About Us

Princeton Dance & Theater Studio's (PDT) purpose is to provide the community with high caliber yet nurturing dance and theater experiences. PDT welcomes a variety of students, from those aiming to become professional performing artists to those seeking personal fulfillment, fitness, and the joy of dance and theater.

While PDT anticipates many of its student to grow into professional performers, the main goal is to empower all of its students with confidence, discipline, and creativity.These attributes, along with an appreciation for the performing arts, are often the results of authentic dance and theater training and last a lifetime.

Directors, Susan Jaffe and Risa Kaplowitz, were friends throughout their training at the esteemed Maryland Youth Ballet (MYB), a studio which has produced many professional dancers. A nurturing approach combined with Miss Jaffe's and Ms. Kaplowitz's subsequent training and professional experiences from the backbone of Princeton Dance and Theater Studio's training philosophy.

Directors’ Corner September, 2007
Competitions

Every so often, a student will ask, “Why doesn’t PDT do competitions?” With so many dance schools having “competition teams”, it may seem to some that PDT is missing the boat. In fact, PDT is missing that boat, choosing the big ship instead.
PDT is a school that emphasizes growth as a dancer and an artist. This means that the students concentrate on learning, expanding, and refining their technique so that their dancing can communicate something meaningful. Competitions, while fine for those young dancers and families that are mainly concerned with winning something, often impede authentic training. During the time that the child should have been expanding technique, they work on the same routines during most of their classes for months at a time.
Often, children participating in competitions learn routines that are not appropriate for their age or skill level. To learn a dance that is not suitable for a child's development would be the same as having a young child recite Shakespeare. Without being clear about the basics of the English language, the child could "memorize" a passage, but it would be meaningless and not performed well until he or she understood the vocabulary and correct pronunciation.
PDT frequently works with students who come from competition schools. When they start to understand how to properly train, these students are astonished at how much time and attention it takes to unlearn very unfortunate habits. As a result, we repeatedly hear from their parents, "I wish that I had sent my child to you sooner." We wish that they had too.
An exception to the standard competition fare is Youth America Grand Prix, which can indeed further the experiences and careers of very talented dancers. However, unless a dancer is truly ready in skill and artistry, even YAGP is a fruitless experience.
While PDT does not participate in competitions, we do feel strongly that performing is an important part of training. Therefore, for the final three months of the term, most students spend approximately fifteen minutes per week during class on a dance that becomes part of the PDT Spring Performance. The dances, choreographed by the directors or instructors, are challenging, and tremendous attention to quality and detail are necessary to perform them well.
We greatly look forward to our fifth year and continuing our goal of teaching dance that will be meaningful to our students for an entire lifetime.