New York International Ballet Competition.The New York International Ballet Competition celebrates its twentieth anniversary with a grand reunion of all dancers from past competitions on the weekend of June 28-29, 2003. Past participants include distinguished artists such as Jose Manuel Carreno, Maximiliano Guerra, Mikhail Ilyin, Barbora Kohoutkova, Serge Lavoie, Victoria Mazzarelli, Carlos Molina, Gillian Murphy, and Gennadi Saveliev.Ilona Copen, founder and executive director of the competition, decided twenty years ago that New York would be an ideal place for a ballet competition. "This is the dance capital of the world," said Copen. "Our format is based on a learning, growing artistic experience, and what better place than New York? The resources here are phenomenal." The competition takes place June 7-29 with the finals, open to the public, held at Alice Tully Hall The Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall that is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It was created from the donations of Alice Tully, a chamber music benefactor and patron of the arts. at Lincoln Center June 25-29. Former Kirov and American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre, one of the foremost international dance companies of the 20th cent. It was founded in 1937 as the Mordkin Ballet and reorganized as the Ballet Theatre in 1940 under the direction of Lucia Chase and Rich Pleasant. ballerina Natalia Makarova is this year's president of the jury. As has been customary in the past, a panel of prestigious international judges has been assembled: Frank Andersen, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet Royal Danish Ballet, one of the oldest major ballet companies, established at the opening of Denmark's Royal Theater in Copenhagen in 1748. The company was developed over the centuries by three great masters. ; Boris Eifman, artistic director, Eifman Ballet; Karen Kain, associate artistic director, The National Ballet of Canada National Ballet of Canada, the leading Canadian ballet company. Based in Toronto, it was founded (1951) by Celia Franca (1921–2007) and modeled on Sadler's Wells (now the Royal Ballet). ; Brigitte Lefevre, artistic director, Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opéra Ballet is the official ballet company of the Opéra national de Paris, otherwise known as the Palais Garnier, though known more popularly simply as the Paris Opéra. ; Gustavo Mollajoli, artistic director, Ballet do Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`  thĭ zhənĕē`r ; Dame Merle Park, former director, The Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a specialist, co-educational school located in premises at White Lodge, Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond; and an upper school at premises in Covent Garden. It combines a mainstream academic education with an intensive dance training. ; Zhao Ruheng, artistic director, The National Ballet of China The National Ballet of China (NBC), or the Central Ballet Troupe as known in China, headquartered in Beijing, was founded on December 31, 1959, and is the only national ballet troupe of the country. ; and Rudi van Dantzig, former artistic director, Dutch National Ballet. Former ballerina Cynthia Gregory, a past director of the competition, will be honored with a gold medal for her special achievements in dance. "She has been an extraordinary contributor to the dance world and the New York International Ballet Competition," said Copen. The format of NYIBC differs from others in that competing couples arrive in Manhattan not knowing what they will be dancing, except for one prepared solo. Each couple learns the same pieces--two classical pas de deux and a modern duet, thus allowing everyone to begin "on an equal playing field." After two weeks of coaching in each work by noted repetiteurs, the competition is narrowed to the finalists. The winners are determined by the ability of the dancers to absorb styles, in addition to their technical and artistic strengths. The New York International Ballet Competition was founded in 1983; the first competition was held in 1984, then approximately every three years thereafter. Eleanor D'Antuono is the artistic director of the competition, a position held by the late Igor Youskevitch until 1994. This year's festivities mark the seventh competition. Former American Ballet Theatre dancer Joseph Capman is a contributor to DANCE MAGAZINE, The New York Times, and The Advocate. |
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