(TRENTON, NJ) -- For its annual spring ballet, Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, presented Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, one of the most beloved story ballets of all time. This year marked the school’s 60th anniversary production of the ballet, an occasion made extra-special when Kaila Jones became the school’s first African American student to dance the lead of Aurora, one of the most cherished and challenging roles for ballerinas. The performance was presented on May 20 at Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton.
Jones, 16, a junior at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, started dancing when she was 4 years old. She has studied in summer programs with Princeton Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet School, and will attend Pacific Northwest Ballet's upcoming summer course on a scholarship.
American Repertory Ballet's mission is to bring the joy, beauty, artistry and discipline of classical and contemporary dance to New Jersey and beyond through artistic and educational programs, presented by a financially responsible organization.
For more information about American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School please visit: arballet.org
