It’s company class on a Friday night, and Hagan Dance Studio in the Lewis Center is in a state of commotion. Dancers sprawl across the floor, some doing curl-ups, some with their legs propped up on the barres stretching, while others sit in the splits with their laptops in front of them, furiously trying to finish their writing seminar papers before class starts. Kamber Hart ’16 calls everyone to the floor with the cheerful announcement that tonight’s class will begin with an intensive cycle of crunches. A collection of groans echoes from every direction, but a moment later the music begins, chatter ebbs and the carefree attitudes from the beginning of class simmer into quiet focus.
This routine reminds onlookers that Princeton University Ballet is a group of trained ballet dancers, accustomed to long hours, intensive ballet programs and physically exhausting classes. Most members have trained in ballet for most of their lives. The typical PUB dancer is cast in four pieces, each one requiring eight to 10 hours of rehearsal time. In addition, dancers have a two-and-a-half hour company rehearsal every Friday and long nights of rehearsal during the week leading up to their shows. Aside from this grueling schedule, most members are also involved in dance outside of PUB. Some dancers are a part of another dance group on campus, some dance in guest choreography or senior theses, and some are enrolled in dance classes through the Lewis Center for the Arts. In short, these are dancers who have an extraordinary commitment to dance, who devote hours and hours into rehearsal, class and performances.
Princeton first introduced an official dance community in 1969 — coincidentally the same year female undergraduates were first admitted to the university. In the 44 years since the development of Princeton’s dance program, over 15 different dance groups have formed on campus. None of them focused on classical ballet until 2008, when Virginia Byron ’10, Elizabeth Rosen ’10 and Alexis Branagan ’11 decided to form Princeton University Ballet.
PUB is one of the youngest dance groups on campus, but the group’s age has not kept it from developing into a well-established, pre-professional company. President of PUB Caroline Hearst ’14 says that since the company’s foundation it has continued to grow bigger and better, now reaching a larger audience than ever before. “People have been attracted to Princeton because they know that PUB’s there. We hear that more and more and more,” Hearst said. Freshman member Sarah Howells ’16 was one such student: “After having dance be such a big part of my life in high school I didn’t want to lose it in transition to college. And PUB is a perfect way to still hang around other dancers.”
For the past month and a half, I have been able to work with PUB as it prepares for its upcoming show, “Spring Fling.” The company has assembled a high-caliber production from the ground up before my eyes. The skill and artistic ability that they have consistently demonstrated is impressive for any college dance organization, let alone one that is entirely student-run.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I slipped off my street shoes and padded into Hagan Dance Studio for the first time. PUB isn’t a particularly large group on campus, and I hadn’t heard enough about the company to get a firm idea of what its classes and rehearsals would be like. I have learned over the past month that PUB’s dancers treat class and rehearsal alike in terms of their incredible energy and support for one another. It was not uncommon during company class for a smattering of claps and cheers to break out when someone did a particularly good pirouette or stunning leap. The same level of audible support carried over to rehearsals, as well. This positive and upbeat attitude is rather unique as far as pre-professional companies go; for many dance companies, pettiness and jealousy tend to dictate social dynamics. But rather than reenacting “Black Swan” in the studio, PUB has adopted a warm and enthusiastic atmosphere. Even when dancers buckled down and spent hours rehearsing the same 16 counts of choreography, they never sacrificed their energy for seriousness.
PUB’s fall production “Nutz” is always a favorite, but “Spring Fling” promises to be even better as dancers push themselves to experiment in new formats, new variations and new choreography. PUB’s performances are comprised of classical ballet variations and student-choreographed contemporary pieces. While the classical half of their fall show always contains selections from “The Nutcracker,” the spring production allows for more flexibility in its choice of choreography. This year PUB chose “Spring Fling” as its theme and selected classical variations from different ballets that somehow evoke this theme. The classical repertoire, chosen and cast by artistic director Paige Hupy ’14 and assistant artistic director Leah Worthington ’15, includes pieces from “Romeo and Juliet,” “Swan Lake,” “Don Quixote,” “Giselle” and “Carmen.” Rather than dividing the show into classical and contemporary halves, PUB has interspersed its classical selections with the contemporary pieces, making the show more engaging and cohesive.
