Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, will present the full-length classical ballet “Swan Lake” on Saturday, May 18, at 2 and 7 p.m., at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton.
The story of Swan Lake centers around Odette, a princess who has been turned into a white swan by the evil sorcerer Rothbart’s spell, Siegfried; the Prince who falls in love with her; and Odile, Rothbart’s daughter whom he disguises as a swan to deceive Siegfried and tragically doom Odette.
“The school has been presenting a professional-quality, full-length classical ballet in the spring for more than 60 years,” says Douglas Martin, the artistic director of American Repertory Ballet. “It’s a great opportunity for students to work together outside of their technique classes, as professional company members do, and to learn the kind of work that goes into presenting such a large-scale production.”
This year’s production of Swan Lake features original choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, with additional choreography and staging by Mary Barton, Douglas Martin, Maria Youskevitch, Mary Pat Robertson, Cheryl Whitney-Marcuard, Laurie Abramson, Anne Gribbins, Erika Mero, and Katie Scibienski.
The most advanced ARB workshop dancers, include Princeton Ballet School trainees and students of the school’s professional training program, have been working intensively with Maria Youskevitch. A former dancer with American Ballet Theater, Maryland Ballet, and her father’s concert group, Ballet Romantique, Youskevitch set and coached classical ballets such as “Swan Lake” for professional companies throughout the United States and abroad, including at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. Members of the American Repertory Ballet workshop performing group include Plainsboro residents Marian Farrell, Kaila Jones, and Utku Ozdemir.
Dancers from West Windsor include Dia Bhardwaj, Marra Irons, Breeshti Khan, Isobel Liang, Amanda Liao, Marina Lourenco, Caroline Palmer, Nicole Potenza, Annabell Su, Erin Yeh, Emily Yeh, and Marilyn Zhang.
Dancers from Plainsboro include Camille Redmond, Josephine Wang, Sophia Kandalin, Cate Bashore, Sophia Walker, and Ema Niculescu-Mizil.
“We enjoy continuing this long tradition of adapted full-length ballets in lieu of recitals for the dancers,” says Mary Pat Robertson, the director of Princeton Ballet School. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to immerse oneself, even at a young age, into the fully created world of a great work of art, and make that work part of your mental landscape.”
Swan Lake, American Repertory Ballet, Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, Trenton. Saturday, May 18, 2 and 7 p.m. $30. 609-984-8400. www.arballet.org.
