10/25/2026
Remembering Miss Pat Brown
It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Miss Pat Brown, our dear teacher, colleague, and friend. For many years, Pat stood at the front of our studios and gave class to the dancers of Roxey Ballet and the students of the Mill Ballet School. Those who were lucky enough to take her class know that she gave far more than steps. She gave us her standards, her musicality, her humor, and her unwavering belief that every dancer at the barre was worth her full attention.
Pat's love of ballet began right here in New Jersey, where she trained as a young girl at the New Jersey Ballet School. Her talent was clear early on, and as a teenager she earned full scholarships to both the American Ballet Theatre School and the Joffrey Ballet School. She went on to dance professionally with the New Jersey Ballet Company, Joffrey II, Cleveland Ballet as a soloist, Eliot Feld Ballet, and The Joffrey Ballet as a soloist. Along the way she worked with some of the great artists of the twentieth century, including Agnes de Mille, Antony Tudor, Gerald Arpino, Eliot Feld, Paul Taylor, Laura Dean, and Dennis Nahat. She carried their lessons with her for the rest of her life and passed them on, generously, to everyone she taught.
When Pat turned her gifts toward teaching, she became the kind of teacher dancers remember forever. She led trainee programs at the Milwaukee Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, Harrisburg Ballet School, Nashville Ballet School, The Dance Center, and our own Mill Ballet School. She gave company class for Joffrey II, Eliot Feld Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Harrisburg Ballet, Brandyw**e Ballet Theatre, and Roxey Ballet, and served as Ballet Mistress for the Pennsylvania Ballet. She also choreographed works for the Joffrey Ballet and Milwaukee Ballet workshops, Harrisburg Ballet, Brandyw**e Ballet Theatre, Roxey Ballet, and the international competition at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Even in recent years, her passion never slowed. She was invited to join the faculty of the Joffrey School in New York City and made the weekly trip to teach there, because the studio was where she belonged.
We will miss her voice, her sharp eye, and the quiet moment of pride when a dancer finally got it right. Her legacy lives on in every dancer she shaped, and in every student those dancers will one day teach.
Our hearts are with Pat's family and loved ones. Thank you, Miss Pat, for everything you gave us and the thousands of dancers you have given you art, love and kindness.
