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Greetings!
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March is coming "in like a lion" here at ARB, as the month brings tons of exciting events, performances, and learning opportunities:
First, Our Online Gala Auction is now OPEN!
Check it out now and bid early and often. New items will be added daily! Some of our featured auction items include exclusive theater and sporting event tickets, trapeze and trampoline classes, private lessons with our company dancers and top faculty, getaway packages and one-of-a-kind experiences like walk-on roles in our 50th Annual Nutcracker!
Bidding is open until 10pm on March 10, 2012.
ARB's 27th Annual Gala and Performance: Olé!,
March 10 at 7:00pm @ Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton, NJ
CLICK HERE for more information and to purchase tickets
or contact Naomi Levecchia at 732-245-1254 x25. Performance only tickets can be purchased for just $40; Gala tickets start at $175.
Please join us for our signature fundraising event which helps support all of American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School's programming.
ARB Presents: Spring into Love
March 17 at 8:00pm @ Raritan Valley Community College
...And much more - read on for more details, pictures and videos!
Organizationally, ARB is happy to welcome new Business Manager Dawn Dell'Omo. As the former Finance Manager of American Repertory Ballet (1995-2000), former Princeton Ballet School student, and an avid arts lover, Dawn brings to a deep passion for the organization, as well as an impressive background in non-profit finance and fundraising to the position. She's spent the last 10 years as Director of Finance for the Foundation at Monmouth Medical Center. We're thrilled to have Dawn back at ARB! Read more about Dawn here.
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Spotlight: ARB's 27th Annual Gala and Performance
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The Gala performance promises to be a feast for your eyes and ears - it will feature repertory previews and highlights by the Company and special appearances by Princeton Ballet School and DANCE POWER students. A gourmet reception will follow the performance - it too will be a feast for your senses - a Spanish themed gourmet menu from Max Hansen Caterer, authentic flamenco music by Carlos Rubio and both Spanish and American music for an evening full of dancing. There is also a live and silent auction full of priceless items and generously donated items from area retailers, restaurants, salons, spas, and much more. ARB's Annual Performance and Gala is always a great time in support of a great cause! Please join us!
This year we will be honoring Alma Concepción, 2012 Recipient of the Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education, and Charles Metcalf, for his outstanding contributions to the organization:
Alma Concepción: Recipient of the 2012 Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education
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Alma Concepción with Ballets de San Juan in "La Bruja de Loiza," 1958
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Alma Concepción was a beloved Princeton Ballet School faculty member from 1983 until her retirement in 2011. Before her long career teaching at Princeton Ballet School and elsewhere, she danced professionally with Ballets de San Juan, Taller de Histriones, the Carmen Amaya Company, and Antonio's Ballets de Madrid. In 1984, Concepción founded Taller de Danza, a volunteer organization dedicated to introducing children of Trenton's Hispanic community to dance. In 1988, at the urging of her Princeton Ballet School students, Concepción organized an ensemble group called Danza Espanol de Princeton with the pupose of preserving and presenting the dances of Spain.
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Danza Espanol de Princeton; Alma Concepcion in center
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Concepción has served as a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Program. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in literary studies and is a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars. She has published many articles on dance and education, focusing mostly on the Caribbean musical/dance experience.
Charles Metcalf: Board Member, Former President and CEO of Mathematica, Inc.
Metcalf, retired President and CEO of Mathematica Policy Research, served as Chair of ARB's Board of Trustees from 2006 until 2009 and has been an active board member since 2003. A resident of East Windsor, Metcalf is nationally known for his research on social experimentation, income distribution, and random assignment techniques. He played a major role in most of the seminal policy and methodological experiments for which Mathematica is known. He oversaw the founding of the firm as an independent, employee-owned organization. He served as president of the Association for Public Policy and Management from 1996 to 1997 and as president elect from 1995 to 1996. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Metcalf also serves on the Board of Opera New Jersey and of the New Brunswick Cultural Center. He served on the Board of Boheme Opera in Trenton until 2003. He supported Crawford House, a residential treatment program for women who are in early recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, for several years. He also spearheaded Mathematica's support for HomeFront, an organization that works with Mercer County's homeless families.
