Gerald Arpino News

American Repertory Ballet will return to the Princeton Public Library this year to present special insight into its upcoming programming. Tonight, March 7, 2013 at 7:30pm, ARB Artistic Director Douglas Martin will discuss his new Romeo and Juliet and Rite of Spring ballets, both of which ARB will unveil this spring. Also at this event, the virtuosic dancers of ARB will perform excerpts of both these ballets, giving audiences exclusive previews of these world premieres.

Award winning choreographers Ann Reinking and Melissa Thodos are teaming again to co-choreograph A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, their second full-length contemporary story ballet, this time telling an intimate family story about the extraordinary woman who was deaf and blind yet went on to become a world-famous writer, political activist and inspiration to all.

Muhlenberg College will showcase world premiere dance works created by five of the region's most accomplished choreographers and two restagings by internationally acclaimed choreographers, in the College's annual 'Master Choreographers' dance concert, tonight, Feb. 7-9.

Fans, friends and supporters of Thodos Dance Chicago, the contemporary dance company founded by Melissa Thodos, will kick up their heels at Thodos Dance Chicago's 21st Anniversary Gala 21 Club, tonight, February 2, 2013 at 6pm at the Chicago Cultural Center, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

Maria Youskevitch, longtime faculty member at Princeton Ballet School, is one of this year's American Repertory Ballet Gala Honorees, and is the recipient of this year's Audree Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education. Daughter of one of the leading dancers of the 20th century, Igor Youskevitch, Ms. Youskevitch brings a strong background in and deep knowledge of ballet to her students. She teaches for a variety of levels and, every year, re-stages a full-length classical ballet on Princeton Ballet School students for the School's Spring Production. She has also served as Rehearsal Director for American Repertory Ballet, the professional company associated with Princeton Ballet School, on several occasions.

Award winning choreographers Ann Reinking and Melissa Thodos are teaming again to co-choreograph A Light in the Dark, the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, their second full-length contemporary story ballet, this time telling an intimate family story about the extraordinary woman who was deaf and blind yet went on to become a world-famous writer, political activist and inspiration to all.

American Repertory Ballet will return to the Princeton Public Library this year to present special insight into its upcoming programming. On March 7, 2013 at 7:30pm, ARB Artistic Director Douglas Martin will discuss his new Romeo and Juliet and Rite of Spring ballets, both of which ARB will unveil this spring. Also at this event, the virtuosic dancers of ARB will perform excerpts of both these ballets, giving audiences exclusive previews of these world premieres.

Muhlenberg College will showcase world premiere dance works created by five of the region's most accomplished choreographers and two restagings by internationally acclaimed choreographers, in the College's annual 'Master Choreographers' dance concert, Feb. 7-9.

DONNA ROSS, former soloist of the Joffrey Ballet, will be on the faculty for Motion 41 Dance's Summer Intensive from June 10-15, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska.

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the Internet, is thrilled to announce a new feature to its comprehensive regional coverage - the Featured Regional Dance Company of the Week! This week, we get to know The American Repertory Ballet in New Jersey!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, The Joffrey Ballet heats up the winter season with a mixed repertory program of four sensual, romantic and playful ballets by master choreographers in "American Legends," presented in ten performances only at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Parkway, February 13 - 24, 2013.

American Masters Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, premiering nationally tonight, December 28, 2012 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings), tells the story of the first quintessentially American dance company, the Joffrey Ballet.

Thanks to the efforts of philanthropist and veterans activist, Patricia Kennedy, founder of Step Up 4 Vets, a not for profit organization whose mission is to partner in the transition of our returning veterans as they readjust, redirect and rebuild their civilian lives, 55 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan made up for many missed holidays with an all day family celebration centered around the acclaimed Joffrey Ballet's renowned Nutcracker. 26 years ago, longtime Joffrey Board member & close friend of Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino raised the funds to create the Joffrey's now internationally acclaimed Nutcracker. Scroll below for photos!

American Masters Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance, premiering nationally Friday, December 28, 2012 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings), tells the story of the first quintessentially American dance company, the Joffrey Ballet.

American Repertory Ballet has announced upcoming events throughout New Jersey this Spring 2013. Based in Princeton, ARB has been consistently designated a "Major Arts Institution" by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for the past two decades, and, in 2008 and 2011, was voted Jersey Arts' People's Choice for Favorite Dance Company. Presenting innovative choreography to music by such greats as Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Vivaldi, ARB's upcoming performance season promises to be inspiring.

Fans, friends and supporters of Thodos Dance Chicago, the contemporary dance company founded by Melissa Thodos, will kick up their heels at Thodos Dance Chicago's 21st Anniversary Gala 21 Club, Saturday, February 2, 2013 at 6pm at the Chicago Cultural Center, Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue, Chicago.

JOFFREY: MAVERICKS OF AMERICAN DANCE will premiere Friday, December 28, 2012 at 9 p.m. (ET) on PBS (check local listings). Mandy Patenkin narrates this American Masters special. Get a sneak peek below!

American Repertory Ballet presented yet another successful opening night of the highly acclaimed Nutcracker production Thanksgiving weekend at McCarter Theater in Princeton. Since the Company's Nutcracker premiere in 1964, the performances have become an enduring and beloved holiday tradition for New Jersey families.

It's that time of year. Local theatres are staging all sorts of holiday fare. Tiny Tims, Scrooges, elfs and Santas are traipsing their way across the boards. And true to form, THE NUTCRACKER is marching and dancing.

The Cleveland Orchestra announces its 2012 Holiday Festival, scheduled for tonight, November 29 through December 23. This season's expanded Festival begins with five performances of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in a collaboration with The Joffrey Ballet at the State Theatre in PlayhouseSquare in downtown Cleveland. Conceived and originally directed in 1987 by Robert Joffrey, with contribution from Gerald Arpino, this production of The Nutcracker includes more than 40 company dancers, 200 brilliant costumes, and larger-than-life scenery. The performances mark the Orchestra's return to performing in downtown Cleveland during the winter season and the first time the Orchestra has ever performed in a full production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.