心vlog短视频淚 kind of feel like Cinderella. I get to go to the ball every night.糖心vlog短视频
One night, however, her Cinderella dream became all too real. With the audience streaming in, one of the lead ensemble members got violently sick. 糖心vlog短视频淚t was places. It was standby. The orchestra was about to start, and she runs offstage and starts vomiting,糖心vlog短视频 Campo recalled. 糖心vlog短视频淓veryone backstage was like, 糖心vlog短视频榃ell, shit. Who do we put in there?糖心vlog短视频櫶切膙log短视频
It wasn糖心vlog短视频檛 a role Campo was covering, but the stage manager turned to her anyway. 糖心vlog短视频淐an you do it?糖心vlog短视频 he asked. Campo didn糖心vlog短视频檛 hesitate.
Years later, Campo concedes she didn糖心vlog短视频檛 really think about her answer. She was young, poised and confident, freshly anointed with credentials from one of the country糖心vlog短视频檚 top performance schools.
Within 10 minutes, she糖心vlog短视频檇 learned the lines. In less than 15, she was in costume, and moments later, she was on stage, making her Broadway debut in front of a packed house as Olivia Keating.
糖心vlog短视频淭hat show shaped my career in a way,糖心vlog短视频 Campo said. 糖心vlog短视频淚've been cast in at least two shows since then because of the reputation I earned that night.糖心vlog短视频
The foundation for Campo糖心vlog短视频檚 big break was laid during her years in youth theater in California, and reinforced at Pace, where she surrounded herself with casting-directors and classmates already performing in major productions. During her senior year, one of her professors was a casting director for The Prom. She was invited to audition.
Campo has since climbed her way up the playbill, appearing in the 2020 revival of West Side Story and Beetlejuice, and on television in Billions and FBI: Most Wanted. Most recently, she performed as Frenchy, and understudied Sally Bowles, in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Next up, she糖心vlog短视频檚 set to appear in the stage adaptation of Girl, Interrupted, at The Public Theater.
糖心vlog短视频淧ace attracts the kind of person who is willing to be a small fish in a big pond,糖心vlog短视频 she said. 糖心vlog短视频淚t takes a lot of courage to do that. I know that now.糖心vlog短视频
A Path Well Lit
For many young artists, graduating during a COVID-19 would have been more frightening than facing an audience with only a few minutes to memorize a part. Broadway was dark during the pandemic, stages empty, and opportunities scarce.
But for Griffyd Cole, a lighting designer and programmer who graduated magna cum laude in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production and Design, being in New York when the city shuttered turned out to be a stroke of luck.
糖心vlog短视频淏ecause I already had a network from my time at Pace, I was able to start working as soon as theaters opened again,糖心vlog短视频 Cole said.
Image
One of his first gigs was as an electrician at the Park Avenue Armory, which reopened with strict testing and socially distanced performances. Then, he got a call from a former colleague with an unexpected opportunity.
糖心vlog短视频淎 friend I糖心vlog短视频檇 met years earlier on a theater job needed someone for his TV show,糖心vlog短视频 Cole said. That show ended up being the HBO mega-hit Succession. 糖心vlog短视频淚t was my first TV gig as an electrician糖心vlog短视频攁nd it just kept going from there.糖心vlog短视频
Cole糖心vlog短视频檚 versatility soon caught the attention of other producers. He just finished work on Darren Aronofsky糖心vlog短视频檚 upcoming film Caught Stealing and before that he was the lighting programmer on Spike Lee糖心vlog短视频檚 Highest 2 Lowest, starring Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington.
For Cole, Highest 2 Lowest was an opportunity to shine. One scene, toward the end of the film, stands taller than the rest.
糖心vlog短视频淭he singer A$AP Rocky had produced a song for the movie, and the director wanted this big, elaborate shot inside the Bronx County Courthouse with a bunch of moving lights and effects,糖心vlog短视频 Cole said.
