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The Southernmost Regatta 2024 - Key West Preview

January 15, 2024 - Key West, FL, U.S.A. - The Southernmost Regatta, powered by Sailing Inc., will be held January 15th to 19th, 2024 on the picturesque blue waters of Key West, FL! In addition to two one-design fleets of J/70s and J/111s, there will be an ORC Division and an ORC Doublehanded Division, enjoying what Key West has to offer. Imagine being in gorgeous, sunny, Key West, watching sunsets, chatting with friends we haven't seen in months, and enjoying five days of awesome sailing in the aquamarine waters of the Florida Keys, watching dolphins jump, and play around your bows! The teams will be enjoying what makes Key West great; the opportunity to race at a tropical venue, experience the island culture, and reconnect with the friends during the cold winter months.

ORC Division Sailing in the ORC Division will be Bill Hanckel's J/120 EMOCEAN from Charleston, SC, and Jon Weglarz's J/105 THE ASYLUM from Chicago, IL. Then, in the ORC Doublehanded Division, Joe Kutra will be racing the J/105 SLEEPER from the NEKA Sailing Team in Glen Cove, NY.  Last year's winner, the FOX team, under the ownership and skippering of Victor Wild, is part of the GL52 Racing division in this regatta, racing under ORC rating. 

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GL52 North American fleet kicks off season with 2024 Winter Series

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Next Race: February 22, 2024

An annual 160 mile race in Florida held each winter.

The Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race began when crews delivering boats to start the St. Petersburg to Fort Lauderdale Race in the '70s decided to stop for a drink (or two) in Key West on the way. In the days before yacht tracking, getting there faster meant more time on Duvall Street without the owners knowing! It organized in 1975 and evolved into one of the premiere distance races in North America, ultimately giving birth to the fabled Key West Race Week in the '80s because no one wanted to leave! Today, racers from around the country still enjoy the warm waters of the Gulf Stream in February and the unique hospitality of Key West at the finish line.

LATEST NEWS

January 7, 2022

47th Lauderdale to Key West Race

Congrats to Rear Commodore Andrew Weiss’ on his new Italia 11.98 Christopher Dragon for taking ORC honors.

January 25, 2021

Fort Lauderdale Race 2021

Photo: SORC Sailing ... It was a very light Fort Lauderdale Race in 2021 but at least sailors were able to participate! Congrats to the SORC for a successful event and Commodore Ed Cesare on the First to Finish.

In Partnership with:

NOTICE BOARD

VIA YACHT SCORING

NOTICE OF RACE & REGISTRATION FOR 2022 IS POSTED

stormtrysailclub

Dedicated to blue water sailing. Sponsor of inshore, distance, and offshore sailboat races. Supporter of the interests and needs of sailors.

ABOUT THE EVENT

Proud Partnership with Lauderdale Yacht Club & SORC

Highlight of the Winter Season

The course shall be from the starting line, south to the Miami Sea Buoy (“RW Mo (A) Whistle”) leaving it to starboard; then to the Key West Sea Buoy (“RW Mo(A)”) located south of Key West, leaving the following marks and a continuous line connecting them to starboard. Note that the continuous line is not always indicative of the boundary of safe water for navigation, and does not include the course from the Key West Sea Buoy to the Finish.

EVENT LOGISITCS

Next Race: January 2022

REGISTRATION

Registration is done via Yacht Scoring before the event and check in begins on Thursday afternoon.

First signal for each course will be at 1000 Friday. Class assignments and starting times will be available online and will be announced at the Skippers Meeting.

A course from the Miami Sea Buoy to the Key West Sea Buoy. However, the continuous line is not always indicative of the boundary of safe water for navigation so vigilance is required.

The Awards Presentation and After-Race Party will be held on Saturday which will be TBD based on local regulations.

Published on November 11th, 2023 | by Editor

Classic offshore race back after 33 years

Published on November 11th, 2023 by Editor -->

The dream of running the St. Petersburg to Lauderdale Race again, and building offshore events in the Gulf of Mexico, was finally realized on November 8 when 20 yachts took off from Tampa Bay and out through the Sky Bridge to test their speed and tactical skills over the storied 403 nm course around the bottom of Florida.