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The Company
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at Raritan Valley Community College
 | | Gerald Arpino's "Confetti". Photo by Peter C. Cook. |
This program features four ARB premieres: the world premiere of the balcony scene from Company Director Douglas Martin's new Romeo and Juliet, a major revival of Gerald Arpino's Confetti, a world premiere by ARB Resident Choreographer Mary Barton, and Trinette Singleton's Capriccios.
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ARB, "Romeo & Juliet" excerpts
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Romeo and Juliet's lush Prokofiev score, "is one of, if not the most, moving scores to dance to. The emotion it evokes in the performer is astoundingly moving." - Company Director Douglas Martin.
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ARB, "Confetti" at On Pointe
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Confetti is a ballet for three couples choreographed in the spirit of the tarantella, set to the exuberant music of Rossini's "Semiramide" Overture.
Spring into Love will also showcase world premieres by female choreographers. Mary Barton is choreographing a piece especially for ARB's dynamic male dancers. Her first all-male piece, this new work promises to showcase a new side of Barton's unique, intricate choreographic style.
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Singleton's "Capriccios". Credit: Leighton Chen
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Trinette Singleton's Capriccios, set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto #2, features the female dancers of ARB, showcasing nine women and one male dancer.
ARB is partnering with five restaurants in nearby Somerville, NJ for this performance, bringing the arts and fine dining together. Be sure to dine at Il Pomodoro, KYMA Greek Cuisine, Scampi's Seafood, Tapastre, and Verve to receive a discount code to be used on Spring into Love ticket purchases. Make it a night out with dinner and the ballet!
Mason Gross School for the Arts, Rutgers University
May 19 at 8:00pm and May 20 at 2:00pm
American Repertory Ballet closes its 2011-2012 season with a feast of exciting and enchanting works. The program will be headlined by excerpts from Douglas Martin's new Romeo and Juliet, including ballroom ensemble dances and the balcony pas de deux. Celebration will also feature ARB repertory favorites, including Gerald Arpino's buoyant, tarantella-inspired Confetti and Mary Barton's sprightly and innovative Straight Up with a Twist.
ARB will also be featured in these performances this month:
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Access and Enrichment Spotlight: On Pointe
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One Friday evening per month, we have the joy of seeing old and new friends, armed with their curious minds, crowd into Studio A at Princeton Ballet School for an On Pointe event.
On Pointe has helped to both broaden and deepen ARB's ties to our community by allowing us to give the community access to the art making process and exposing new audiences to the work of our company. Click here to read my blog "On Pointe: What It's All About" to read more about how this program has changed the way we've been able to interact with our audiences, students, families and neighbors. From our last On Pointe: "Watching and Talking about Dance" - On February 24, ARB hosted Michael Robertson, former dance critic and current Professor of English at The College of New Jersey, and Barbara Figge Fox, a Princeton-based dance critic, for its "Watching and Talking about Dance" On Pointe program. It was great to hear these dance critics talk about dance, and to see concepts discussed come to life through repertory excerpts danced live by ARB. We were tweeting during this On Pointe! Check out ARB's Twitter feed for live updates and video clips! 
To our delight, Barbara Figge Fox wasn't done talking after the program! The following Monday, she outlined her insightful post-On Pointe musings about virtuosity and expression in dance in her blog "Refining Virtuosity".
In anticipation of this On Pointe, ARB Marketing and Development Associate Alexis Branagan blogged about why dance discourse is important.
Be sure to check ARB's blogs, Tweets, and Facebook posts for further insights. Let's keep the conversations going! See you at the next On Pointe!
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Participate in ARB's Gala
Wine Arbor!
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Can't come to the Gala, but still want to support?
