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Mary Pat Robertson is a dancer. She is a teacher. She is a role model. It is her great joy that she is able to combine all of these skills in her capacity as Director of American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School. Helping students to discover and appreciate the beauty — and discipline — of dance and to reach their potential are a major focus of her work, along with the myriad administrative and operational details of running the nation's second-largest non-profit dance school.
"Mary Pat is incredibly caring about every student and every family," notes American Repertory Ballet Executive Director Barry Hughson. "She spends enormous amounts of time meeting and talking with new families as they register their children. And really, as school director, she has the best combination of skills. She is a wonderful teacher, and understands ballet training. She also completely understands the business side."
Ms. Robertson's abilities are also admired by Graham Lustig, Artistic Director of American Repertory Ballet. "Above all, Mary Pat is a caring teacher, who always puts the students, their abilities, their talents, and their specific technical challenges first. She is a very good mentor to the students, and that atmosphere trickles down to the faculty in the way we conduct our school, which is very much in line with the heritage that Audree Estey left us."
Now celebrating 20 years as Director of Princeton Ballet School, Ms. Robertson has been involved with dance from her earliest childhood. Born and reared in Tulsa, Okla., she is the daughter of John and Mildred Ladner, and older sister to Helen and Ed.
"I remember my mom and dad were reading the paper one evening, when I was about three, and I gravely entered the living room and announced that I had made up a poem and song," recalls Ms. Robertson. "I proceeded to declaim and sing at length about the spring time, as I danced around the room. They were a little nonplussed! Then, I pleaded with them to let me start ballet lessons, and I began to study at four."
She also took piano and voice lessons, but her true passion was ballet. "I loved it! Actually, I don't have the body for a dancer. At 5'8", I'm too tall (6'2" on point), and I don't have a great deal of turn out. I really had to work hard and struggle, but I just loved it."
First Play
Mary Pat also liked school, especially French class, and was a very good student. The family took trips across the country, since her father, a judge, was from South Dakota, and her mother, a former newspaper reporter, grew up in Allentown, Pa.
She found the fun of performing early on, reports Ms. Robertson. "I remember vividly going to see a community theater production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, probably the first play I attended. I was about five at the time. I have an extremely distinct visual memory of the scene in the forest where the fairies dance. I was totally enchanted, and I can remember dancing with my shadow along the sidewalk in the warm Oklahoma night as we walked back to our car.
"We also had a family friend who made floats for a Christmas parade, and one of my most fun memories is of playing Cinderella when I was six, and riding in her coach in the parade."
Dance was always Number One, though, the focus of Mary Pat's life, and it is a rigorous master. Dedication, determination, and discipline are required from the beginning. "I started dancing at 12 with the Tulsa Civic Ballet, now the Tulsa Ballet Theater," she reports. "The corps de ballet was made up of high school kids, and outstanding professionals would be imported for the principal roles. I remember how exciting it was when they brought in Margot Fonteyn.
By the time she was in high school, Mary Pat was dancing six days a week. "We'd have class at one place, rehearse at another, and I'd get home at 10 and start my homework.
"I also remember a trip to Dallas when I was in high school. There was a memorial concert for John F. Kennedy. This was a couple of years after the assassination. It was an incredibly international performance, and included the great Italian ballerina, Carla Fracci."
Latin Teacher
"I looked up to all my dance teachers, and they all influenced me," she continues. In addition, Mary Pat was strongly influenced by another teacher, Mary Hankins, her junior high school Latin teacher.
"Mary Hankins had gone to Radcliffe, and she influenced me a lot. It was not usual for someone in Tulsa to go east to college."
Mary Pat did just that, however, attending Wellesley for one year, before transferring to Stanford to be near her high school sweetheart, Michael Robertson.
"It was somewhat of a confusing time regarding dancing," she explains. "My Tulsa teachers had never pushed me to be a professional, although, of course, I had thought about it a lot. And my parents had always assumed I would go to college. But then when I was at Wellesley, a teacher from the Boston Ballet asked me what I was doing in college, and said, 'You should be dancing.'
And dance indeed proved irresistible. Though she stayed in college, taking her junior year abroad in France, ultimately graduating in French literature with honors, and had even considered going on to graduate school to teach French, Mary Pat could not leave dance behind.
"By the time I was finishing college, I had found a studio in the Bay area. They were interested in helping me to appear in their company. I would leave campus, ride my bike two miles to the railroad station, take the train for a half hour to San Matteo, then walk 20 minutes to the ballet studio, and stay three hours. Then it was all reversed and I went back to campus. I did this every day for two years."
Modern Dance
After graduation, she and her husband, whom she had married in her junior year, moved to Berkeley, where he was to earn the first of several graduate degrees in English literature. "Now, I began to think seriously about what to do, and I realized I liked modern dance, and I found a studio. We were at Berkeley for two years, and an illuminating moment came when I showed up at the studio one day, and some one said, 'What are you doing here? You were here yesterday!' This was in the early 1970s and I knew I had to get to New York."
