Tiny dancers

This past Sunday, Byron sat in a wooden chair outside Chancellor Green Cafe. Across from her, Rosen perched on a bench alongside PUB artistic director Alexis Branagan '11 and assistant artistic director Meghan Todt '11. The company's four leaders assessed the current state of PUB, reflecting on its successful Tiger Night performance and the selective audition process that followed. "We're still feeling our way, but so far, we're doing pretty well," Todt said.

Her optimism resounded among the girls, but some doubts remain. "It's tough getting [practice] space," Branagan said. "Many studio spaces that are available are inappropriate for ballet." An arabesque or chasse might be dangerous on a slippery wooden floor, for example.

There's also the issue of funding. "There's no budget right now," Byron said. "We still have to organize funds, talk to ODUS [and] figure out company dues." Working under major time constraints, Byron, Rosen, Branagan and Todt have focused on the artistic component of the company, emphasizing getting the dancers into ballet shape through weekly practices and rehearsals en pointe.

Currently, PUB boasts roughly 20 trained ballerinas. Unlike members of other dance groups on campus, several PUB dancers also belong to other companies. Byron, for example, dances in diSiac. "You can do both groups," Byron said. But what happens in the spring, when Byron's commitment to PUB and its first show forces her to choose sides?

What happens when PUB transitions from part-time to full-time as it gains more momentum with increased recognition and attention?

When PUB first arrived on campus last spring, other dance companies worried they would lose both dancers and dance space, Byron and Rosen said. They explained that they understood the groups' anxieties but also knew that fear of encroachment would evolve into mutual respect. "Now, everyone is enthusiastic and accommodating," Rosen noted.

So where to go from here? The company's current focal point is its spring show. It will be a compilation of classical ballet - snapshots of traditional pieces as well as pieces the dancers have learned through years of training - and innovative student choreography. "We want to make a statement," Branagan noted. In the eyes of PUB's leaders, the spring show stands as the company's opportunity to gain credibility and further establish PUB as a permanent endeavor.

There are also short-term goals, such as setting up a website and reaching out to the surrounding community, perhaps through a philanthropic PUB performance in Trenton or an April preview of its spring show in Hagan Studio. The company also aims to take advantage of local ballet resources such as The Princeton Ballet School and Kyra Nichols, a Princeton resident and former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet.