Princeton Ballet School Welcomes International Students for Summer Intensive Program

For the past 32 years, Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, has welcomed ballet students from across the United States and around the world to its Summer Intensive program. Princeton Ballet School's Summer Intensive is one of the oldest and most selective in the country. The 95 dancers, who auditioned this past winter, come from across the United States and from Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, and South Africa. The students live in dorms on Princeton University's campus and train daily at the Princeton Ballet School's location in the Princeton Shopping Center.

"Our Summer Intensive is one of my favorite times of the year," says Princeton Ballet School Director Mary Pat Robertson. "Dancers from all over the US, and the world, can come together and make new friends with other young people who share this very special passion for dance. These friendships help keep them focused on their dance goals during the academic year, particularly now when they can keep in touch globally so easily. It's great for them to become a part of a global network of young aspirants."

Robertson and American Repertory Ballet (ARB) Artistic Director, Douglas Martin direct the Summer Intensive. Carol Bellis, long-time Princeton Ballet School faculty member, is Princeton Ballet School's Summer Intensive Coordinator, acting as the liaison between faculty, students, resident assistants, and parents for the Summer Intensive in Princeton as well as the Summer Intensive Intermediates program for 11-14 year olds, held at Princeton Ballet School's Cranbury location, and the Summer Intensive Juniors program for 8-10 year olds, held on campus at Princeton University. As Robertson says, Bellis "helps steer students and families through this summer of personal and artistic growth."

Ballet faculty members will include: Douglas Martin, Mary Barton, Kathleen Moore, and Maria Youskevitch. Martin danced with Joffrey Ballet and ARB, and is now Artistic Director. Barton also danced with the Joffrey Ballet and ARB and is Ballet Master and Resident Choreographer. Moore is a former principal ballerina with American Ballet Theatre and a company teacher for ARB. Youskevitch, daughter of the legendary Igor Youskevitch, was a soloist with American Ballet Theatre, and was recently honored by ARB and Princeton Ballet School for her service here.

These Princeton Ballet School faculty members will be joined by guest ballet teachers Kirk Peterson and Trinette Singleton. Peterson had a distinguished, evolving career with American Ballet Theatre as principal dancer, choreographer, Artistic Director of ABTII, Ballet Master, Principal Character Artist and as Master Teaching Associate. He was also Artistic Director of the Hartford Ballet for five years. Singleton began her professional career with the Joffrey Ballet in 1965, and toured throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe performing in ballets by notable choreographers such as Joffrey, Arpino, Ashton, Balanchine, Cranko, DeMille, Jooss, and Tudor. In 1967, she performed in the multi-media ballet, Astarte, created for her by Robert Joffrey, and became the first dancer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.

In addition to their full schedule of ballet classes, students will be immersed in other genres of dance and will participate in a choreographic workshop led by Janell Byrne, a Juilliard graduate and well-respected choreographer. Theater dance classes will be offered by Princeton Ballet School alumnus Michael Mindlin, who was recently featured in Broadway's "Bring It On, The Musical", and resident PBS musical theater dance teacher Geoffrey Doig-Marx. Modern dance classes in Merce Cunningham technique will also expand the students' horizons. These classes will be taught by guest teacher Rebecca Chaleff, another Princeton Ballet School alumna, who is currently a dancer with Molissa Fenley and a graduate student in the Ph. D. program in Theater and Performance Studies at Stanford. Chaleff studied with Merce Cunningham for several years before his death and was involved in reconstructive workshops and performances with the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group.

Students will also spend a portion of their days rehearsing for the Summer Intensive's culminating performance, An Evening of Dance, which will take the stage at the Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, on July 26 at 6:30pm. This gives students the opportunity to work with choreographers and rehearsal directors in an environment similar to that of a professional company. An Evening of Dance will feature: excerpts of Act II from Swan Lake, staged by Maria Youskevitch; a revival of a work by Mary Barton; and new works by Janell Byrne, ARB company dancer Alexander Dutko, and Princeton Ballet School faculty member Erika Mero.

"The summer is an important time for a developing dancer to make the major jump from a daily dance schedule which includes academic study during the school year to an intensive dance program which closely emulates the physical demands of a professional job," Douglas Martin explains. "The dancer body responds dramatically to the long hours spent training daily. Both the building of muscle and technique and the strengthening and disciplining of the mind are greatly increased during this training period. Princeton Ballet School's Summer Intensive program gives the dancers a taste of the rigors of the ballet profession and allows the dancers to envision themselves in this very demanding lifestyle."

Princeton Ballet School Summer Intensive 2013
5-week program: June 24-July 25, 2013
Students ages 13+ admitted by audition only
Program is held at Princeton Ballet School's Princeton location: 301 North Harrison Street
Boarding is available on Princeton University's campus

Summer Intensive Intermediates
Students ages 11-14
Program is held at Princeton Ballet School's Cranbury location: 29 North Main Street
Daytime program, no boarding offered
June 24 - August 2, 2013; dancers may register anywhere from 1-6 weeks

Summer Intensive Juniors
Students ages 9-11
Program is held in a studio on Princeton University's campus
Daytime program, no boarding offered
June 24 - August 2, 2013; dancers may register anywhere from 1-6 weeks

Summer Courses for children ages 3-12 are available. There are also open enrollment and drop-in classes for adults of all levels. Visit arballet.org for more information.

Photo by Theresa Wood

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