To say that American Repertory Ballet’s Princeton Ballet School Summer Intensive Program is, well, intense, is somewhat of an understatement, according to ARB’s artistic staff.
For the past five weeks, 111 students ages 13 to 23, all selected through nationwide and international auditions, have been dancing 40 hours or more a week, developing their technique and their artistry.
On Friday at 7:30 p.m., they will share the fruits of their labor at the Princeton Regional Schools Performing Arts Center in a showcase of classical and contemporary ballets, as well as new choreography created for the occasion.
"These dancers arrive here with a tremendous amount of talent," says Graham Lustig, artistic director of American Repertory Ballet and ARB’s Princeton Ballet School. "It’s inspiring to see how hard they work and how much they grow during this period of intense focus."
This year a group of nine dancers, from Bolivia, France, Italy and Japan, have made the long journey to study at Princeton Ballet School, one of the most respected and recognized regional dance schools in the United States.
According to Mary Pat Robertson, the school’s director, "The language barrier wasn’t that much of a problem. First of all, our international students are fluent in the vocabulary of classical ballet dance is, after all, a universal language. When more clarification was needed, we were fortunate that several of our ‘home students’ were fluent in Spanish, French, Italian and even Japanese so they were available to translate. It made for a very collaborative, fun and friendly environment."
For the performance, Mr. Lustig has staged his contemporary ballet "Stardust" for one group of students. Another group will perform the classical ballet "Les Sylphides" to the music of Frederic Chopin. This ballet has been staged by Princeton Ballet School instructor Maria Youskevitch.
Bat Abbit, ballet master of American Repertory Ballet, and Mary Barton, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet and an instructor at Princeton Ballet School, have choreographed complementary ballets to the waltzes of Dmitri Shostakovich.
Original student choreography will also be presented on the program.
Tickets to Friday’s performance are $15 and may be purchased by calling ARB’s Princeton Ballet School at (609) 921-7758.
The Princeton Regional Schools Performing Arts Center is located at 151 Moore St.

