LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP: Austin and Tara Jarboe first met when they played Clara and Fritz in the 2001 production of Roxey Ballet’s “The Nutcracker.” Now married, the couple are among former dancers who will return to the stage for the company’s 30th annual season at Villa Victoria Theater.
By Anne Levin
It’s all about family at Roxey Ballet, the Frenchtown-based company and its affiliated Mill Ballet School. Starting with Artistic Director Mark Roxey and his wife Melissa Roxey, who directs the school, familial relationships are a big part of what makes the organization unique.
In the upcoming performances of The Nutcracker November 29-December 7 at Villa Victoria Theater in Ewing, the roles of Christmas party hosts Mother and Father Stahlbaum will be played by a real-life married couple who met when they took the lead children’s roles in the holiday ballet 24 years ago. Tara and Austin Jarboe, parents of a 1-year-old son, are among the many cast members returning to the stage to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the company’s production of the classic work.
“Roxey Ballet is a hot seat for romance, and I mean that in the most beautiful way,” said Mark Roxey. “We have a wonderful family around the company all the time. We have generated a lot of romances, probably six or seven couples who have found love here. Austin and Tara are very special and continue to play an important role with us. It’s been a really great opportunity to be a part of their lives and them a part of our lives.”
Playing Clara and Fritz was the beginning of a lasting bond for the Jarboes. Tara continued to dance with Roxey Ballet for several years before graduating from Wake Forest University and becoming a scientist, currently studying ways to cure cancer. Austin became an actuary with Portfolio Advisors.
“Roxey Ballet has always felt like our second home,” Tara said in a release from Roxey Ballet. “It’s where our story began, and now it’s so special to be back celebrating this anniversary season together — with our own little one in the audience (or maybe even on stage).”
The Roxeys started the company three decades ago at Prallsville Mill after many years as professional dancers. They have two children — Mirabel, 18, is a dancer, and Benjamin, 27, is in health and fitness. He’ll make a cameo appearance as “Arabian male” in the upcoming production.
The Roxeys first met Tara Jarboe at First Presbyterian Church in Lambertville, which is where they were married. “She couldn’t have been more than 3 years old,” Roxey said. “She used to go up to the pulpit for children’s story time, and she was just so cute. Lo and behold, she came to the ballet and has been no less than family since then.”
Austin Jarboe was a “party boy” in the first production of the ballet, and went on to perform the “snow” pas de deux with Melissa Roxey.
“We have had the great fortune of working with a handful of aspiring young dancers, many of whom went out and became professional,” said Roxey. “There’s Jordan Brennan, who runs Music Mountain Theater. A former dancer with us became a professional with San Francisco Ballet. Another runs Rochester [City] Ballet.”
Immediately following the opening performance of The Nutcracker on Saturday, November 29, the company plans to host a 30th anniversary alumni party at 6 p.m. For additional dates, performance times, and tickets, visit roxeyballet.org.
“We have had this amazing ability to touch so many people’s lives in 30 years,” Roxey said. “We have a beautiful family around the ballet all the time. It’s all part of this big, interwoven family, and I think you can feel it when you’re here.”