So the Robertsons headed to Manhattan and stayed for five years. "My husband had a job at a prep school and later got a Masters at Columbia. I took classes with Martha Graham, Limon Studio, Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, and also one ballet class a day — most modern dance professionals continue to take class in ballet — and one or two modern dance classes."
"Also, by 1975, there was more crossover with ballet and modern," continues Ms. Robertson. "It was more interwoven, and modern became more balletic. Ballet is the technique that trains one to become a concert dancer. The word 'concert' is important. It means on stage, not in a movie or on TV. Ballet strengthens your body and creates the appropriate look for the body."
During this time in New York, Ms. Robertson worked with several small free-lance dance companies and also toured in France.
By 1980, the Robertsons decided to relocate again. "Michael liked the idea of being in a little more sequestered area, and so we came to Princeton for his doctorate work in English literature, and we loved it here."
Almost immediately, Ms. Robertson discovered Princeton Ballet School, which had been founded by the late Audree Estey in 1954. "Ms. Estey had not only founded Princeton Ballet School, but also what became a professional company, then known as Princeton Ballet," explains Ms. Robertson. "This company later became American Repertory Ballet.
Company Class
"I immediately started teaching ballet at the school, and was also given the courtesy of taking the company class (an advanced class for professional dancers). Dermot Burke was ballet master, and it was a very good class. He was an excellent teacher."
Interested in furthering dance in all areas, she also co-founded, with John Watson Stewart, "Teamwork Dance," a modern dance company, which included many members of the Princeton Ballet faculty.
"Princeton has one of the liveliest dance communities for a town of its size," points out Ms. Robertson. "We performed from 1981 to 1993. A lot of people at Teamwork had day jobs. Judy Leviton, Director of Princeton Ballet, was my mentor, and she let me use the Ballet studio, then located on Alexander Street. We would rehearse from 9:15 to 11 p.m., and I was also teaching 26 classes a week at the Ballet School. In addition, I taught dance at Rutgers and Princeton University."
Ms. Robertson is proud that Teamwork productions were greeted with praise from many publications, including Dance Magazine, which noted that she had "composed a suite of dances for herself, other professional female dancers, and two men who are eager, dedicated beginners at their craft. It's a measure of her skill and delicacy as a choreographer that Robertson has managed to construct dances for such diverse levels of skill and training, making them seem whole and sound, humane and civilized &."
Barbara Fox in US 1 commented that "Teamwork Dance has made a remarkable and important contribution to the dancing life of Princeton."
In 1983, Ms. Robertson received a Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for choreography, and was able to continue Teamwork productions for several more years, as well as undertake other choreographic projects. Carmina Burana for Princeton Pro Musica, and Laud to the Nativity for Voices were among them, and Ms. Robertson also choreographed numerous productions for the Opera Festival of New Jersey, all the while continuing her work with the Ballet School.
Wonderful Point
"I love working for opera," she notes. "It's like writing — the structure. Here's the music, the number of dances, here's the space, here's the period. It's very structured, very challenging. Among others, I worked on The Merry Widow, The Magic Flute, La Traviata,The Marriage of Figaro, and Postcard from Morocco."
"Dancers from Teamwork Dance performed with wonderful point and vitality in compact yet explosive choreography by Mary Pat Robertson," wrote James R. Oestreich in The New York Times about The Merry Widow.
The Merry Widow was my dream-come-true, when I was able to perform as a singing and dancing diva. It was wonderful," says Ms. Robertson, who had never lost her early enthusiasm for singing, and had taken voice lessons with Milton Lyon in Princeton.
She is also very pleased to be able to continue operatic productions with the New Jersey Opera Theater next summer. "I will be choreographing Romeo and Juliet and Pirates of Penzance, which will be performed at the Berlind Theater at McCarter, and I am thrilled!"
In 1986, Ms. Robertson became Director of Princeton Ballet School, with responsibilities ranging from faculty development, hiring, and payroll to teaching. "At first, it was part-time," she says, "and that was good for me since I then had a one-year-child, our daughter, Miranda.
But it soon became apparent that the position demanded full-time focus, and Ms. Robertson was clearly up to the task. During her tenure, she has initiated the PLUS program, the syllabus, the Professional Training Program, the Rider University Dance Program, and has overseen moves into the current Cranbury and Princeton locations. She has also been a consultant for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Outreach program.
Current Enrollment
"I do have organizational capabilities," she notes, "but it had never crossed my mind that I would become director. I do enjoy it though, and working with people is a pleasure. I do a lot of administrative work, including hiring faculty — there are now 40. I created a syllabus, which I oversee, and I teach four classes, fourth grade to early college."
With locations in Princeton, Cranbury, and New Brunswick, Princeton Ballet School has become an exciting resource for students of the dance. During her tenure, it has grown significantly, with a current enrollment of more than 1500, including 1100 children and 400 adults, with year-round classes.
And throughout the past 20 years, Ms. Robertson has built on founder Audree Estee's philosophy of dance as an empowering activity that expands students' horizons. Ms. Robertson believes that the study of ballet offers exceptional benefits to young people, even if they do not continue on to professional dance careers.
