Princeton Ballet School Announces Merit Scholarship Recipients

On Saturday, May 18, 2013, over 400 Princeton Ballet School students performed in the school's Annual Spring Production 2013: Swan Lake at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton. Before the performance, scholarship recipients for the 2013-2014 academic year were announced, and graduating seniors were honored.

Princeton Ballet School, the official school of NJ's preeminent ballet company, American Repertory Ballet, has a national reputation for its excellence in dance training, and Swan Lake showcased the school's professional standards. The production featured dancers ranging in age from 5 years to adult, with the lead roles performed by members of American Repertory Ballet Workshop (ARBW), the performance division for students in Princeton Ballet School's professional training programs. 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. The recipient for the 2013-2014 academic year is Ellen Lou. Lou is a high school Junior from Hillsborough, NJ. She is also an accomplished Classical Chinese dancer. As a member of ARBW, Lou performed the main role of Odette in this spring's production of Swan Lake.

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 is Chelsea PeBenito of East Brunswick, who is a Junior in high school. Also a member of ARBW, she performed featured roles "Hungarian Princess" and "Pas de Trois" in Swan Lake.

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. Connor Kraft, a high school Freshman from Princeton Junction, is this year's Philip Jerry Award recipient. He is a member of the ARBW Juniors group. ARBW Juniors is the performance division comprised of Ballet 4, 5, and 6 PLUS students. The PLUS program is an enrichment program for young dancers aspiring towards a professional career.

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. This year's recipient is Ryan Ricca, a middle school student from Belle Mead and ARBW Junior student.

Sally Edwards and her husband Don established a scholarship fund several years ago to be given to a dancer who exhibits a great enthusiasm and joy in dance classes. Ms. Edwards was a teacher at Princeton Ballet School for over 25 years. The Edwards Award recipient for the 2013-2014 academic year is Kieran Nyce of Skillman, an elementary school student and Ballet 3 PLUS student.

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's recipients are both members of the American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School Trainee Program: Samantha Fruhwirth of Emmaus, PA and Elisabeth Hackman from Alto, Michigan. Fruhwirth appeared as featured roles "pas de trois" and "Neopolitan Princess" in Swan Lake. Hekman danced the role of Odette. Both Fruhwirth and Hekman have appeared with American Repertory Ballet in company performances this past year.

The Maria Youskevitch Scholarship Fund was established in 2013 at the initiative of Ildiko Henni-Jones to honor Maria Youskevitch, this year's recipient of the Audrée Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education. The first Maria Youskevitch Scholarship recipient is Kaila Jones, a middle school student from Plainsboro and ARBW Juniors student.

This summer, many of Princeton Ballet School's students will be spread across the country training at prestigious summer dance intensive programs, including: the American Ballet Theatre New York program, Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program, Carolina Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet, the School of Pennsylvania Ballet, the School of Washington Ballet, and their "home" Princeton Ballet School. Others will be spending their summers at internships and academic programs, including Nora Bradley, who will be participating in Cornell University's Summer College for Engineering, and Rebecca Gellman, who will be doing an internship with New York University's Health Career Opportunities Program.

At a ceremony before the Swan Lake performances, Princeton Ballet School took time to salute its accomplished graduating high school seniors: Agnes Carlowicz, Kayla Cartagena, Shuang Cheng, Alyssa Fusillo, Rebecca Gellman, Kathleen Hoffman, Katelin Honer, Bryana Jones, Rachel Karp, Alyza Liu, Bernadine Passe, Brandi Pinnix, Adriana Santoro, Tanasia Smith, and Christina Trautwein.