| Biography |
Inspired forever by Jane Goodall…
Isabella Addison Perrone (age 15)
Founder & Principal, en pointe bels,
a 501(c)(3) & IRS-designated public charity;
isabella@enpointebels.org;
give beautifully to the planet;
give beautifully to the stage
giving time & talent, dance & stage clothes,
shoes & accessories, costumes & more
to arts education
Related Links:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMTAYwOPqBJ/
https://www.instagram.com/dccollaborative/reel/DCzympshQU9/
https://api.neonemails.com/emails/content/e-OXIgrMoGiLCfOdwxUp9enri0eLiWt6GmUrGRsa4rM=
https://api.neonemails.com/emails/content/YNKbenIqwrhj3MyGh12sB3Cc5-H6BXGjFK97I_XonCE=
https://www.actorsguild.org/the-eaglet/archives/05-2025 (page 3)
https://www.guidestar.org/profile/99-1990280
https://ridgewoodartsfoundation.org/grants/scholarships/internship (2024)
https://www.facebook.com/ridgewoodartsfoundation/posts/watch-this-space-as-we-announce-the-talented-performers-who-will-appear-at-our-2/947660467483289/
https://www.facebook.com/rootsandshoots/posts/this-roots-shoots-group-in-ridgewood-nj-is-helping-kids-dance-their-way-to-succe/1363122935377393/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQrzAyzgRaD/
https://www.facebook.com/CarsonScholarsFund/posts/honoring-dr-jane-goodall-and-the-power-of-youth-making-a-difference-carson-schol/1257957789693561/
https://carsonscholars.org/blog/2025-carson-scholar-showcase-highlights-innovation-and-impact/ (Maryland)
Academic Highlights:
Carson Scholar, 2025
Ridgewood High School High Honors Student
American Studies: Cohort of 2025–2028
Member of Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY): qualifying SAT score, 11 years-old: eligible for all CTY Math & all CTY Advanced Literacy, Humanities, and Science Courses; enjoyed her semester-long CTY Advanced Grammar Writing Class
Coolidge Presidential Foundation Club Member & Friend of Mellon Foundation
Isabella Addison Perrone hails from Ridgewood, New Jersey and is a sophomore at Ridgewood High School. After singing at the NYC Off-Broadway Five Angels Theater of The 52nd Street Project, a nonprofit providing free theatre programming for the children of Hell’s Kitchen, Isabella began donating costumes to The 52nd Street Project in the hopes of supporting equity in arts education. At the age of thirteen, she founded and registered en pointe bels (epb) as a 501(c)(3). She collects and personally drops off new and gently used costumes and rehearsal wardrobes to NYC and DC nonprofits who share them with kids who enjoy them. She is the youngest member of Americans for the Arts, a DC nonprofit working with Congress to support artists and arts education, and her public charity is based on her belief that every kid deserves a chance: “I aspire to help the theatre and dance community as much as I can with the support of my fellow NYC nonprofits: Harlem School of the Arts, Rosie’s Theater Kids, Tada! Youth Theater, and now my fellow DC nonprofits: DC Collaborative, Sitar Arts Center, and Bread for the City. As a dancer and theatre enthusiast myself, I can relate to the children who want to grow in their field. My goal is to make the playing field for all kids more even. It is very unfair for extremely talented kids in the city, who may not have the resources to join theatre groups or dance classes, to not be able to grow in their field. In my perspective, it’s all about kids helping kids.”
On June 20, 2024, she completed her first official “dropoff,” dressing 209 NYC students from The 52nd Street Project, Harlem School of the Arts, and Rosie’s Theater Kids for the stage. During the weekend of November 7–8, 2024, she completed her first official DC dropoff, dressing 74 DC students for the stage, dozens of whom she met during Meet and Greets with two Washington DC Public Elementary Schools through DC Collaborative. During this trip, she also had the privilege of donating dance and theatre clothing to Sitar Arts Center and Hip Hop clothing and shoes to Bread for the City, all while touring both inspirational facilities to explore future partnering opportunities, and on April 5, 2025, she dropped off 59 items to NYC’s Harlem School of the Arts, Rosie’s Theater Kids, and TADA! Youth Theater. As of her November 2025 service trips to DC, she has dressed 628 children in NYC and DC for the stage. She is currently planning her 2026 trips to NYC and DC with the directors of her DC nonprofit partner organizations.
Her social justice work has been recognized by The Congressional Award Program, from whom she has received her Bronze, Silver, and Gold Certificate Awards, her Bronze and Silver Medals for her work in the youth arts education sector, and a Citation from Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ) for “outstanding initiatives in dance, theatre, and the arts” (February 7, 2025), as well as The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), from whom she has received a Gold Medallion and Certificate (Teen Level) and White House Citation from the President (2024). Her public charity has been granted official PVSA certifying status by Points of Light and has certified 589 service hours for other students who contribute to the betterment of their communities. Now that PVSA is paused, epb is an official Certifying Organization for the National Service Honor (NSH), an honor Isabella received this November (NSH Gold, Youth). Isabella has been honored with an Americans for the Arts Organizational Member Grant (DC, June 2024), a Ridgewood Arts Foundation $100 Individual Artist Scholarship (NJ, November 2024), NYC’s The Episcopal Actors’ Guild 2024 Claire Strakosch Scholarship for Performance and Arts Activism, a $1,500 award—the first of its kind to go to a student not yet in college— towards her performing arts training (NYC, November 2024), and one of two auditioned $1,ooo National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) scholarships in Performing Arts, Dance (Atlanta, November 2025). She has been asked to share her story with Points of Light, The President’s Volunteer Service Award, The Congressional Award Program, Americans for the Arts, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) social media channels, and Scholastic Kids Press. The fifteen-year-old is currently growing a chapter of en pointe bels at Ridgewood High School. Within her public high school, she looks forward to furthering arts education equity and approving others’ NSH hours as they support their communities.
An Advanced Writing Student at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and Soloist within Kolotov Youth Ballet Company, Isabella is eternally grateful for these nonprofits, as well as Jennifer Johns’s Broadway Artists Alliance (BAA), where she is a Voice Major and Vocal Soloist in the “BAA Presents Broadway’s Next Generation! Youth Cast” at NYC’s Don’t Tell Mama, and BAA’s neighbor, The Episcopal Actors’ Guild (EAG), where she is a member who will continue to train under Peter Berg during EAG Actors Nights this summer. She recognizes the invaluable mentorship of Juilliard-trained Master Teacher Steven Schnurman; Vaganova Mistress and Master of Stage Arina and Konstantin Kolotov and her pre-ballet students who teach her how much fun it is to lead; Broadway Artist Alliance’s Amanda Fawell and Emma Kate Lampe; Broadway Dance Center’s Allie Beach and her Hip Hop Summer Intensive; the talented Kenny Bernisky, who always believed in her; and Racefaster’s Coaches Aidan Walsh and Rob Albano, who had motivated her during middle school to keep pushing her limits and inspiring other younger competitive racers as she fulfilled her role of Assistant Coach within their summer program. These individuals and organizations, in addition to the support of the Offices of Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ) and Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), have shaped her performing arts education and the trajectory of her own nonprofit service.
Isabella is honored and humbled to be a part of Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots and continues to look to Jane Goodall’s legacy as a guide for her service work. She thanks Roots & Shoots for their generous grant towards her service work.
Performing Arts Resume and Academic & Service Resume available upon request
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