Last held 33 years ago, conditions were benign with a forecast of building breeze to 12-18 knots that would veer from NW to SE throughout the race. Initially, a light VMG run and narrow wind bands led to a restart at the Skyway Bridge as the fleet raced to the SW entrance buoy, switching to code sails and then jibs.

Then it was back to VMG running for 100 miles before the final 70 mile stretch to the turning mark at Rebecca Shoal, located to the west of Key West, that became a power reach as the forecasted wind build and rotation played out.

The lighter displacement boats with large A-kites initially led their ORC classes at the turning mark as the final and most tactical section of the race began.

Now passing along the Florida Keys, some yachts tacked inshore to avoid the Gulf Stream’s counter current, while others extended on port for 15 to 20 miles in order to pick up the edge of the Stream.

However, the wind oscillated and created tricky calls for navigators. Do you go for current or work the shifts? Ultimately, a balance between the two options worked best for the Class Winners.

As the course turned northwards along the Keys, faster offshore positions in the Stream were rotated back as compared with the inshore competitors sailing less distance. Sail options also played a role as the earlier one could get to a code sail and then an A3 the quicker you became.

After turning at the Port Everglades RW buoy off Fort Lauderdale, finishers reported their times at G3 marker and the wait began to see who was going to win the LL “Lew” McMasters Memorial Trophy and have their name and boat engraved alongside the sailing greats of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

First to finish and winner of the Commodore Robert B. Lassing Memorial Trophy was the Cookson 50 Privateer sailed by Ron O’Hanley. ORC1 Class winner and 7th in the ORC fleet was Chris Saxton sailing his J/125 Vortices.

The ORC1 class, first around Rebecca Shoal, faced left breeze and a pure upwind to the Key West RW buoy, whereas the slower boats were able to sail less distance. Texas based boats Kenai and Bear, after a long duel, finished 1st and 2nd in ORC2 and in the ORC Fleet. The ORC3 winner, Andrew Clark’s J/122 Zig Zag, and current holder of the SORC Islands in the Stream Series, took 3rd in fleet.

The PHRF fleet enjoyed a third night offshore and brought in the final finisher, the Beneteau First 47.7 Freedom of Hamble, with a 3 day 18 minute elapsed time. The fleet winner in PHRF was Petisa, a Salona 44 sailed by Harold Brandon.

With the results in: Chris and Karen Lewis sailing J/44 Kenai (photo above) will be the first engraving on the LL “Lew” McMasters Memorial Trophy since 1990.

Storm Trysail Club introduced a two boat team award and this was won by Team ZKZ – Kenai and Zig Zag. These two boats will battle it out in the Islands in the Stream Series having won the series for the last three years between them. However, many others could win overall as the ORC fleet is highly competitive and the racing quite tactical.

The event was a success and is here to stay and will run again in 2024.

Details: https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=16013

Source: Chris Lewis

2023-24 Islands in the Stream Series November 8 – St Pete – Ft Laud Race – St. Petersburg to Ft. Lauderdale December 1 – Wirth Munroe Ocean Race – Miami to Palm Beach January 11 – Nassau Cup Ocean Race – Miami to Nassau February 22 – Ft. Lauderdale – Key West Race – Fort Lauderdale to Key West

For the Notice of Series, click here .

Tags: Islands in the Stream Series , St Pete - Ft Laud Race

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Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore brings to mind several collapses in Ohio

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed Tuesday after being struck by a cargo ship, sending at least seven people into the water. A massive emergency response is underway.

The tragedy in Maryland brings to mind several bridge collapses in Ohio, some with fatalities. Here is a selection from the Buckeye State, including 1989's Miamitown tragedy and a 2004 construction accident in Toledo.

Interstate 280 Maumee River Bridge launching gantry collapse, Toledo, Feb. 16, 2004

On Feb. 16, 2004, one of two launching gantries used for construction of the approach viaducts of the Interstate 280 Maumee River Bridge crossing collapsed, killing four workers and injured four others, according to the Transportation Research Board . 

During the ensuing investigation, the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the main contractor, Fru-Con Construction Corp. of Ballwin, Missouri, for "willful" safety violations. Those violations included improperly anchoring the massive cranes that weighed 1.8 million pounds each and for failing to follow warnings issued by the crane manufacturer, according to the Toledo Blade .

Miamitown Bridge collapse, Cincinnati, May 26, 1989

A temporary bridge over the Great Miami River collapsed during widespread flooding on May 16, 1989, according to media reports , sending four cars into the water. At least two people drowned, WCPO reported .