"Ballet teaches students to strive for excellence, to establish and then work to achieve a goal. Physically, ballet trains their bodies to hold correct posture and strengthen their core muscles to support proper body alignment. Ballet also develops their appreciation and understanding of music. Ultimately, our students acquire the tools of mind and body that foster self-esteem, self-discipline, and fitness that will benefit them throughout their life.
"Also," she continues, "part of what I think is special about Princeton Ballet School relates to this special community. We are so lucky to be part of an area that values education and the life of the mind, and that can appreciate fine teaching. So, when we challenge young dancers to focus harder and think harder, they enjoy rising to the occasion. This has led us, I believe, to develop a rather unusual approach to the teaching of dance, which used to focus on simple repetition of the exercises until the mere fact of the repetition improved the skill. But if one can really think about basic principles of anatomy and physics as one practices, one can see a much more rapid improvement.
"So we have a collection of teachers who focus on positive reinforcement, strong personal responsibility and thinking, which makes for a great atmosphere in which to study and work."
Different Styles
Ms. Robertson is very proud of the faculty at Princeton Ballet school, many of whom have performed professionally with companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, The Joffrey Ballet, and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, among others.
Kyra Nichols, principal dancer of New York City Ballet, joined the faculty several years ago, and balances teaching with performing. "I teach one class a week for the most advanced students. I like to pass on my knowledge to them," she explains. "I think Mary Pat is doing a wonderful job, and it's a difficult job. What I really admire about her is that she wants the students to experience all different styles and techniques. Each ballet company has its own style, different from others, and it's good for young dancers to be exposed to this. That she danced herself is a plus. She understands what everyone is going through. She is a wonderful person, and very nice to work with."
Teaching is a tremendous pleasure for Ms. Robertson, and she especially enjoys the performing aspect of classes. "When one gets to have a mature understanding of ballet classes, one can perform in a dance class. It's movement, music, and the psyche. Personally, I love the music. I love being able to move to music. All our classes have live piano music. The performance aspect is very important in my classes, which I try to make lively, enthusiastic, and humorous."
Ms. Robertson also emphasizes the importance of placing students in a class that is right for their ability. "Everyone — true beginners to advanced — is placed in the appropriate class for them."
As she plans ahead, Ms. Robertson looks forward to Princeton Ballet School's summer program, which has greatly expanded under her stewardship to include students from abroad. "This winter, when Graham Lustig and I go on our audition tours, we will conduct tours in Amsterdam, London, Rome, and Paris, in addition to sites all across the U.S. Also, many French people live in our area, and we have a lot of French students."
The "area" in which Princeton Ballet School flourishes is very pleasing to Ms. Roberts; she is a true fan of Princeton. "I love the extraordinary mix of groups of people in the town," she points out. "I have wonderful friends from the University and all over. Princeton is good for the arts, with highly educated audiences and performers. On the other hand, it's a difficult place, too, because of its location between New York and Philadelphia. I wish more people could realize how much Princeton has to offer in the arts. For example, American Repertory Ballet is a fine professional company in New Brunswick, with an extraordinary group of professional dancers, who perform in New Brunswick and at McCarter, as well as in New York.
Creative Inspiration
"And we have such exceptional teachers at our school. I love watching my friend and colleague Kyra Nichols, who continues to teach a class here. I am truly inspired by all of my colleagues and their dedication."
When not teaching, overseeing the school, or dancing (she continues to take class twice a week), Ms. Robertson likes to sing, and joins the Princeton Musical Amateurs once a month. "We sight-read scores of classical music, and I look forward to this so much. Sometimes, I'll get creative inspiration from it that I can put toward my choreography."
Ms. Robertson is also a devoted gardener, an enthusiastic cook, and an avid reader. She and her husband, who is professor of English literature at the College of New Jersey, belong to a reading group which also meets once a month.
Travel is another pleasure, especially to France, which she visits as often as possible. "In fact, we will be going to Paris soon to see our daughter who is spending her junior year from Vassar there."
Reflecting on the importance of Princeton Ballet School's presence in the cultural life of Princeton, Ms. Robertson is justly proud of the school's progress, often in the face of challenges. "In a very difficult arts climate in the United States, we have managed to keep this wonderful organization going. I feel strongly about the honor of continuing Audree Estey's goal of offering classes to all who want to come. They don't have to audition. We are thrilled to have everyone."
While she is proud of the recognition her own work has received, including being honored by the Arts Council of Princeton as "one of Princeton's most esteemed artists", she is especially proud to see the success of Princeton Ballet school alumni.
"Watching my former student Tim Acito dance with MOMIX at City Center, then returning a few days later to see a solo evening by Baryshnikov, also at City Center, with one of the choreographers, another of our alums, Kraig Patterson, was exciting. Seeing another alumna, Erin Mahoney listed by the Washington Post as their top 'pick' for exciting dance debut in a new role in 2005 was a thrill.
"And, you know, every time I see a student 'get' something, and their face lights up! That's what it's all about."
(Photograph by Pete Cook)