ARB to Present DANCE POWER Performances with New Brunswick Public School District, 3/18 & 4/8

American Repertory Ballet's acclaimed DANCE POWER program in the New Brunswick Public School District will culminate with performances featuring over 500 students this March and April. Established in 1984, DANCE POWER brings dance education into New Brunswick elementary schools and offers opportunities for select students to study at Princeton Ballet School on full scholarship.

The annual Waiting in the Wings showcase for third grade DANCE POWER students will take place on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the New Brunswick High School. On April 8, 2013 at 7:00pm, also at New Brunswick High School, the new second grade DANCE POWER program will hold its first full performance, featuring over 150 students. Both performances will be free and open to the public.

At the Waiting in the Wings performance, the 2013-2014 DANCE POWER Scholars will be announced. The students selected to be DANCE POWER Scholars - two boys and two girls from each school - are given the opportunity to study dance through 12th grade at Princeton Ballet School, which has a location in downtown New Brunswick.

This year's Waiting in the Wings performance will feature the more than 400 third grade students from the New Brunswick Public School District who have participated in ARB's DANCE POWER program this year. The show's theme is Animation Imagination. It features music from animated movies and choreography inspired by these movies' styles.

In addition to this year's DANCE POWER students, the evening will feature special appearances by DANCE POWER Scholars that have been studying over the past year at Princeton Ballet School, as well as DANCE MIX students. DANCE MIX students are DANCE POWER Scholars ranging from 7th through 12th grade who have chosen to study a variety of dance forms at Princeton Ballet School, such as modern, jazz and clogging. These DANCE MIX students and the DANCE POWER Scholars are excited to return to the Waiting in the Wings stage to share their continued love of dance. American Repertory Ballet will also perform at Waiting in the Wings: Animation Imagination, giving the audience and students a glimpse of the artistry and technique that can be achieved through continued dance study.

The second grade DANCE POWER program began in 2012 when, with the support of a gift from Dr. Anthony R. and Marlene M. Volpe, a pilot class was launched at Livingston Elementary School. These second graders performed in last year's Waiting in the Wings showcase. In January 2013, the second grade program expanded to 16 classrooms across the district, and will culminate on April 8 with the program's first full performance.

The second grade DANCE POWER program's curriculum features the concept of creating movement based on a text. This year, all 16 classes are utilizing the book The Relatives Came as the basis for their choreography for this culminating performance.

Since 1984, DANCE POWER has become a household name in New Brunswick, and the performances have become events anticipated by students and their families and neighbors. Over 1,000 community members attended the culminating performance last year. American Repertory Ballet is proud to have established this tradition in the community and to introduce hundreds of New Brunswick students to dance each year.

Waiting in the Wings: Animation Imagination

New Brunswick High School, 1000 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ

Monday, March 18 at 7:00pm

DANCE POWER Second Grade Program performance

New Brunswick High School, 1000 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ

Monday, April 8 at 7:00pm

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.

Established in 1984, DANCE POWER is a partnership between American Repertory Ballet (ARB) and the New Brunswick Board of Education. ARB places DANCE POWER Teaching Artists into each third grade physical education class for a 20-week residency, providing dance to every third grade student in the New Brunswick Public School District. Also through the DANCE POWER Program, American Repertory Ballet awards 32 scholarships to DANCE POWER graduates each year to study year-round at ARB's affiliated Princeton Ballet School. There are currently over forty DANCE POWER Scholars studying at Princeton Ballet School as part of this program. DANCE POWER remains the longest running arts/community partnership in New Jersey.

The second grade DANCE POWER program was piloted at Livingston Elementary School in 2012, and was expanded to include 16 classrooms across the New Brunswick School District in January 2013. While the third grade DANCE POWER program takes place during the physical education period, the second grade residency takes place in the general classroom. The curriculum challenges students to create movement based on a text with the aim of having positive effect on students' speaking, writing, literacy, and fluency skills. The curriculum includes a variety of assessments, including recorded discussion, pre-and post-residency tests, journal writing after every session, and video assessments of students' progress, in order for both ARB and the school district to gauge if the program is producing these positive results. The second grade DANCE POWER program was made possible through the generous support of Dr. Anthony R. and Marlene M. Volpe.

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 American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, STREB, Complexions, Mark Morris Dance Company, Twyla Tharp, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and Momix.

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