Graham Lustig Artistic Director, American Repertory Ballet and ARB's Princeton Ballet School |
Mary Pat Robertson Director of American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School |
Marvin Preston Executive Director |
Summer Intensive is a program of serious study in a warm and
companionable atmosphere. The faculty, led by Artistic Director
Graham Lustig, provides caring and careful instruction conducive to
technical and artistic progress. In seeking to maintain a feeling of
community, ARB’s Princeton Ballet School purposely limits the
number of students in class.
Students experience the opportunity to:
Graham Lustig, Artistic Director of American Repertory Ballet,
leads the faculty. The teachers work with the whole dancer, not just the
technical side. Small classes provide plenty of attention and personal help.
Faculty includes Mary Barton, Douglas Martin, Kathleen Moore, Kyra
Nichols, Maria Youskevitch and others.
Click Here for the biographies of the 2009 faculty.
Classes for Summer Intensive focus mainly on advanced ballet technique. There are five groups of approximately 20-25 dancers. The faculty (see Faculty section for biographies) are very interested in strong focus and personal effort, to yield technical advancement. Each day begins with a 110 minute ballet class. Following a brief break, the students’ second class of each day is either pointe, men’s class, or partnering. (Partnering is offered to all levels in our Summer Intensive). Once a week, this time slot is reserved for Body Mechanics (see below).
The afternoons are comprised of two 90 minute classes. One is a second ballet class, moving at a faster pace than the thorough morning class. The other time period is for a variety of experiences, ranging from repertory classes with American Repertory Ballet company dancers, to modern dance and theatre dance classes taught by ARB's Princeton Ballet School faculty and alums working professionally in these fields. After the first two weeks of the program, this 90 minute slot becomes the rehearsal for the performances (see Performance below).
SUMMER INTENSIVE - SAMPLE WEEKLY SCHEDULE* |
||||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | |
| 9:30-11:20 | Ballet | Ballet | Ballet | Ballet | Ballet/Guest Artist | 10:00-12:00 Ballet *Sample schedule subject to change. |
| 11:30-12:30 | Pointe/Men's | Body Mechanics | Pointe/Partnering | Pointe/Men's | Pointe/Partnering | |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |
| 1:30-3:00 | Ballet | Repertory | Ballet | Repertory | Rehearsal/ Choreography Workshop | |
| 3:30-5:00 | Modern Dance | Ballet | Theater Dance | Ballet | ||
Pointe classes: are a combination of pointe technique and strengthening work with variations. Pointe classes are taught by Mary Barton, Maria Youskevitch, and Kyra Nichols.
Men’s classes: are taught by Douglas Martin. Classes are bi-weekly, with two days of each male dancer’s schedule also given to partnering, and the fifth to Body Mechanics.
Body Mechanics: is taught to each group weekly by Mary Pat Robertson, Director of ARB’s Princeton Ballet School. This class explores various topics which an aspiring professional needs to understand—core strength, ankle and foot issues, spine issues, turnout—and gives exercises and knowledge which will help maximize the dancers’ potential in these areas.
Choreography Workshop: see Performance below
Placement in levels: levels are set upon arrival at the program. The first day of classes will involve placement auditions, and the classes start meeting in their regular groups on the second day.
ARB's Princeton Ballet School is located in an air-conditioned
facility with four large studios featuring high ceilings and
sprung dance floors. Live music accompanies all ballet
and modern dance classes.
The facility includes a dance library and is adjacent to numerous shops and restaurants, with generous open space, picnic tables, and gardens. The entire studio complex is wireless accessible.
A high point of the Summer Intensive experience is the final performance. However, the faculty doesn’t like to spend too much time rehearsing for the performance, because we are mainly committed to improving the dancer’s technique, which happens through thoughtfully done classwork. The performance is presented as an adjunct to that training, because it is so important to also work in various dance styles, from the classical to the contemporary, and because it is just a wonderful way to cement friendships and create lasting memories.
Rehearsals for the performance begin at the start of Week 3. One 90 minute class period per day is given to rehearsals. Students are offered the choice of participating in a faculty-led rehearsal period, or participating in the Choreographic Workshop. Once a student has chosen to be in a faculty piece, all casting is at the discretion of the faculty. Recent new works have been created especially for Summer Intensive by Artistic Director Graham Lustig, ARB Ballet Master Bat Abbit, and Summer Intensive faculty member and former ARB leading dancer Mary Barton. Each year one large classical excerpt is also staged. Summer ’08 was The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, staged by SI faculty members Maria Youskevitch and Douglas Martin.
The Choreographic Workshop is led by Artistic Director Graham Lustig. Mr. Lustig started his own choreographic career at an early age, as a member of the corps de ballet of Dutch National Ballet, and quickly began receiving recognition and awards for his work. One of his main initiatives in his ten years with American Repertory Ballet has been the nurturing of young choreographic talent. In addition to this section of our Summer Intensive, Mr. Lustig serves on the boards of the Choo San Goh and H. Robert McGee Foundation, the Princeton Festival, and has served numerous times as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts. His initiative Dancing Through the Ceiling brings young professional woman choreographers an opportunity to create work for ARB. Thus far, twelve commissions have been brought to the repertoire of American Repertory Ballet through this program.
