Princeton Ballet School announced its 2011-2012 merit scholarship recipients at its recent performance of Coppélia at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ.  The organization also took time in the pre-show ceremony to recognize the accomplishments of its graduating seniors.  Princeton Ballet School has a national reputation for its excellence in dance training, and the Coppélia production was a showcase for these exceptional talents at the school. The production featured over 400 dancers ranging in age from age 5 to adult, with the leads performed by members of the Professional Training Programs from the school. The following scholarships were given to promising young dancers who will continue their studies at Princeton Ballet School:

The Audrée Estey Award is named for Princeton Ballet School’s founder and is given to a dancer of exceptional talent who is dedicated to dance and the high standards of the School, and who serves as a role model to others through exemplary attendance, responsiveness, and a positive attitude.  This year’s award was offered to Shayla Jones of New Brunswick.  Shayla was first introduced to ballet through American Repertory Ballet’s DANCE POWER program which provides dance education every third grader in New Brunswick.  Shayla was one of 16 students who received a scholarship to attend Princeton Ballet School and has risen to the top level of the school over the last 9 years.  She has served as a powerful example and mentor to other DANCE POWER students and scholars who attend Princeton Ballet school and to all her peers. 

The Ruth Pettit Award was established by Ms. Pettit’s family in her memory.  Ms. Pettit was a Princeton Ballet School parent volunteer who worked on the company’s costumes for many years.  Her daughter, Dodie, went on to a career on Broadway. This award is given each year to a young female of dancer of outstanding talent.  This year’s recipients were Janie Cole (Middletown), a sophomore at Middletown High School South and Rebecca Gellman (Highland Park), a distance learning high school student through the Stanford University Program.

The Philip Jerry Award was established by Princeton Ballet School to honor the memory of the former ballet master and faculty member and is given each year to a young male dancer of great promise.  Mr. Jerry was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, and then came to Princeton University as a returning adult undergraduate.  This year Evan Law (Somerset), a home schooled high school sophomore,  received the award.  Law will be attending the School of American Ballet this summer - his second year - on a merit scholarship.

The Molly Clifton Award was established by Lisa and Lionel de Ravel to honor the memory of Ms. Clifton, a fellow dancer with Ms. de Ravel in American Repertory Ballet.  It goes to a younger female dancer of great promise who exhibits great citizenship and leadership qualities.  The recipient this year is Swanee Golden (Lawrenceville), an 8th grader at Princeton Day School who will be attending The Lawrenceville School next fall.  

Sally Edwards and her husband Don established a scholarship fund several years ago to be given to a very young dancer who exhibits a great enthusiasm and joy in dance classes.  Ms. Edwards was a teacher at Princeton Ballet School for over 25 years. Jayden Kraft (Titusville), a student at Bear Tavern Elementary School received the Edwards Scholarship this year.

The Nora Orphanides Award goes to an outstanding young pre-professional who relocates to the area to study at Princeton Ballet School.  Ms. Orphanides, a long-time faculty member at Princeton Ballet School, former board member, and donor, funds this scholarship to provide opportunities for talented dancers outside the area.  This year, the recipients were Kara Harvey, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BFA in Dance, and Mathilde Labrusse, from Verrières-le-Buisson, France.  Both attended Princeton Ballet School’s Summer Intensive then stayed on to participate in the inaugural year of the school’s Trainee Program.

The school also honored its graduating seniors who include:
- Morgan Caglianone (Cranbury), who will be attending Columbia University’s School of Engineering.
- Rosetta Isnardi (Plainsboro), who will be attending Adelphi University.
- Shayla Jones (New Brunswick), who will join the Princeton Ballet School Trainee Program.
- Emily Munoz (Princeton), who will be a freshman at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.
- Amanda Phelan (Princeton), who will be a student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
- Katarina Rafael  (East Brunswick), who will be joining the Class of ’15 at Princeton University
- Elizabeth Strenge (Yardley, PA), who will be a Trainee with BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio.

In addition to merit scholarships, Princeton Ballet School offers need-based scholarships through an application process, and to students from the New Brunswick Public School system through ARB’s DANCE POWER Scholar program. 

About Princeton Ballet School

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 and is directed by Douglas Martin, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet.  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.

Princeton Ballet School has gained a national reputation for its excellent dance training since its founding in 1954 by Audrée Estey. Princeton Ballet School currently enrolls approximately 1500 students annually from age three through adult and is directed by Mary Pat Robertson.  Princeton Ballet School has studios in Cranbury, New Brunswick, and Princeton which are equipped with  shock-absorbent floors, non-slip dance surfaces and pianos for live accompaniment.  Many of Princeton Ballet School’s faculty members have performed professionally; others have attained graduate degrees in dance education and have won awards for their teaching.  Students from the school have gone on to dance in professional ballet and contemporary dance companies in the US and abroad. Graduates have danced with such diverse organizations as the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, STREB, Complexions, Mark Morris Dance Company, Twyla Tharp, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Momix.

The Access and Enrichment wing of American Repertory Ballet reaches out to the community not only through their DANCE POWER and On Pointe programs, but through master classes, residencies, lecture demonstrations and school time matinees throughout the state.