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ARB Announces Olé!: The 27th Annual Gala and Performance

By American Repertory Ballet
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ n American Repertory Ballet’s 27th Annual Gala and Performance, Olé! will be held on March 10, 2012 at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ. The performance, featuring performances by the dancers of American Repertory Ballet, select students of Princeton Ballet School, and scholarship students from ARB’s acclaimed DANCE POWER program, will be at 7:00pm. Following the performance will be an 8:00pm reception featuring live flamenco music by Carlos Rubio and his band, a gourmet menu presented by Max Hansen Caterers, Nicolas Wines and ShopRite liquors, and live and silent auctions.
This at this year’s Annual Gala and Performance, ARB will be honoring Alma Concepción with the 2012 Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education and Charles Metcalf who, along with his organization Mathematica Policy Research, has made outstanding contributions to the Organization. Concepción taught at Princeton Ballet School for over 20 years before retiring last year. She is the founder of Taller de Danza, a children’s movement and dance grassroots organization based in Trenton, and has also taught at Ballet Hispanico in New York for many years. In addition to her work in dance pedagogy, Concepción is a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars and has written many articles on Caribbean music and dance. Metcalf, President and CEO of Mathematica Policy Research, is a former Chair of ARB’s Board of Trustees and continues to be an active board member.
ARB will be performing favorite selections from its repertoire, including Douglas Martin’s Ephemeral Possessions, which premiered last spring during the Company’s debut performance under Martin’s artistic leadership, and excerpts from Resident Choreographer Mary Barton’s work Straight Up with a Twist, which premiered this past October.
The professional company will be joined on stage by aspiring young dancers from Princeton Ballet School and scholarship students from ARB’s DANCE POWER program. Princeton Ballet School is the official school of the American Repertory Ballet, and is one of the largest nonprofit dance schools in the nation, and DANCE POWER is a twenty-six year partnership with the New Brunswick Board of Education, providing free in-school dance education to every third grader in the district.
Among student performers from Princeton Ballet School will be American Repertory Ballet Trainees and dancers in the School’s Professional Training Program. These advanced students will perform excerpts from Don Quixote, the full-length ballet which will be staged for the School’s annual spring production in May 2012.
American Repertory Ballet’s Gala is the organization’s signature fundraising event, and benefits American Repertory Ballet, Princeton Ballet School, and ARB’s Access and Enrichment programs, including the acclaimed DANCE POWER program. Lead sponsors of Olé! include Mathematica Policy Research, Prudential, and PNC Bank. Additional support for Olé! has been provided by H&H Appliance Center, DEVCO, and WithumSmith & Brown.
Tickets to the performance and reception begin at $175 per person or $300 per couple. Sponsorships and advertising opportunities are available. Performance-only tickets are $40. The Gala’s auction will be held online, but select items will be auctioned off live at the event. Some highly anticipated auction items include walk on rolls in The Nutcracker; tickets performances around the state; dinner packages; private ballet instruction at ARB’s Princeton Ballet School, and much more. Bidding for the Olé! online auction will be open February 27-March 10 at 7pm.
Sponsorship, auction donation, and advertising opportunities are still available. For more information, please contact Naomi Levecchia, American Repertory Ballet Development Director at 732-249-1254 ext. 25 or [email protected] or visit www.arballet.org.
Olé!
American Repertory Ballet’s 27th Annual Gala and Performance
Honoring Alma Concepción and Charles Metcalf & Mathematica Policy Research
Saturday, March 10, 2011, 7pm
Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, NJ 08608
Dance Performance followed by Gala Reception featuring live music, gourmet food,and silent and live auctions.
www.arballet.org
About American Repertory Ballet
American Repertory Ballet’s mission is to bring the joy, beauty, artistry and discipline of classical and contemporary dance to New Jersey and nationwide audiences and to dance students through artistic and educational programs. The organization is comprised of: American Repertory Ballet, the preeminent contemporary ballet company in the state; Princeton Ballet School, one of the largest and most respected non-profit dance schools in the nation; and the Access and Enrichment initiatives, ranging from the long-running and acclaimed DANCE POWER program to the newly launched On Pointe series. The professional company is a classical and contemporary ballet company committed to presenting ballets from the 19th and 20th century alongside new and existing works by choreographers from today. Founded in 1963, the company is currently under the artistic leadership of Douglas Martin, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet. The company’s rich history of repertory includes established masterpieces by distinguished American choreographers such as George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp; cutting edge works by choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Kirk Peterson, Dominique Dumais, Harrison McEldowney, Amy Seiwert, Susan Shields and Melissa Barak; and former Artistic Directors Dermot Burke, Marjorie Mussman, Septime Webre and Graham Lustig.
ARB has been designated a "Major Arts Institution" by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts consistently for the past two decades, and has repeatedly been awarded a Citation of Excellence by the Council. ARB was voted People’s Choice for Best Dance Company in 2008 and 2012.