American Repertory Ballet Blends Dance And High Fashion

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton's popular ballet company has announced a collaboration with a Mexican fashion brand as part of its upcoming program next week.

The American Repertory Ballet (ARB) will collaborate with Mexican fashion design brand Pineda Covalin for its upcoming program at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, on Oct. 23 and 24.

Pineda Colavin’s prints will become part of the costumes and scenic projections for choreographer David Fernandez’s ballet titled Mexican Music.

Fernandez envisioned a piece that would celebrate the Company’s return to the stage and his own Mexican heritage. He reached out to the team at Pineda Covalin, founded by Cristina Pineda and Ricardo Covalin.

“I dreamed that someday I would choreograph a ballet with costumes by Pineda Covalin. So, when Ethan Stiefel commissioned me to make a ballet about Mexico, I jumped at the opportunity to make that dream a reality,” Fernandez said in a statement.

“When I met with the Pineda Covalin team in Mexico City, I was thrilled that they gave me the green light to collaborate on costume and projection designs. Dreams do come true when you are surrounded with creative and generous people.”

Janessa Cornell Urwin, costume designer and ARB wardrobe shop supervisor, incorporated the Pineda Covalin prints into dresses and shirts, blending dancewear with high fashion.

“To showcase the prints as well as the choreography, I chose to create a sleek ballet aesthetic,” Urwin said. “We worked with a textile printer to custom make the fabrics before building the costumes.”

Pineda Covalin was founded in 1996. According to the company website, their aim is to share with the world “the wealth of Mexico, its traditions, cultures, and natural beauty represented on their designs.”

In addition to Mexican Music, the ARB’s “Emergence” will feature Ethan Stiefel’s Wood Work, a piece created for The Washington Ballet in 2019.

Also on the program is Amy Seiwert’s World, Interrupted, which explores resiliency, hope, exhaustion, disruption - all shared experiences related to the ongoing pandemic; and Saudade, the first commission by ARB’s Ryoko Tanaka, set to an original score by former ARB2 dancer Haley Wright.

Tickets start at $25. Student discounts are available. Visit arballet.org or call the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) ticket office at 732.745.8000.