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bhough

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  1. I attended this competition last year with my daughter and determined at that time to never return because of the disorganization, which caused undue stress to the competitors, coaches and parents. From your description, Victoria, it sounds as if things were even more chaotic this year than last year. It's a shame, because it could be a nice opportunity for students. Even though recreational competitions are not advocated here, I will say this for them - they are highly organized, you can understand the announcers, the rules do not change and the rules apply to EVERYONE. The organizers of Youth Grand Prix could learn alot about this business of showcasing talent in the form of a competition from some of these other events. Frankly, after last year and the problems we saw, I am surprised that they are still attracting competitors. The only conclusion I can come to is that people are not familiar with what a well organized competition can be like, so they put up with the confusion and delays.:confused: We are currently involved with the USAIBC and so far they have been HIGHLY organized and I feel a certain comfort level already about my daughter's participation in this event.
  2. I am glad that someone has finally spoken up about the good things that can come from a "competition" school. I, too, have been involved with an excellent school - ballet taught by accredited Russian teachers, top quality contemporary classes. However, I think that there are probably more "not so good" competition schools than schools with excellent training. Also, this school very rarely sacrifices class time for rehearsal time and if it does, it is never done with a ballet class. My daughter, who as been accepted to compete in Jackson and has attended a pre-professional ballet school for four years, has had the best of both worlds. At "ballet" school she spends most of her time strenthening technique and learning repertoire for in school recitals. At her "competition" studio, she learned other forms of dance, learned to dance in an ensemble (a skill sorely lacking amongst many ballet students, IMO) and learned to project her artistry on stage as a soloist. She has had many more opportunities to perform in public with her competition studio. I am fully aware of the drawbacks to these competitions, but there are benefits as well. Many of the students who are participating in these will become the audience of the future. Many students who take dance don't like ballet because it is so difficult, but they certainly can appreciate the beauty and skill of someone performing it with a high level of proficiency. Okay, I will now get off my soap box.
  3. I am finding this discussion quite interesting, as I have been experiencing the mostly painful process of company auditions. It seems almost impossible to demonstrate your "personality" at the typical audition, when bar work and combinations are what the auditioners are looking at. That seems to be what gets you the initial acceptance into a company and then they work on personality. It seems as if much of this mystical "personality" comes from within the artist themselves, however, and it is a shame that they aren't hiring personality with the potential to improve technique (and I am speaking in terms of a high level of technique). I would much rather watch an "artist" with some technical flaws then a "technician" with artistic flaws. After all, isn't this what dance, and ballet in particular, is all about?
  4. I am finding this discussion quite interesting, as I have been experiencing the mostly painful process of company auditions. It seems almost impossible to demonstrate your "personality" at the typical audition, when bar work and combinations are what the auditioners are looking at. That seems to be what gets you the initial acceptance into a company and then they work on personality. It seems as if much of this mystical "personality" comes from within the artist themselves, however, and it is a shame that they aren't hiring personality with the potential to improve technique (and I am speaking in terms of a high level of technique). I would much rather watch an "artist" with some technical flaws then a "technician" with artistic flaws. After all, isn't this what dance, and ballet in particular, is all about?
  5. Good News! Your friend is on the list for this competition. Congratulations to him as well.
  6. Competitors were notified by e-mail (if they have e-mail) today. I have not checked the web site yet, but if you have a particular person you want me to look up for you, I can. My daughter is one of the competitors, which is why I have the list :
  7. Matt Golding is a student at the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC. Another competitor, Hyo Jung Kang, representing Korea, is also a student at the Kirov Academy.
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