In November 1990, the National Transportation Safety Board issued a report blaming the Hamilton County Engineer’s Office for three factors that contributed to the bridge collapse, according to WCPO. Those include selection of a design by National Engineering that did not consider lateral loads; failure to submit the bridge design plans to the Ohio Department of Transportation for review as required by state law; and failure to promptly close the bridge when it became subject to significant debris loading.

Silver Bridge collapse, Gallipolis, Dec. 15, 1967

The Silver Bridge spanned the Ohio River from Gallipolis to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Opening to traffic in 1928, it was the first bridge in the nation to use an innovative eyebar-link suspension system rather than a traditional wire-cable suspension, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

However, one of those eyebars had a small, unseen defect. The faulty eyebar eventually cracked and began to corrode, out of sight from the public or bridge inspectors. At about 5 p.m. on December 15 -- during rush hour -- the eyebar failed, setting off a series of other failures that caused the bridge to collapse. Thirty-one vehicles plunged into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.

Baltimore's Key Bridge is not the first: A look at other bridge collapse events in US history

Crain Avenue Bridge collapse, Kent, Dec. 18, 1964

The Crain Avenue Bridge spanned the Cuyahoga River in downtown Kent, and was nearly 70 years old in 1964, according to the Record-Courier .

On Dec. 18 of that year, the iron bridge gave way under the weight of a gasoline tanker truck that weighed more than twice the posted eight-ton load limit. The span collapsed, sending the truck and an automobile following it 25 feet into the Cuyahoga River, killing one.

The bridge was rebuilt and in service until 2008 when it was struck and damaged by a derailed train . By then, plans for a new span at Fairchild Avenue, a block away, were already underway. That bridge opened in 2010.

Fassett Street Bridge collapse, Toledo, April 5, 1957

On April 5, 1957, a strong storm with 60 to 80 mph wind gusts broke all 12 mooring lines from the freighter Champlain, according to the National Museum of the Great Lakes . The ship floated downriver until it struck the Fassett Street Bridge, where it took out three spans. Two cars were on the bridge at the time.

The Toledo Blade reported that the bridge was built over the narrowest part of the Maumee River in 1896, and was designed to connect Walbridge and South avenues with the city's east side. The bridge had previously been taken out by ice floes in 1906 and high winds in 1935. It was knocked out of line by another boat in 1954. After being struck by the 8,700 ton Champlain, it was not repaired.

Steel Bridge collapse, Wheeling, West Virginia, Oct. 15, 1924

The Steel Bridge, which spanned the Ohio River from Wheeling, West Virginia to Wheeling Island in the Ohio River, collapsed on Oct. 15, 1924, killing one. Media reports from the time say a crowded street car had just crossed the bridge when the girders gave way. One of 35 workers repairing the structure fell 50 feet to his death.

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? Who is Francis Scott Key?

The 1.6 mile, 4-lane bridge carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River on the Baltimore's southeast side.

Named for the author of the "Star-Spangled Banner," it was the second-longest continuous-truss bridge span in the United States and third in the world before the tragic accident.

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In One Key A.I. Metric, China Pulls Ahead of the U.S.: Talent

China has produced a huge number of top A.I. engineers in recent years. New research shows that, by some measures, it has already eclipsed the United States.

By Paul Mozur and Cade Metz

Paul Mozur reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Cade Metz from San Francisco.

When it comes to the artificial intelligence that powers chatbots like ChatGPT, China lags behind the United States . But when it comes to producing the scientists behind a new generation of humanoid technologies, China is pulling ahead.

New research shows that China has by some metrics eclipsed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I. talent, with the country generating almost half the world’s top A.I. researchers. By contrast, about 18 percent come from U.S. undergraduate institutions, according to the study , from MacroPolo, a think tank run by the Paulson Institute, which promotes constructive ties between the United States and China.

The findings show a jump for China, which produced about one-third of the world’s top talent three years earlier. The United States, by contrast, remained mostly the same. The research is based on the backgrounds of researchers whose papers were published at 2022’s Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems. NeurIPS, as it is known, is focused on advances in neural networks , which have anchored recent developments in generative A.I.

