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Princeton Ballet School presented The Sleeping Beauty, last Saturday May 8, 2010, at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ.  Before each performance, Princeton Ballet School Director Mary Pat Robertson awarded merit scholarships for the 2010-2011 school year to promising young students, and recognized graduating seniors from the School.

Princeton Ballet School has a national reputation for its excellence in dance training, and The Sleeping Beauty 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 American Repertory Ballet Workshop (ARBW) the pre-professional division of the school.

This year’s scholarship recipients:

The Audrée Estey Award is named for Princeton Ballet School’s founder and is given to a rising senior 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 Karen Leslie Moscato of Pennington, and Katerina Rafael of East Brunswick.  Both danced the lead role of “Aurora” in The Sleeping Beauty, Moscato at the matinee, and Rafael in the evening.

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 recipient was Shayla Jones, of New Brunswick.  Jones came through ARB’s DANCE POWER program, and was featured as the Fairy of Beauty and Generosity in this year’s production.

The Philip Jerry Award was established by Princeton Ballet School to honor the memory of the former ballet master and faculty member.  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, of Somerset received the award, which is given each year to a young male dancer of great promise.  Law danced many roles in The Sleeping Beauty, including the Sapphire variation.  He will be attending the School of American Ballet this summer on a merit scholarship.

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 recipient was Tara Fanzo, who moved here from Washington, D.C..  Fanzo danced several roles in The Sleeping Beauty, including the bravura Bluebird variation. 

The Septime Webre Award was established by the faculty of Princeton Ballet School when Webre, a former Artistic Director of our company, moved to Washington Ballet.  It is given to a young male dancer of promise.  This year, the award was given to two young men, Eric Ham, of Princeton, and Kylan Hillman, of Pennington.  Each performed featured solos in the performance.  Eric will be attending a Summer Intensive with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto, and Kylan will be attending Princeton Ballet School’s own prestigious Summer Intensive program.

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 the American Repertory Ballet’s professional company.  It goes to a younger female dancer of great promise.  The recipient this year is Ellen Lou, from Hillsboro.  Ms. Lou was a young featured soloist in the production.

The Patricia Hagan Award honors the memory of Ms. Hagan, a patron of the arts who also sponsored Princeton Ballet School’s library of dance books and videos.  This award, established by her friends, is given to a rising young dancer of promise.  This year, the recipient is Rachel Costin, of Princeton.  Ms. Costin, who appeared as a Princess in the show, will be attending the prestigious Pacific Northwest Ballet School Summer Intensive in Seattle this year.

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. Khadijah Smart, from Princeton received the Edwards Scholarship this year.

Graduating seniors honored before the performance include:

Ally Berger, Lawrenceville

Christopher Costantini, Cranbury

Jennifer Closson, Lawrenceville

Adrienne Esposito, Skillman

Jenna Fields, Princeton Junction

Alissa Guarnaccia, Robbinsville

Arielle Halpern, Monmouth Junction

Liz Hughes, Warren

Elizabeth Kaplan, Lawrenceville

Courtney Kelly, New Egypt

Morgan Lea, Cranbury

Kate Matheson, Skillman

Meghan Salviejo, East Brunswick

Linda Wang, Plainsboro

Erin Wolfe, Clarksburg