Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, is hosting a Boys Open House on Friday, July 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with José Manuel Carreño, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. The event will take place at the school’s Princeton studio, 301 N. Harrison Street, located in the Princeton Shopping Center, Princeton NJ.
Admission is free. All ages welcome. A placement class for boys age 7 plus will immediately follow the open house. For information, call 609.921.7758 or visit arballet.org. Additional Placement Classes will take place on Thursday, August 15, Thursday, August 22, and Saturday, September 7. Boys scholarship are available.
According to a column first posted in The Huffington Post (May 21, 2018), there are 3.5 million children studying dance in the United States today, and of the ones who take ballet, only 10 percent are male. In the United Kingdom, however, boys’ ballet is booming. In 2000 the hit film Billy Elliot brought it into the mainstream – but Billy was the only boy in a class of ballerinas. Today, thanks to spellbinding stars such as Carlos Acosta, male stars on Strictly Come Dancing and Britain’s Got Talent and footballers and rugby players using ballet to hone their strength and agility, boys have been outnumbering girls at The Royal Ballet School for some years.
Even if a boy isn’t destined for a dance career, ballet offers a superb all-round education in culture, sport, social awareness and mental and physical discipline. The Princeton Ballet School looks forward to helping the United States catch up to the United Kingdom in numbers of boys studying ballet.
About
American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School
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 comprises: the preeminent professional
classical and contemporary ballet company in the state; Princeton Ballet
School, one of the largest and most respected non-profit dance schools in the
nation; and ARB’s Access & Enrichment initiatives, including the
long-running and acclaimed DANCE POWER program. To learn more, visit arballet.org.