The talent imbalance has been building for the better part of a decade. During much of the 2010s, the United States benefited as large numbers of China’s top minds moved to American universities to complete doctoral degrees. A majority of them stayed in the United States. But the research shows that trend has also begun to turn, with growing numbers of Chinese researchers staying in China.

What happens in the next few years could be critical as China and the United States jockey for primacy in A.I. — a technology that can potentially increase productivity, strengthen industries and drive innovation — turning the researchers into one of the most geopolitically important groups in the world.

Generative A.I. has captured the tech industry in Silicon Valley and in China, causing a frenzy in funding and investment. The boom has been led by U.S. tech giants such as Google and start-ups like OpenAI. That could attract China’s researchers, though rising tensions between Beijing and Washington could also deter some, experts said.

(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems.)

China has nurtured so much A.I. talent partly because it invested heavily in A.I. education. Since 2018, the country has added more than 2,000 undergraduate A.I. programs, with more than 300 at its most elite universities, said Damien Ma, the managing director of MacroPolo, though he noted the programs were not heavily focused on the technology that had driven breakthroughs by chatbots like ChatGPT.

“A lot of the programs are about A.I. applications in industry and manufacturing, not so much the generative A.I. stuff that’s come to dominate the American A.I. industry at the moment,” he said.

While the United States has pioneered breakthroughs in A.I., most recently with the uncanny humanlike abilities of chatbots , a significant portion of that work was done by researchers educated in China.

Researchers originally from China now make up 38 percent of the top A.I. researchers working in the United States, with Americans making up 37 percent, according to the research. Three years earlier, those from China made up 27 percent of top talent working in the United States, compared with 31 percent from the United States.

“The data shows just how critical Chinese-born researchers are to the United States for A.I. competitiveness,” said Matt Sheehan, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who studies Chinese A.I.

He added that the data seemed to show the United States was still attractive. “We’re the world leader in A.I. because we continue to attract and retain talent from all over the world, but especially China,” he said.

Pieter Abbeel, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a founder of Covariant , an A.I. and robotics start-up, said working alongside large numbers of Chinese researchers was taken for granted inside the leading American companies and universities.

“It’s just a natural state of affairs,” he said.

In the past, U.S. defense officials were not too concerned about A.I. talent flows from China, partly because many of the biggest A.I. projects did not deal with classified data and partly because they reasoned that it was better to have the best minds available. That so much of the leading research in A.I. is published openly also held back worries.

Despite bans introduced by the Trump administration that prohibit entry to the United States for students from some military-linked universities in China and a relative slowdown in the flow of Chinese students into the country during Covid, the research showed large numbers of the most promising A.I. minds continued coming to the United States to study.

But this month, a Chinese citizen who was an engineer at Google was charged with trying to transfer A.I. technology — including critical microchip architecture — to a Beijing-based company that paid him in secret , according to a federal indictment.

The substantial numbers of Chinese A.I. researchers working in the United States now present a conundrum for policymakers, who want to counter Chinese espionage while not discouraging the continued flow of top Chinese computer engineers into the United States, according to experts focused on American competitiveness.

“Chinese scholars are almost leading the way in the A.I. field,” said Subbarao Kambhampati, a professor and researcher of A.I. at Arizona State University. If policymakers try to bar Chinese nationals from research in the United States, he said, they are “shooting themselves in the foot.”

The track record of U.S. policymakers is mixed. A policy by the Trump administration aimed at curbing Chinese industrial espionage and intellectual property theft has since been criticized for errantly prosecuting a number of professors. Such programs, Chinese immigrants said, have encouraged some to stay in China.

For now, the research showed, most Chinese who complete doctorates in the United States stay in the country, helping to make it the global center of the A.I. world. Even so, the U.S. lead has begun to slip, to hosting about 42 percent of the world’s top talent, down from about 59 percent three years ago, according to the research.

Paul Mozur is the global technology correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei. Previously he wrote about technology and politics in Asia from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. More about Paul Mozur

Cade Metz writes about artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality and other emerging areas of technology. More about Cade Metz

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How to travel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: A look at the traffic impact and alternate routes

By Rohan Mattu

Updated on: April 1, 2024 / 8:13 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on the morning of March 26  led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city. 

Drivers are told to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice.

Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Maryland transit authorities quickly put detours in place for those traveling through Dundalk or the Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point side of the bridge. The estimated 31,000 who travel the bridge every day will need to find a new route for the foreseeable future. 