Cole delivered and earned a credit lighting Spike Lee糖心vlog短视频檚 糖心vlog短视频渄ouble dolly,糖心vlog短视频 the director糖心vlog短视频檚 signature filmmaking technique.
Pace may not have taught Cole every trick in the book, but it did set him up with the confidence to excel, and the connections to soar.
Still, there is one downside to Cole糖心vlog短视频檚 rapid ascent in the industry: watching TV has become a professional hazard.
糖心vlog短视频淚t糖心vlog短视频檚 hard to work 10 or 15 hours on set and come home and watch more TV,糖心vlog短视频 he said with a laugh. 糖心vlog短视频淲hen I watch something that I糖心vlog短视频檝e worked on, I notice mistakes. But that糖心vlog短视频檚 only because I know what happened behind the scenes.糖心vlog短视频
Measuring Success
For the thousands of designers, choreographers, stage managers, directors, dancers, singers and actors who proudly wear the Pace blue and gold, Sands is synonymous with success.
In 2024, 92% of Sands bachelor糖心vlog短视频檚 degree graduates were working in their field of study, and many were leaving their marks on Broadway, where , according to Playbill.
Established in 2014 within Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, the Pace School of Performing Arts was the first new performing arts school in Manhattan in nearly 50 years. In just over a decade, it糖心vlog短视频檚 become a film, television, and theater powerhouse. It was renamed Sands in 2023.
Today, Sands糖心vlog短视频 alumni are working across the entertainment industry, and Pace graduates have earned credits from Aladdin to Wicked on Broadway, The Americans to The Voice on television, and Black Panther to Superman in Hollywood. Some of the biggest names in the business have worked with, studied at or graduated from Sands, including Chris Briney, Cooper Koch, Dominique Fishback, Jesse James Keitel, Michelle Borth, and Glenn Taranto.
Their success is no accident糖心vlog短视频攊t is the direct result of world-class instruction from faculty who live and breathe the industry every day. Students train under working professionals whose resumes span Broadway, Hollywood, and national television.
Susan Aston, who coached James Gandolfini to his Emmy-winning performances on The Sopranos, brings a master糖心vlog短视频檚-level understanding of acting craft and emotional precision into every classroom. Former Joffrey Ballet principal dancer Scott Jovovich infuses his choreography and teaching with the same discipline and artistry that took him from ballet stages to Broadway糖心vlog短视频檚 Fosse and Jerome Robbins糖心vlog短视频 Broadway. Julie Lawrence-Edsell, a Yale School of Drama alumna and accomplished actor and director, grounds students in both the technical and human dimensions of performance. And April Bartlett, an Emmy Award-winning production designer for The Today Show, trains future designers to create with imagination and resilience.
This caliber of mentorship ensures that when Sands students step into the industry, they do so not merely prepared but already performing at a professional level.
Sands糖心vlog短视频 reputation as a breeding ground for talent is borne from its philosophy: a career in the arts begins the day students arrive, not the day they leave. By combining intensive training with a solid liberal arts foundation, and by encouraging students to work while they study, Sands has become one of the nation糖心vlog短视频檚 most respected proving grounds for creative careers.
Igniting the Firecracker
Two things drew Commercial Dance alumna to Sands. Connections were key, and the Baltimore native knew New York was the only city for a promising young dancer with sizable dreams.
But even more important to Clark was Sands糖心vlog短视频 approach to dance education. Most programs that she糖心vlog短视频檇 considered expected dancers to fit a certain mold, to bend to pre-determined formulas, she said. Clark wanted a school that would encourage her individuality.