The nature of Mr. Lustig’s Summer Intensive Choreographic Workshop is to bring into focus some of the elements of composition, such as choreographic structures like canon, use of leitmotif, theme and variations, use of levels, group dynamics and objective watching and feedback. The workshop culminates in a student-led collaboration resulting in the creation of a new work, choreographed and danced exclusively by the students. Through participation in this workshop, many students develop new skills of observation and appreciation for the process of choreography.
The performance is always presented on the evening of the last day of workshop, which will be Friday, July 24, 2009. Families and community members are welcome. Tickets are sold separately at a modest price.
The apprentices help to deliver ARB’s educational programs to the community and are otherwise involved in all aspects of the repertory, performing with the company dancers in various ballets all season long. Apprentices take technique class with the company daily, and have full scholarship to any classes at ARB’s Princeton Ballet School for days off or lay-off periods.
For the 2008-09 season, American Repertory Ballet had 6 apprentices, 3 women and 3 men. Their contract reflects that of the company, which was 28 weeks this year. They receive a weekly stipend, a per diem when away, and a shoe allowance.
Former apprentices are currently dancing with American Repertory Ballet, Boston Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ballet Met, Tulsa Ballet, and Eugene Ballet. Two of this year’s apprentices were chosen from Summer Intensive 2008.
The American Repertory Ballet is nationally recognized for
the quality of its work; its powerful, classically trained dancers;
and its vigorous, youthful style. American Repertory Ballet performs a wide variety of
repertory ranging from the classics to daring new works by
today's innovators.
Links:
2008 -2009 Season
ARB Dancer Biographies
ARB History
Dormitory accommodations are on the Princeton University
campus. The University campus defines downtown
Princeton, a small town of great charm. The dormitories are
a few minutes walk from the Palmer Square shopping area,
with its many ice cream shops, coffee houses, and stores.
Thirteen-year-old students are not housed in the dormitories, but they may attend as day students. Students fourteen through seventeen are under the care of Residence Assistants. They are given a curfew and other safety restrictions.
Transportation to and from the studios is provided. The University meal plan serves breakfast and dinner six days a week, with brunch and dinner on Sunday. There are a variety of small restaurants and a grocery store next to the studio for purchasing lunch.
Resident Assistants are on duty 24 hours a day to provide supervision and guidance, and to ensure student safety.
The Summer Intensive provides a varied palette of cultural events for students. These events are part of the package for all dorm students and are available to day students on a space-available basis. All students may participate in the optional bus trip to New York City's Lincoln Center.
Summer entertainment includes a mixture of high and popular art, ranging from professional opera (“La Traviata” summer ’08) to on-campus plays and movies. The New York bus trip, which is optional, takes the students to the Metropolitan Opera House to view a full-length ballet, usually by either American Ballet Theater or one of the touring European companies. On the weekends, the students have access to an Olympic sized outdoor pool.
As part of our on-going commitment to educating dancers about how to dance in a healthy way, we offer screening by our consulting physical therapist, Corinne Sicola. One of the keys to a successful and happy experience in dance is an understanding of how your body is constructed and how it is responding to dance training. This is not simply comprehending the basic mechanics of turnout, but additionally, an individualized knowledge of how your specific body works. One of the ways you can gain this knowledge is with the help of a dance physical therapist. Dr. Sicola holds a BS degree in Clinical Science and an MS degree in Physical Therapy from Ithaca College, and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Boston University. During high school, she was a competitive rhythmic gymnast and a ballet student here at Princeton Ballet School. Her physical therapy practice centers on helping dancers and gymnasts understand and work with their bodies and injuries.
The screenings examine different aspects of the body such as the amount of available turnout the dancer has, range of motion, available strength, etc. The screenings will be a forum for the dancer to inquire about areas of discomfort and to receive strengthening and flexibility exercises tailored to the dancer’s needs, as well as recommendations for further medical follow-up if needed.
There is a separate charge for these screenings, and they are offered with no obligation for any student to participate unless they desire to.
Please bring two photos of yourself –
one in first arabesque, one headshot - for the
auditioner’s files. The audition fee is $25.00
(€20 in Paris and Rome). All dancers will be
kept throughout the entire audition.
Links:
Audition Schedule
Dowload the Audition Form
Video Auditions
The DVD should be in Region 1 format and no longer than 10 minutes. The videotape should be a VHS format and no longer than 10 minutes. Applicants should be dressed in simple leotard and tights. The video should show some barre work (your choice) and center work as follows:
Ladies should present at least one of these combinations on pointe, plus additional pointe work.
Variations may be added if you wish.
If you cannot make a videotape, or are applying from overseas, please contact Ms. Bellis to make other arrangements.
Tuition $1950, Room and board $2300, Activities fee: $100
A limited number of merit-based tuition scholarships are available. All students attending each audition site are automatically considered for scholarship. There is no separate application process. Some work scholarships for dancers 21 and over are also available.
Summer Intensive is for advanced students ages 13 and over. Only students 14 and over will be accepted into the dorms.
Carol Bellis, Summer Intensive Coordinator
ARB's Princeton Ballet School
301 North Harrison Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
Telephone: 609-921-7758, ext. 14
Fax: 609-921-3249
E-Mail: cbellis@arballet.org
Web site: www.arballet.org
American Repertory Ballet’s programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ARB's Princeton Ballet School does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, or creed in the administration of its admission or scholarship programs. ARB's Princeton Ballet School is an equal opportunity employer.