The outer loop I-695 closure shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access. 

The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from MD 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed. 

Alternate routes are I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes. 

Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.    

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? 

The Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, a key waterway that along with the Port of Baltimore serves as a hub for East Coast shipping. 

The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, known in the region as the Baltimore Beltway, which links Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 

The bridge was built after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. 

Tractor-trailer inspections

Tractor-trailers that now have clearance to use the tunnels will need to be checked for hazardous materials, which are not permitted in tunnels, and that could further hold up traffic. 

The MDTA says vehicles carrying bottled propane gas over 10 pounds per container (maximum of 10 containers), bulk gasoline, explosives, significant amounts of radioactive materials, and other hazardous materials are prohibited from using the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895).  

Any vehicles transporting hazardous materials should use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, officials said. 

• Francis Scott Key Bridge
• Bridge Collapse
• Patapsco River

Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ's website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

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West African dance and hip-hop play a key role in a revamped Juilliard track

Michel Martin

Olivia Hampton

Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director of The Juilliard School's Dance Division (center), speaks with fourth-year dance students Kailei Sin (left) and Nyoka Wotorson (right) in between classes. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director of The Juilliard School's Dance Division (center), speaks with fourth-year dance students Kailei Sin (left) and Nyoka Wotorson (right) in between classes.

Nyoka Wotorson has been dancing as far back as she can remember. But it wasn't until she got accepted into The Juilliard School's small but mighty Dance Division, and training in its revamped program, that she realized her passion could be a career.

"It took me a second to realize that this is something that I can do and make money and travel the world doing," the 22-year-old told NPR's Michel Martin during a break between classes. "I just woke up from this dream reality that you have to be more than just an artist, when really to be an artist you have to be such a multifaceted human being that even if I stopped dancing today, I know because of dance, I would have the wherewithal and the drive to do whatever else I want."

Students dance in an advanced Allegro class taught by instructor Jeff Edwards. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

Behind the transformative aspect of her four years at one of the world's most elite conservatories, lies the relentless drive of another dancer, Alicia Graf Mack.

In 2018, she became the prestigious New York conservatory's first woman of color to head the dance program — and the youngest person to do so. Graf Mack, 45, is shaking up what is taught and how to make art dance more relevant than ever.

"Being a tall Black woman in ballet, I have always been sort of the unicorn or the standout person. And so it felt right," said Graf Mack, who at 17 became a breakout star with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Mack's illustrious career also saw her perform with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Beyoncé and John Legend. But injuries caused by a rheumatic disease ultimately forced her to leave the stage, and she then turned her focus on arts education.

After suffering from injuries early on in her dance career, Graf Mack pivoted to arts education. "It really was education that saved me," she told NPR. "It was the idea that I could be more than one thing." Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

After suffering from injuries early on in her dance career, Graf Mack pivoted to arts education. "It really was education that saved me," she told NPR. "It was the idea that I could be more than one thing."

Innovation at heart

Juilliard's dance program has been innovative from its start in 1951. Founding director Martha Hill trained students in both ballet and modern dance, an unusual approach at a time when the two were considered practically opposite disciplines. She set new standards that made Juilliard a beacon of the world's finest dance training. She also had dancers collaborate with their music program peers and attracted luminaries as teachers, from Martha Graham to José Limón and Antony Tudor.

Graf Mack now requires students to take hip-hop and West African dance. The young apprentices have more freedom to choose the techniques that interest them, regardless of gender or body type.

Students practice the Cunningham technique, developed by 20th century dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. Jean Freebury, who teaches the course at Juilliard, danced with the Merce Cunningham Company for nearly a decade. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

Students practice the Cunningham technique, developed by 20th century dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. Jean Freebury, who teaches the course at Juilliard, danced with the Merce Cunningham Company for nearly a decade.

Men can take pointe classes, be they aspiring Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo drag troupe members or simply exploring how to use their bodies in different ways. Women can learn the kinds of jumps and turns once reserved for men. Dancers are even encouraged to take a vocal arts class.

"I want them to be as versatile as they can so that they have longevity in their careers. And you can start with a ballet company or on Broadway," said Graf Mack. "They can be well versed in many different languages of dance, but if they don't understand how they can all be integrated and work together, then we have, you know, an issue."

