Modern Dance, Classic Cars and Hollywood Movies On Main Street

Ask any longtime Cranbury resident what business was located at 29 N. Main St. and you may get a number of answers.

In the 1920s, the Central Garage was filled with the latest Dodge automobiles. An Esso (that’s Exxon for anyone younger than 30) filling station was pumping gas for much less than $4 dollars a gallon in the 1940s. In the 1990s you could look into the front glass doors and see a number of Rudy’s restored, classic automobiles.

In 2003 Hollywood took over the address and restored it to resemble that nostalgic gas station of the ’40s as Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler filmed scenes for “Anger Management.”

Now 29 North Main houses a blend of the classic and modern as the Cranbury location for the American Repertory Ballet School.

Under the artistic direction of Mary Pat Robertson and Douglas Martin, this dance school has helped hundreds of young dancers here in Cranbury. Overall, they serve over 1,500 students every year at their three central New Jersey studios.

Managing Director Christine Chen noted that the Cranbury location was an ideal site between the Princeton and New Brunswick studios.

“We initially were housed in the basement of the old school building before moving to the new studio on Main Street,” said Chen.

She also noted that the large space was redesigned by the late Princeton architect, Ralph Lerner, who was also the Dean of the Princeton School of Architecture. Chen went on to state, “We’re one of the largest not-for-profit dance studios in the nation and have a working relationship with the Westminster Choir College.”

The American Repertory Ballet (ARB) specializes in modern dance, jazz, Pilates as well as Spanish and other world dances. Now in its 37^th year, the school has been designated as a major arts institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

According to the ARB website the mission of the school is “to display ballets of the 19^th and 20^th centuries alongside contemporary artists in the field.”

At its three locations, the ARB offers over 175 different dance classes per week. Founded in 1954 as the Princeton Ballet Society by Audree Estey, the school has expanded to include the Princeton Ballet School and the above mentioned ARB. Then in 1963 the Princeton Regional Ballet was formed.

Unlike many other dance schools, the ARB, as stated on its website, (www.americanrepertoryballet.org) attempts to assess all students’ unique strengths as well as considering their age in placing them in the most appropriate class setting.

To promote further study in dance, the school offers merit and need-based scholarships. In addition to these grants, the ARB coordinates the DANCE POWER program that extends dance instruction to all third graders in the New Brunswick public schools.

As a culminating performance of the Summer Intensive Program, the ARB will be presenting its final summer dance production on July 29 at 6:30 pm at the Berlind Theatre of Princeton University’s McCarter Theatre.

For a century, 29 North Main has been the site of an Esso gas station, a classic car warehouse and a movie set for Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. Now it fills young minds and feet with classic dance steps.  

The American Repertory Ballet at Cranbury
29 N. Main St.
Phone: 609-921-7758