1) Bring a bottle of white or red wine valued at $20 or more and drop it off at the front desk of any Princeton Ballet School Studio by March 7, 2012 (be sure to sign in your donation with your name, wine name and value)
2) and/or (and here's the fun part):
At the Gala, donate $20 to ARB's wine arbor and receive a bottle valued at $20 or more. Your bottle could be worth $50 or more!
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Support ARB
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American Repertory Ballet survives and thrives because supporters like you are willing to invest in our mission and vision. Your contributions support all our programs and help us bring the joy, beauty, artistry and discipline of dance to NJ and beyond.
Or shop online through iGive and designate American Repertory Ballet as your cause.
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Faculty Spotlight: Cheryl Whitney-Marcuard
| Cheryl and her former student at Princeton Ballet School, Dr. Ana Bracilovic, were featured in an article about dance rehabilitation in the latest issue of Princeton HealthCare System's Health Focus magazine.
Dr. Bracilovic is a physiatrist - a doctor of physical medicine and rehabilitation - at University Medical Center at Princeton. Cheryl reunited with this former ballet student because her tight hip flexors began painfully pulling on her kneecaps.
Dr. Bracilovic referred Cheryl to the University Medical Center at Princeton's Outpatient Rehab program to receive performing arts rehabilitation from another former dancer, Doctor of Phyiscal Therapy Pamela Christiansen. Using her understanding of dance technique, Dr. Christiansen "worked with Cheryl to reteach movements that allowed her to continue dancing, but without further aggravating her condition or causing more serious injury."
"After a short time, I had no pain at all and, in some ways, I danced better than ever," Cheryl says. It's great to see how dance can be healing, and how patient anatomical therapy can avoid the need for surgery. We're all very happy about Cheryl's recovery! |
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Access & Enrichment Programs Supported by the NJ Council for the Humanities
| The second installment of our three-part seminar series on Romeo and Juliet will take place on March 21at 5:00pm at Yvonne Theater, Rider University. Entitled, "The History of Romeo and Juliet as a Ballet", this lecture will feature Dr. Kim Vaccaro, Princeton Ballet School faculty member and professor of dance at Rider University.
On May 20 at 1:00pm at Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater, preceding the Company's 2:00pm Celebration performance, Jo Carney, Shakespeare expert and professor of English at The College of New Jersey, will present "Pre-Performance Insights: Romeo and Juliet" with Company Director Douglas Martin.
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Professor Jo Carney
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These programs are made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
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Some repertory excerpts from our performances:
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 | Excerpts from Mary Barton's
"Straight Up With a Twist" |
 | | Excerpts from Matthew Keefe's "Fantasy for Violin, Piano and Ballet" |
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Access & Enrichment: On Pointe
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"Dancing Your Way into College", March 30, 2012 at 5:15pm
This free panel will help students and their parents learn how schools consider dance training and other talents in the application process; understand different avenues and options for dancing in college; and navigate the financial aid process.
"Behind Don Quixote", April 27, 2012 at 5:15pm Learn more about Princeton Ballet School's production of the classical ballet Don Quixote at this free Access and Enrichment event.
On Pointe brings the dance world to you, with guest speakers, lecture demonstrations, performance previews and panel discussions. For seasoned dance enthusiasts and new students alike. Held Fridays, once a month, 5:15pm at the Princeton Ballet School's studios, 301 N. Harrison Street in Princeton:
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The School
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ARB's 27th Annual Gala and Performance: Olé!
Princeton Ballet School Students Level Student 2 and up:
Be sure to get your tickets to the show and to the Junior Gala!Click here or call contact Lisa de Ravel (609)-921-7758 ext. 11 for more information! May 5 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm
 Photo Credit: Ellen Crane |
at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
Princeton Ballet School's full production of this beloved ballet will featureadult and child Princeton Ballet School students from the School's beginner levels through the its ARB Workshop, Professional Training Program, and Trainee levels.
Princeton Ballet School's Summer Programs For more information about all our summer programs, including Summer Intensives Intermediates (for ages 11-14) and Summer Intensive Juniors (for ages 9+), visit our Summer Programs Website. |
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