The American Repertory Ballet inaugurated a Wall of Fame in 2004 to be able to formally recognize some of the outstanding artists who have studied at Princeton Ballet School and gone to a career in dance.

2004 Inductees

Carol Estey

Carol Estey studied dance at the Princeton Ballet School which her parents, Bud and Audrée, founded.  Carol then danced in numerous Broadway shows including Jesus Christ Superstar.  Following her performing career she became a Dance Captain on Broadway and then a Stage Manager.  She then became a part of the small team that revived the Stonington Opera House in Maine where she now produces seasons of performances.

Bebe Neuwirth

Raised in Princeton, NJ, Ms. Neuwirth began her dance training at age five at Princeton Ballet School.  Known for her work in both television and on stage, the actor/singer/dancer Bebe Neuwirth has been awarded two Emmy’s for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Crane on Cheers, 2 Tony awards for her roles in Chicago and Sweet Charity, and the Astaire Award for Best Female Dancer for her role in Chicago.
She appeared in the 2009 remake of Fame and will be appearing as Morticia Addams in The Addams Family musical on Broadway.

Kraig Patterson

Kraig Patterson was born in Trenton, NJ.  He was inspired to pursue a career in dance after performing in high school musicals.  His formal dance education began with a scholarship to Princeton Ballet School.  Following further training at Juilliard School for the Performing Arts, where he received his B.F.A. in 1986, he danced with the Mark Morris Dance Group from 1987 until 1999.  Kraig has also performed with Ohad Naharin. Neta Pulvermacher, and the White Oak Dance Project.

Dodie Pettit

Dodie Pettit, actress, singer, dancer and songwriter, grew up in Princeton and appeared in numerous school and company productions.  Dodie was a principal dancer with the Garden State and Princeton Ballet Companies. She was an original Broadway cast member of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, and appeared in Cats on Broadway.  She is a BMI songwriter whose credits include songs on the Billboard Pop and Dance charts, Shel Silverstein’s Grammy nominated A Light In the Attic and the film Critters. She has released 2 CD’s of original pop/country songs.

Lisa de Ravel

Ms. De Ravel received her dance training at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the School of American Ballet and Boston School of Ballet.  She danced with American Repertory Ballet for five years.  Since joining the faculty of Princeton Ballet School in 1989, Lisa has inspired a new generation of children to love dance with her patience, grace and passion.  She has been coordinator of the Princeton Ballet School BalletPlus Senior Summer Program since 1994 and is now the Dean of Students and Alumni Relations Coordinator for the School.

Karen Russo

Karen Russo was a principal dancer with the American Repertory Ballet for eleven years.  Growing up at Princeton Ballet School, she joined the professional company at age 17.  Versatile in jazz, modern and ballet, she danced lead roles by Dermot Burke, Septime Webre, Gerald Arpino, Antony Tudor, José Limón, John Butler and Paul Taylor.  Since moving to Dayton, Ohio, Karen has become an accomplished choreographer and teacher at Dayton Ballet School. She was named Artistic Director of Dayton Ballet in 2011, succeeding her husband in the role.

Lynda Sing

Lynda Sing began her training at Princeton Ballet School and continued her training at Butler University where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Arts Administration with a Dance Concentration.  She began her professional career with American Repertory Ballet Company in 1996, where she appeared in works by Balanchine, Phillip, Jerry and Septime Webre.  In 1998 she joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem where she danced numerous leading roles.  She has performed with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Twyla Tharp and as a guest artist with numerous companies.

Jim Vincent

Jim Vincent, who studied at Princeton Ballet School, became the Artistic Director of Nederlans Dans Theatr in 2009. He previously served as the Artistic Director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago from 2000-2009, following an extensive career as a dancer, teacher, ballet master and choreographer.  Vincent’s distinguished career as a professional dancer includes a 12-year tenure with Jiri Kylian’s Nederlans Dans Theatr, a guest appearance with Lar Lubovitch and two years with Nacho Duato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza in Spain.  As a dancer, he worked with many choreographers including Kylian, Duato, Lubovitch, William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Hans van Manen, Christopher Bruce and Ohad Naharin.

2006 Inductees

Anne Woodside Gribbins

Anne Woodside Gribbins began her training at Princeton Ballet School in 1971 with founder Audrée Estey, and at 17 became a full member of the Princeton Ballet Company, where she danced professionally for six seasons. In 1991, Ms. Gribbins joined the faculty of Princeton Ballet School and also as an administrator for the organization. She choreographed for the Summer Intensive program and many school productions.  Her piece, Simple Gifts was performed at Princeton Ballet’s 50^th Anniversary celebration in 2004.  Ms. Gribbins holds an associate of science degree in business administration from Mercer County College. Ms. Gribbins also has worked for McCarter Theatre for the last twelve years, and is currently serving as Director of Marketing. She was also honored as the 2009 recipient of the Audree Estey Award for Excellence in Dance Education. 

Erin Mahoney-Du

Erin came to Princeton Ballet School at age ten, after four years of study at Knecht Dance Academy in Pennsylvania.  She studied in PBS’s Professional Training Program, and danced many roles in Nutcracker and the school shows. As a senior, Erin was invited to be an apprentice to American Repertory Ballet, then moved into a full company position after graduation. When former ARB Artistic Director Septime Webre left to become Artistic Director Washington Ballet, Erin joined that company and was featured in many works.

Sean Mahoney

Sean Mahoney came to Princeton Ballet School at age eleven, after two years of study at Knecht's Dance Academy.  He was a member of PBS’s Professional Training Program, and performed in many Nutcrackers and school shows (including Franz to his sister Erin’s Swanhilda in Coppelia). In high school, he was an apprentice to American Repertory Ballet and upon graduation was chosen to be one of the first members of Taylor 2. Next, he danced for David Parsons Company, appeared in The Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, danced with Geoffry Doig-Marx, then returned to ARB under Grahman Lustig’s direction, where he met and married fellow company dancer Peggy Petteway. He has now been a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company since 2004.  

Phyllis Papa

Phyllis Papa began her dance studies at Royal Ballet Academy and became a charter member of the new Princeton Regional Ballet Company when she was just 13. She was a member and principal dancer of the Harkness Youth Ballet for two years, and then joined American Ballet Theatre in 1967.  Papa was invited to audition for the Royal Danish Ballet, and became the first American to dance in that company and the only foreigner to be offered a lifetime contract.  She was a principal ballerina with Stars of the American Ballet in New York, and eventually became Artistic Director of the group. Miss Papa currently directs the Atlantic City Ballet, where she has choreographed over 30 ballets, and and founded the ACBT Performing Arts Academy, its official school.

Inducted 2008

Diane Partington

Diane Partington trained with founder, Audrée Estey, at Princeton Ballet School before studying at School of American Ballet. At age 16, she became the youngest member of Joffrey Ballet II, and was a principal dancer in several other companies including Ballet du Nord in Robaix, France, Les Grands Canadiens of Montreal, and Sarasota Ballet of Florida.   She was co-artistic director of West Florida Ballet before founding the Diane Partington School of Classical Ballet with her husband (and former Sarasota Ballet member) in 2000.   

Tim Acito

Tim Acito began training at Princeton Ballet School in 1990 after graduating from U.C. Berkeley, where he was captain of the gymnastics team. Within a couple of years, he started dancing in ARB productions, choreographing for Teamwork Dance, teaching boys’ classes and accompanying class.  He toured internationally with Paul Taylor 2 and Momix then returned to school and received a MFA in Playwriting from Yale Drama School in 2002. Since then he has been writing and composing musicals which have been produced Off-Broadway and regionally.