糖心vlog短视频淲hen I dance, I light up,糖心vlog短视频 she said. 糖心vlog短视频淲hen it came time to decide on schools, I knew that if I was going to last four years, I needed to be doing something that I cared enough about to dedicate my life to.糖心vlog短视频
糖心vlog短视频淚 was just looking for a place to continue to figure out who I was,糖心vlog短视频 she said. 糖心vlog短视频淚 didn't know my 糖心vlog短视频榝orm.糖心vlog短视频 I just knew I had more to learn before I hit the ground running.糖心vlog短视频
Image
Clark began dancing when she was seven. Initially attracted to the athleticism of the craft, her affection grew as she matured, and the physical mixed with the creative.
糖心vlog短视频淲hen I dance, I light up,糖心vlog短视频 she said. 糖心vlog短视频淲hen it came time to decide on schools, I knew that if I was going to last four years, I needed to be doing something that I cared enough about to dedicate my life to.糖心vlog短视频
Still, Clark was realistic when she arrived at Pace in the fall of 2018. Dance is a niche profession. Not every dancer will land a job when they graduate. To increase her chances, she diversified, mastering several disciplines to make herself more marketable.
糖心vlog短视频淚 absorbed as much as I could before I was kicked out into the real world,糖心vlog短视频 she said.
Clark landed in the 糖心vlog短视频渞eal world糖心vlog短视频 even before she graduated, thanks to Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 offerings and its flexibility for working students. She spent part of her junior year in Los Angeles, studying dance and choreography for film. Connections made there landed her a lead role in Denver during her senior year, a five-week run with , her first musical.
Since then, Clark糖心vlog短视频檚 career has taken off. Called a 糖心vlog短视频溙切膙log短视频 and 糖心vlog短视频渙ne to watch糖心vlog短视频 by Dance Teacher magazine, she performed in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning , and with the singer Doja Cat at the 2024 MTV video music awards. Her , was as Helga in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club.
Clark blossomed during her run in Cabaret, a period of financial stability and growth that . Every night before places, she糖心vlog短视频檇 visit the front of house, say hello to the staff, and perform a signature warmup down the aisles.
糖心vlog短视频淚糖心vlog短视频檇 do two cartwheels before every show,糖心vlog短视频 she said. To calm the nerves and keep things loose. So expected was this act of athleticism that once, when Clark went on vacation, the stage manager filled in and did the cartwheels for her.
Shows close. Broadway is a business. Learning that lesson can be 糖心vlog短视频渢ough,糖心vlog短视频 she said, especially when it means the paychecks stop coming. When Cabaret went dark, in September 2025, Clark was back in the hunt, looking for her next gig.
Pace helped her here, too, she said. During school, every few months her dance classes would be led by a new teacher, which taught her how to read a room and give a casting director more of what they were looking for.
糖心vlog短视频淧ace prepared us for the unpredictability of our industry,糖心vlog短视频 Clark said. For that, 糖心vlog短视频淚糖心vlog短视频檓 grateful.糖心vlog短视频
Lights, Camera, Study!
What separates Sands from peers, students say, is its emphasis on careers. Undergraduates are encouraged to pursue opportunities as they study. Not internships or part-time apprenticeships. Full-time artistic commitments.
糖心vlog短视频淚t's almost required,糖心vlog短视频 said Cole. 糖心vlog短视频淚t puts you a couple steps ahead, because you're building your professional connections when you're in school. That jumpstart is one of the things I糖心vlog短视频檓 most thankful to Pace for.糖心vlog短视频
Image
That flexibility is what convinced to choose Sands. A professional actor since he was nine, Lizcano wasn糖心vlog短视频檛 about to put his passion糖心vlog短视频攐r his salary糖心vlog短视频攐n hold for four years. 糖心vlog短视频淧ace was a strategic choice,糖心vlog短视频 he said. 糖心vlog短视频淲herever I ended up going to school I needed to continue working.糖心vlog短视频
Lizcano, now a junior pursuing his BFA in acting, is living that dream. It hasn糖心vlog短视频檛 always been easy. In early 2025, Lizcano booked a role in the world premiere of , but with a catch. The theater was Arena Stage, in Washington, D.C., a six-hour journey from lower Manhattan.