Every member of PUB is welcome to propose a piece of choreography for the upcoming production at the beginning of each semester. Potential choreographers pitch their concept, music and roughly eight counts of choreography to Hupy and Worthington, who decide on the final list of choreographers and casting. Hupy explained to me that she based her decisions on the pieces she envisioned the dancers performing. This year she looked for choreography that fit together with the show’s theme and simultaneously offered a diverse assortment of dances.
Howells, one of three freshman choreographers, explained, “What I like about choreographing for PUB is that the dancers are so wonderful that I could basically give them anything and they would make it look amazing. So it’s a nice way to start choreographing.”
Indeed, in each rehearsal I watched the dancers and choreographers work in collaboration with each other. Choreographers would change, remove or add steps at dancers’ suggestions, sometimes incorporating one dancer’s “mistake” into their final choreography. The connection between dancers and choreographers is particularly striking when choreographers perform in their own pieces. Hupy and Worthington worked together to both choreograph and perform in the company’s closing piece. In order to clarify the dancer’s movements, Hupy and Worthington would take turns watching the piece during rehearsals, one perched on a stool in the front of the studio while the other danced in her spot. In other run-throughs both choreographers would dance, taking care to keep an eye on their fellow dancers and shout out corrections or counts.
In addition to incorporating classical variations and student choreography, PUB has continued its tradition of bringing in guest choreographers — a feature that distinguishes PUB from other dance groups on campus. Guest choreographers introduce a fresh perspective to the ballet company, a perspective that challenges the dancers and the student choreographers to push themselves further. “We sometimes get a lot of repeat in the choreographic ideas or formations or just the vision,” Hearst said. “A lot of pieces can tend to run together if you let your own tight-knit group choreograph everything.” The guest choreographer this semester is Tom Mattingly, a soloist at Ballet West.
But a dance show is not just about the choreography. Like any production, PUB must manage costumes, publicity, lighting, sound and general logistics. In addition to pulling together technical elements for their show, PUB outfits its dancers in both classical and contemporary costumes. This process differs drastically from that of other dance and performance groups on campus due to the wonderful commitment and generosity of Cathy Hazard, a costume designer for a number of independent choreographers. Hazard designs, sews, fits and maintains the bulk of PUB’s costumes free of charge. She has been involved with PUB since the company’s origin, first becoming connected to the company through Branagan, PUB’s founding artistic director. Gradually, Hazard has compiled a large inventory of PUB costumes that can be recycled or reworked from performance to performance. For “Spring Fling,” Hazard made about half of the classical costumes from scratch, including all six costumes for the variation from “Romeo and Juliet.” She also designed and sewed the elaborate Von Rothbart costume for a variation from “Swan Lake.” I love making costumes, it’s my play time,” Hazard said. “I play with trims and I play with different fabrics. It’s a creative outlet for me.” Her goal is to outfit the PUB dancers in costumes that boost their professionalism, an aspect of their company that she has watched grow and develop over the past five years.
This weekend, PUB will take “Spring Fling” to the stage in Frist Film/Performance Theatre. In preparation for opening night, the dancers have been participating in full nights of rehearsal, commonly referred to as Hell Week. Hell Week has been dizzyingly packed with run-throughs, last minute adjustments, sound and tech complications and tech and dress rehearsals. The backstage area is full of energy as dancers rush from piece to piece, sew ribbons on their pointe shoes, catch final notes, go over choreography in the wings and run through back-to-back rehearsals. Throughout this process, the dancers embody a new exuberance that the costumes, lighting, sound and stage have imbued them with. “It’s all spread out up until that moment. And everything comes together at the last moment,” dancer Sophia Andreassi ’16 said. All of their hard work, all of the hours, rehearsing and choreography has finally resulted in something professional — something to be proud of.
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