The New Jersey Ballet is a
ballet company based in
Livingston, New Jersey in the United States, founded in 1958 by native New Jerseyan Carolyn Clark and her fellow dancer, George Tomal.
History
Carolyn Clark's mother established New Jersey School of Ballet in
Orange, New Jersey in 1953 with her mother's friends who were dancers. Clark has involved in her mother's dance school operation since its beginning. She has later become a professional dancer herself. After touring around the world with
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
and
the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, she had conceived an idea to create a ballet company in New Jersey with national significance. The company was finally founded in 1958 with the first performance on December 27, 1958 at the Arts High School in
Newark, New Jersey with George Tomal as the founding director.
After thirteen years from the first season that consisted of two performances for a few hundred people, New Jersey Ballet started a production of ''
The Nutcracker'' in 1971 at
Paper Mill Playhouse in
Millburn, New Jersey with world-renowned dancer,
Edward Villella, in the role of the Cavalier. The company has run ''Nutcracker'' production at Paper Mill Playhouse with Paper Mill Orchestra for many consecutive years since its debut. It also travels to bergenPAC in
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...
, Stafford Township Arts Center in
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Manahawkin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. and Middle Township PAC in
Cape May Court House
Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. .
The company started gaining wider recognition when it started the tours to
Taiwan,
the Soviet Union,
Bermuda and Italy during the 1990s. In 2004, the company staged full-length production of ''
Esmeralda'' at
New Jersey Performing Arts Center. It was the first company in the United States to perform full-length version of ''Esmeralda'' and it had gained national recognition. The company also visited India's newly opened
National Centre for the Performing Arts in
Mumbai in 2006 with its ''Nutcracker'' production. It was the first full-length classical ballet in India. In 2008, it traveled to Russia on a seven-city tour of mixed repertory that included ''Saturday Night'', ''For Ella'', ''Let's Go South'' and ''Belong''.
Today, the annual season consists of many performances in many venues throughout New Jersey. It also includes New Jersey Ballet Matinee for Kids and Families, which is a collections of children's ballets of classic tales such as
Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty,
Tom Sawyer,
Hansel & Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister.
Hanse ...
and more.
New Jersey School of Ballet
At the present time, the school offers many courses and instructions ranging from age 4 to professional. The classes include Ballet, Academic Ballet, Pointe, Jazz and Tap. The school offers intensive program for Ballet, Variations, Partnering, Character, Jazz, and Special Workshops by audition only. The classes are held in three locations;
Livingston, New Jersey;
; and
. Each year, more than one hundred students who pass auditions have a chance to perform in New Jersey Ballet's Nutcracker professional production. Advanced students are included in New Jersey Ballet Matinee for Kids and Families productions.
New Jersey Ballet's Junior Company is the school's pre-professional program for students with carrier track in dance. Students have opportunities to work with professional dancers, for example, being cast members when
the Bolshoi performed at the
Metropolitan Opera. Many alumni have performed with or are current dancers of
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
,
New York City Ballet,
San Francisco Ballet,
The Joffrey,
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and other major companies.
Artistic leadership
The artistic leadership of New Jersey Ballet, as of April 2010:
Founder and Director
* Carolyn Clark
Assistant Artistic Director
* Paul McRae
Production Director
* Brian Coakley
Artistic Advisors
The artistic advisors are three of the most famous dancers of the 20th century:
*
Eleanor D'Antuono, former
principal dancer
A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.
A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...
of
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...
*
Leonid Kozlov, former principal dancer of
the Bolshoi and
New York City Ballet
*
Edward Villella, former principal dancer of
New York City Ballet
Ballet Mistresses
* Luba Gulyaeva
Repertory Coaches
* Peter DiBonaventura
* Gabriella Noa
* Rosemary Sabovick-Bleich
Performers
New Jersey Ballet has gained international recognition and has attracted performers from other countries around the world including
Argentina, Bulgaria,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Japan,
Kazakhstan,
Mongolia, Russia,
Tatarstan, and
Zaire.
Dancers
The dancers of the New Jersey Ballet according to the company website, as of January 2019.
* Rachel Carina
* Kaitlyn Dal Bon
* Justin Estelle
* Leonid Flegmatov
* Albina Ghazaryan
* Esnel Ramos Hernandez
* Ilse Kapteyn
* Kotoe Kojima-Noa
* Se Hyun Jin
* Emmanuel Martirosyan
* Narek Martirosyan
* Risa Mochizuki
* Nahoko Nakomoto
* Gabriella Noa
* Eunice Suba
* Mari Sugawa
* Andre Luis Teixeira
* Catherine Whiting
* Yuuki Yamamoto
Apprentices
The apprentices of the New Jersey Ballet, as of August 2011.
References
External links
www.newjerseyballet.orgwww.njschoolofballet.com
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Performing groups established in 1958
Ballet companies in the United States
New Jersey culture
Livingston, New Jersey
1958 establishments in New Jersey
Dance in New Jersey