PRINCETON, NJ – American Repertory Ballet Company Director Douglas Martin will be joined by Michael Robertson, former dance critic and current Professor of English at The College of New Jersey, and Barbara Figge Fox, a Princeton-based dance critic, to discuss how audience members can get the most out of your experience at a dance performance.  This program, named “Watching and Talking about Dance”, is a free On Pointe Enrichment Series event.  It will be held at the Princeton Ballet School, located at 301 N. Harrison Street in Princeton, NJ (right above McCaffrey’s Super Market) at 5:15pm on Friday, February 24, 2012.

ARB launched On Pointe in 2010 to help make ballet more accessible to the community.  The Enrichment Series brings guest speakers, lecture demonstrations, intimate company performance previews and panel discussions to seasoned dance enthusiasts and new students alike on a monthly basis.

The goal of “Watching and Talking about Dance” is to make dance more enjoyable by presenting a method and approach to watching and talking about dance.  ARB aims to open audience members' minds to new ideas about what to look for in a dance performance. The panel will enable audiences to appreciate and critique dance more intelligently, and to be able to walk out of the theater feeling wholly inspired.

In an intimate studio setting, American Repertory Ballet will showcase a variety of excerpts from the Company’s repertoire.  Martin, Robertson, and Figge Fox will provide insight to and commentary on these excerpts, helping participants to become more engaged dance audience members.  While Douglas Martin and the ARB dancers will reveal the artistic motivations behind the movement, Michael Robertson and Barbara Figge Fox will lend interesting perspectives and critical insights to the panel.  These perspectives and insights are sure to merge into a comprehensive and engaging discussion of dance.

About American Repertory Ballet
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 is comprised of: American Repertory Ballet, the preeminent contemporary ballet company in the state; Princeton Ballet School, one of the largest and most respected non-profit dance schools in the nation; and the Access and Enrichment initiatives, ranging from the long-running and acclaimed DANCE POWER program to the newly launched On Pointe series.  The professional company is a classical and contemporary ballet company committed to presenting ballets from the 19th and 20th century alongside new and existing works by choreographers from today.  Founded in 1963, the company is currently under the artistic leadership of Douglas Martin, former principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet.  The company's rich history of repertory includes established masterpieces by distinguished American choreographers such as George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp; cutting edge works by choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Kirk Peterson, Dominique Dumais, Harrison McEldowney, Amy Seiwert, Susan Shields and Melissa Barak; and former Artistic Directors Dermot Burke, Marjorie Mussman, Septime Webre and Graham Lustig.

ARB has been designated a "Major Arts Institution" by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts consistently for the past two decades, and has repeatedly been awarded a Citation of Excellence by the Council.  ARB was voted People's Choice for Best Dance Company in 2008.