Students are encouraged to come as they are, and that even extends to what they wear to class. Out with the tights and tutus, in with polo shirts, leggings, baggy pants and the universal attire of college students everywhere — school sweatshirts.

Graf Mack, a former dancer, watches a class from the sidelines. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

Graf Mack, a former dancer, watches a class from the sidelines.

"Your unique qualities are they want to see those sides of you when it comes to attire. Specifically, everyone here dresses like themselves 100% of the time," Wotorson said.

'Sense of urgency'

Graf Mack highlighted the "sense of urgency" in working with college students who are about to launch their careers.

"We can also look toward the field and say, 'What is currently the state of the field and how can we shift and change that field?'" she said.

Juilliard students have long joined the ranks of top dance companies around the world. The school says that all students from the class of 2023 graduated with jobs at companies from the Mark Morris Group to the Met Opera Ballet and Ballet Zurich. Graf Mack said she hopes that more Juilliard dancers will become company directors.

The exterior of the Juilliard School in Midtown Manhattan. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

The exterior of the Juilliard School in Midtown Manhattan.

Only up to 24 dance students get accepted into Juilliard each year, for a dance division that totals around 80 students across the four-year program. An elite education like this one in the fine and performing arts can be prohibitively expensive in the United States, which provides little government support to the sector compared to European countries.

The estimated budget for a first-time, first-year Juilliard student next school year is $86,582 , of which $54,400 alone accounts for tuition. That amount includes living expenses, but doesn't account for any scholarships or financial aid. The school says more than 90% of its students have received some form of aid in recent years, with the average student paying less than half the cost of tuition.

Juilliard has set a goal to prioritize affordability and to become more tuition-free. Starting in the 2024-2025 academic year, enrolled students can attend for free a graduate acting program. Juilliard Drama alumni include Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Adam Driver, Samira Wiley and Robin Williams. And the school recently raised $10 million for student scholarships through a partnership with the Jerome L. Greene Foundation.

Graf Mack poses for a portrait in a Juilliard dance studio. Tsering Bista/NPR hide caption

Graf Mack poses for a portrait in a Juilliard dance studio.

"It's so important so that the dancers, the musicians and drama students can concentrate on their art form and not on how am I going to eat and I have to land a job coming out of school immediately so I can just survive in my craft," Graf Mack said. "It took a village to get me to become a professional dancer. For most dancers, it takes at least ten years of training before they can get into a college for four more years of training and school in higher education."

Being part of history

Wotorson, the fourth-year student, is a Greene fellow. She's headed to the Netherlands this summer after landing a contract with Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. Before all that, she's performing March 27-30 in Juilliard's spring showcase .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by NPR (@npr)

The Spring Dances will feature repertory work by Kyle Abraham and another from a collaboration between Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber. The final piece is Map by Chinese-American painter and choreographer Shen Wei, set to composer alum Steve Reich's The Desert Music , a sprawling, pulsating chorale performed by the Juilliard Orchestra and guest vocalists. Although Juilliard has had Asian choreographers create new work in recent years, this is the first time an Asian choreographer's existing repertoire work has been performed at the school in more than 20 years.

"It's really cool to be a part of that kind of history here," said Kailei Sin, who will join Wotorson and fellow students on stage. "Something that I've learned here and I think is super valuable for dancers anywhere is to have somebody that looks like you leading a space, being at the front of the room."

The broadcast version of this story was produced by Ana Perez. The digital version was edited by Treye Green.

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How will the Baltimore bridge collapse affect deliveries? What to know after ship collision

The collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could have a significant economic impact, effectively shutting down the nation’s busiest port for cars and light trucks in the U.S. and the ninth busiest port overall for an indefinite period.

The bridge provides access to the Port of Baltimore, and its sudden inability to handle imports and exports likely could mean shifting traffic to other ports on the East and West coasts, experts say. However, the reshuffling could cause product delivery delays.

Shortly after the bridge collapsed, the Port of Baltimore suspended vessel traffic “until further notice,” according to its website .

“This does not mean the Port of Baltimore is shut down. We are still processing trucks inside of our terminals,” the statement said.

But Bloomberg reported that the port “looks to be out of commission indefinitely.”

The accident comes as military conflict at the Suez Canal and low water levels at the Panama Canal separately have disrupted global shipping networks in recent weeks.

