Nov 2012 - Nassau Journals

THE JOURNAL NOVEMBER 2012 3
Interviewing a Home Grown Ballet
Celebrity: Alexis Branagan Interviews
Stephen Campanella.
What first attracted you to ballet and
to Princeton Ballet School?
At the age of 2, I saw a video of
Baryshnikov dancing in The Nutcracker
and was immediately captivated. I went
to a local dance school at 3, and the
owner directed me to Princeton Ballet
School, the Official School of American
Repertory Ballet, where I was enrolled at
the age of 4.
When did you begin performing in
American Repertory Ballet’s Nutcracker?
I grew up in West Windsor and
started performing in ARB’s Nutcracker
at age 5. Over my childhood years, I was
a mouse, the youngest boy in the party
scene, and Fritz, Clara’s obnoxious
younger brother; the last of those suited
me perfectly. (Now he dances the role of
Soldier Doll in Act I of Nutcracker.) It
was a wonderful experience on a number
of levels: the thrill of performing in a professional production,
the backstage camaraderie of the children, the early lesson in commitment
of one’s time, effort, and love. It also provided excellent on
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stage experience from a very early age.
Children who perform learn how the
theater works. They are also inspired by
company members, learn how to perform
for an audience, above and beyond
the technique one learns in the classroom.
It is said that practice makes perfect,
and the more you perform, the
better you get at it.
In what ways do you think ARB’s Nutcracker
is a uniquely local tradition?
The Nutcracker forms a uniquely
American tradition, despite the German
origins of the story and the Franco-Russian
origins of the ballet. Almost everywhere
else in the world, The Nutcracker
is performed as just another part of a
ballet company’s repertory; only here is
it an annual holiday tradition with a
special local flair.
ARB has been performing The Nutcracker
in central New Jersey for almost
50 years, with local children joining the
company on stage to dance for local audiences
in venues such as McCarter Theatre
in Princeton and State Theatre in New Brunswick. It has become
a Central Jersey family tradition.
continued on page 14
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Dec. D Dec.
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