Steven Campanella, who began dancing with Princeton Ballet School when he was five, is now a principal dancer with American Repertory Ballet, the school’s professional program. His earliest stage appearance was as a mouse in ARB’s “The Nutcracker.” A year later, he appeared in ARB’s production of “Our Town,” where he was carried onstage in the arms of then ARB principal dancer Douglas Martin, now the company director.
When Campanella was 10, his family moved to West Windsor in order to be closer to PBS. Throughout his youth, he continued to take classes at PBS. He also attended San Francisco Ballet School’s Summer Intensive on merit scholarship for three years in a row.
After graduation from Rutgers University with a degree in history, he left New Jersey in 2007 for a position as a trainee with Pittsburgh Ballet Theater. He returned in 2008 as an apprentice with ARB. Last season he danced as a member of New York Theater Ballet performing in various roles, including in a Lerner and Loewe concert with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.
This season Campanella returned to the ARB as a member of the company and a faculty member at PBS. Now he is dancing professionally for those who trained him.
“Ballet is cyclical,” he says. “We train, we dance, we teach others. It is an incredible opportunity to be able to dance and teach in the same organization that trained me; I now not only pass on to others all the love and knowledge of the art instilled in me by the teachers and dancers here, but am privileged to do it alongside those same people.”
Another ARB professional company dancer in a lead role is Audra Johnson, a Plainsboro resident who is in her seventh season with the company.
Advanced students in the pre-professional company include Amy Tsai and Mizuki Oshima of West Windsor, who are both students at Grover Middle School. Marian Farrell, a student at the Wilberforce School; and Talise Redmond, a Community Middle School student, live in Plainsboro. Oshima, who has been injured, will not be performing in the Nutcracker.
Plainsboro student dancers include Kaila Jones, 5; Camille Redmond, 5; Emmanuelle Farrell, 7; and Utku Ozdemir, 5.
West Windsor student dancers include Nora Lee Weiss, 3; Victoria Mak, 6; Olivia Heimann, 3; and Diana Tang, 6.
Performances of its 48th annual season of The Nutcracker in theaters throughout New Jersey feature new choreography by company director Martin, and a restored Victorian-era Act I, originally created for the company by Princeton Ballet School founder Audree Estey in 1963. Set to Tchaikovsky’s score, and featuring a cast of more than 100 performers, the dancers recreate the classic story of a young girl and how a mysterious gift brings about enchanted dreams and fantastical scenes.
In addition to the theatrical presentations of “The Nutcracker,” there are several special events in the community this season including Nutcracker Teas immediately preceding the 1 p.m. performances on Saturday and Sunday, November 27 and 28, at McCarter Theater. A live reading of the classic tale prepares attendees for the ballet, along with a brunch, photos with costumed dancers from the ballet, live music, and a gift for children.
Alumni of the American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School are invited to the sixth annual Nutcracker Alumni Gathering on Saturday, November 27, immediately following the 4:30 p.m. performance. Register for the free event if you, your children, or any member of your family has ever taken part in this production.
— Lynn Miller
The Nutcracker, McCarter Theater, 91 University Place, Princeton. Friday and Saturday, November 26 and 27, 1 and 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, November 28, at 1 p.m. American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School present the Tchaikovsky holiday classic. $38 to $48. 609-258-2787. www.mccarter.org.
The production is also at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton, on December 11, at 1 and 4:30 p.m. and at State Theater, in New Brunswick, on December 18 and 19, at 1 and 4:30 p.m.
