They may not be star-crossed, and their families carry on a friendship rather than a feud, but BalletMet dancers Justin “Judd” Gibbs and Christine Mangia share their own tale of true love.

The couple will appear in BalletMet’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the Shakespearean tragedy of two star-crossed lovers with feuding families. First premiered at BalletMet in 1998, the performances May 1-4 will be the company’s first since 2002, the year Gibbs proposed to Mangia at the conclusion of the opening night performance. The couple will celebrate its fifth wedding anniversary May 24.

Mangia, a 30-year-old Columbus native, and 37-year-old Gibbs, from Sparta, Mich., took a break from dancing to share with CityScene Gibbs’ secret proposal plans, what goes into a BalletMet production, and how Ohio State and Michigan have divided their household.

CityScene: You two have known each other for more than 10 years and danced together just as long. How did you meet?
Mangia: I went to college in Dayton, at Wright State University, and he was dancing in The Dayton Ballet. While I was in college, I danced with the second company there, so I was like an extra and he was with the company. That’s where we met, but I was a little young for him at that time.
Gibbs: We started dating the year before she got her contract (with The Dayton Ballet), in the summer of ’98. I had a crush on her from the moment I saw her, but she was this young girl. We went on a tour, and that was when I finally decided that I was going to ask her out. She was 20, and I was 28, and I was like, ‘Whoa, I can’t do that.’ But it just got to the point where I couldn’t really help it. So nine days before she turned 21, we went on our first date, to Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers.

CS: You were engaged on the opening night of Romeo and Juliet in 2002; how did that happen? Was it planned, or was it a sporadic moment?
Gibbs: I definitely had it all planned. I talked to her father, of course, and he gave me the go-ahead, so for Christmas I’d gotten her a massage at a place in Easton. While she was at her massage, I went to the Diamond Cellar and I picked out her diamond … and I designed her ring. No one in the whole world knew, except her father, me, and the guy at the Diamond Cellar. In between rehearsal and the opening night of the show, I was going to go to Easton to pick up the ring, and she decides she’s going to come to Easton with me, and I couldn’t say no. I had told her I was getting a gift for my partner in Romeo and Juliet, and that I was going to go to Godiva. She went into Easton, and then I had to run to the Diamond Cellar, pay for her ring, grab it, and throw it in my coat. I got back to the car … and I was trying to act nonchalant, but I was sweating, and I was going to ask her right there. But I told myself, ‘No, you can do it. Just wait ‘til the show.’ The whole show I was sweating, freaking out. At the end of the show, the curtain came down and I started my big spiel, and she was embarrassed. And then I got down on my knee and she started shaking her head ‘no.’
Mangia: Not that I was saying ‘no,’ but I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ It was so out of the blue, I had no idea.

CS: This year marks your fifth anniversary. Is there anything special planned to commemorate the big day?
Mangia: We’re going to go to Las Vegas. We’ve never been to Vegas, so we’re going to go do that right after our anniversary. We have a cabin out in Hocking Hills that we went to on our second, third and fourth wedding anniversaries, but this year it falls on Memorial Day weekend, and that can get expensive. So for the same price, we can take a trip to Vegas for a week. And it’s our five-year, and we’re doing Romeo and Juliet again, so it makes everything special.

CS: How does your real-life passion for one another translate on stage?
Mangia: We don’t get to dance together much, which is surprising, because I think when we do dance together, we’re good because there are more real feelings there. It can make the rehearsal process a little bit tougher, but the end product is much better.
Gibbs: There was a pas de deux that we did together, and it was the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done. It was like no one else in the world existed when we did that. It was like letting people have a glimpse into your personal life.

CS: Both of you have worked with different ballet companies and both of you are entering your seventh seasons at BalletMet. What do you like most about BalletMet, and how does it differ from other companies? Mangia: It’s just more like a family here, like a whole bunch of brothers and sisters who work as one. We’re really strong as a unit, and when we have people who aren’t a part of that, you can always tell. And I love Columbus because I grew up here; my family is here. I grew up watching BalletMet perform, and now I’m in the company. It’s like home to me.
Gibbs: It’s like a family in a sense, too, that you have brothers and sisters who get mad at each other, fight and make up. It would be the best reality TV show ever. There’s so much drama, but it’s all good; it all makes us stronger as a group.

CS: Romeo and Juliet has been interpreted in many ways over many years. How will BalletMet’s rendition this year differ from other companies’ performances?
Gibbs: There are so many different versions of Romeo and Juliet, nobody does the same thing. Basically, it’s the choreographer that makes the difference. This is David Nixon’s interpretation – his is very pizzazz-y, very showy.
Mangia: David’s has a little bit more of a contemporary take on it. It will be different than the performances that we did before, little things here and there.

CS: What are some things audience members may not know about what goes into a BalletMet production?
Mangia: The audience can’t really imagine how much work we do before we go out on stage, how many hours we actually spend learning stuff, or how many mistakes are made before we get to the product they see. There are so many versions. What the audience is seeing on stage has been changed so many times.
Gibbs: People think, ‘Oh, you jump around all day?’ Every time there’s a change, you have to remember it and fight your body against what it did last time. That’s the worst part of our job. It’s all the brain work that kills you. And (a performance) can be different every time. You have to learn to work around and with mistakes. That’s what keeps theater alive. People come to live theater to see you mess up; otherwise, they’d go to a movie.

CS: Besides dancing, what are some other interests or passions you share? What are some issues that divide you?
Gibbs: We have a total clash in music. I was a punk rocker from the ‘80s –
Mangia: And I was listening to Tiffany and Debby Gibson. We just have different tastes when it comes to what we listen to.
Gibbs: Also, she’s an Ohio State fan and I’m for Michigan, which is funny, because I was never a Michigan fan until I moved to Ohio. We’re a house divided. But she’s my best friend, so we can do nothing, or we can run around and do all kinds of things. For me, it doesn’t really matter. No matter where we go or what we do, we have a good time. As long as we’re together, everything’s cool.

Liza Martin is assistant editor for CityScene.