At least 40 ships are now more or less trapped inside the port, according to Reuters. At least 30 other ships had planned to arrive there.

“They will likely have to reroute shipping to other ports on the East Coast,” said Kevin Linderman, a professor and supply chain expert at Pennsylvania State University. “However, this will put additional demand on these ports, and shippers may not be able to access US markets” as efficiently, he said.

“One critical question is, can the other ports handle the products that were destined to Baltimore?”

The bridge collapse also could shift goods through West Coast ports, Bloomberg reported. But it’s not clear which other ports can handle the so-called roll on/roll off shipping containers that carry cars as well as farm and construction machinery.

Most shipments to the port come from Mexico, Germany and Japan, said Tinglong Dai, a professor of operations management and business analytics at Johns Hopkins University. Rerouting deliveries from Mexico and Germany to other East Coast ports likely would not cause significant delays, he said, but transferring Japanese imports to West Coast facilities could be more disruptive.

Although much of the port will effectively be shuttered until the bridge is rebuilt, the terminals of some companies, such as BMW, don't need access to the bridge and will be able to get up and running again relatively quickly, Dai said.

How busy is the Port of Baltimore?

Last year, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 847,158 cars and light trucks, more than any other U.S. port, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s office. Overall, the port handled 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion, making it the nation’s ninth busiest.

The facility also handled 1.3 million tons of farm and construction machinery, the most of any U.S. port.

The port has grown busier as many manufacturers have moved production from Asia to North America because of supply-chain bottlenecks during the pandemic, Dai said.

GM, Ford and Stellantis — which makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles — use the port mostly for exporting vehicles manufactured in North America to Europe, says Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. So any interruption to exports will, "require costly relocation of products to New Jersey, Virginia, or South Carolina. This will also hold up ships, already in short supply and now locked into the port, from keeping the trade routes flowing."

Ford CFO John Lawler told Bloomberg TV Tuesday the incident will have a negative impact on deliveries of parts. He said Ford is looking to reroute car parts to other east coast ports and it would draw on its experience with COVID-related supply chain disruptions, but that the supply chains will inevitably be lengthened.

“It’s a large port with a lot of flow through it, so it’s going to have an impact,” Lawler said on  Bloomberg TV . “We’ll work on the workarounds.”

GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said GM uses the port to ship some vehicles "to select export markets." GM exports the Chevrolet Corvette, built in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to the United Kingdom through Baltimore as one example. Kelly said GM is working with its logistics providers to find shipping options at other ports, but GM expects only a minor impact on operations.

Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in an emailed statement, "The Port of Baltimore is an important waterway for the automotive industry. We are initiating discussions with our various transportation providers on contingency plans to ensure an uninterrupted flow of vehicles to our customers and will continue to carefully monitor this situation."

JPMorgan Chase economists Michael Feroli and Daniel Silver will have "minimal implications for vehicle inflation."

"While Baltimore is the most important port for vehicle imports, many more vehicles are imported over land from Canada and Mexico. the economists wrote in a note to clients.

And less than 24 hours after the disaster, vessels were already diverted to other East Coast ports, they added. "According to the Port of Virginia those ports will have sufficient capacity to handle all the diverted cargo," they wrote.

Will the port shutdown affect consumer goods, prices?

Several big firms have distribution warehouses in an industrial park near the bridge and port, including Amazon, FedEx, Under Armour, Home Depot and BMW, according to Bloomberg and one analyst's tweet on X.  

Some analysts, however, predict only a minimal impact on the movement of goods up and down the East Coast from the bridge collapse.

Baltimore’s port holds just 4% of all East Coast trade volume, according to S&P Global. New York’s port, by contrast, does 38% of that business.

What makes the Port of Baltimore an attractive destination for the shipping industry?

Yet, the port offers the deepest harbor in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, is closer to the Midwest than any other East Coast port, and is within an overnight drive of one-third of the US population, according to the port website . The port boasts five public and 12 private terminals.

“For the American consumer, the biggest impact will be felt in terms of imported motor vehicles,” said Jason Miller, a business professor at Michigan State University. “As such, so long as motor vehicle sales remain strong, we could see inventories drop on the lots of dealers that sell imported vehicles until alternative arrangements can be made. This could increase motor vehicle prices for some makes and models.”

Contributing: Jamie L, LaReau of the Detroit Free Press