糖心vlog短视频淚t puts you a couple steps ahead, because you're building your professional connections when you're in school. That jumpstart is one of the things I糖心vlog短视频檓 most thankful to Pace for.糖心vlog短视频
His professors didn糖心vlog短视频檛 hesitate. Arena Stage has produced , including Tony Award-winners Dear Evan Hansen and Next to Normal. Wrinkle was Lizcano糖心vlog短视频檚 ticket, and Pace wasn糖心vlog短视频檛 about to stand in his way.
Rehearsals for the June to July show began at the end of April, just as final exams were about to begin. 糖心vlog短视频淢y first two weeks of Wrinkle were my last two weeks of sophomore year,糖心vlog短视频 Lizcano said. To make it work, he traveled back to New York several times for classes and tests.
糖心vlog短视频淚 was basically doing my homework on the train,糖心vlog短视频 he said. 糖心vlog短视频淚 was studying for finals, writing papers, and recording presentations that I couldn't do in person.糖心vlog短视频
It took a lot of checklists to survive those difficult weeks, Lizcano said, not to mention forgiving directors and understanding professors. He was even able to write the missed rehearsals into his contract, to avoid any misunderstanding when he was absent for school.
糖心vlog短视频淚've always put education above everything else,糖心vlog短视频 he said. 糖心vlog短视频淏ut acting is a very close second.糖心vlog短视频
Doubling Down on the Arts
Each year, more than 600 undergraduates depart Sands with degrees in acting, performance making, dance, theater, production, and design. They enter an uncertain profession. While every actor knows that no show runs forever, and shifting audience tastes have made it difficult to survive and harder to thrive.
糖心vlog短视频淚t's crazy to see Broadway veterans in the same position as me,糖心vlog短视频 Clark said as she shifted from her role in Cabaret back to the job market. 糖心vlog短视频淚t糖心vlog短视频檚 a humbling experience.糖心vlog短视频
糖心vlog短视频淚 went to Pace because I knew it would give me a competitive edge over other performers my age,糖心vlog短视频 said Campo.
But at the same time, there糖心vlog短视频檚 never been a better time to entertain. Between 2022 and 2023, the arts and cultural industry , and many state and local organizations are .
Sands College is doubling down on the positives. Next fall, the opening of One Pace Plaza East in Lower Manhattan will add new performance spaces, movement and dance studios, and film and media centers to Sands糖心vlog短视频 current facilities.
Alumni helped deliver Sands to this moment in its history. Without their ambition, drive and talents, Sands would be just another school. Instead, it糖心vlog短视频檚 a powerhouse of the arts糖心vlog短视频攚here careers are born and legends made.
糖心vlog短视频淚 went to Pace because I knew it would give me a competitive edge over other performers my age,糖心vlog短视频 said Campo.
Some things never change.
More from Pace
Deep Dive
At 糖心vlog短视频, we don糖心vlog短视频檛 just train dancers糖心vlog短视频攚e train Rockettes. More Rockettes than anywhere else. As the Radio City Rockettes celebrate 100 years of precision and performance, we糖心vlog短视频檙e celebrating the nineteen Rockettes and fifteen ensemble dancers who got their start right here at the Sands College of Performing Arts. Their journey from Pace studios to the Radio City stage is pure magic.
Deep Dive
The future of the arts at Pace is under construction. Inside One Pace Plaza East, Sands College of Performing Arts students and faculty are preparing to create, collaborate, and perform in spaces built for bold ideas and bright lights.
Deep Dive
Pace糖心vlog短视频檚 Sands College of Performing Arts and Deaf West Theatre are joining forces to make music education more inclusive. Their new artist-in-residence program introduces the first-ever ASL Music Theory Lexicon Project糖心vlog短视频攇iving deaf and hard-of-hearing artists equal access to the language of music while training all students to see access as innovation.