64 replies to this topic

[mom2]

Thank you for sharing that link!  I see a dancer we know from Canada is listed as an apprentice!!

m2

[tmdcfdeRCB]

drb, on May 1 2007, 04:39 PM, said:

saraclara, on May 1 2007, 03:12 PM, said:

Was this young man Jim Nowakowski from Rochester City Ballet?  He is a fantastic performer and a very nice person who truly deserved the accolades he received.

With the MC garbling a multisyllable name and his voice being covered by hysterical screams and cheers...
So I googled that name and found articles including photos.  That's the guy!

Yes, indeed, that was Jim Nowakowski - he was trained here at the Timothy Draper Center for Dance Education in Rochester, NY and was a member of the Rochester City Ballet for the past several years while attending high school.  He has received a contract to dance with the corps of the Houston Ballet and is looking forward to a bright career.  He is amazingly talented, yet quite humble and extremely dedicated to his art form.  I am privileged to have seen him dance often, and will miss him now that he's off in Texas.  He also danced with Brittany Shinay (duet Symbion) in Spoleto, Italy at that dance festival there this summer!

[Memo]

Anyone have any insight as to why ABT is all of sudden seems to be being turned down by the YAGP winners.  Does ABT need to be offering a company contract.  Has the standard become that high?  Seems that neither winner took up the ABT studio company this year.  

[support system]

I believe that a young dancer, when faced with the choice to be a full company member in one great company as opposed to being a second company member in another great company will opt for the guaranteed job. This appears to be what has happened.

[jims mom]

drb, on Aug 7 2007, 06:41 PM, said:

Good news for some YAGP winners.  Men's Gold winner, the sensational Jim Nowakowski, has joined the corps at Houston ballet, as has Aria Alekzander, a finalist from the previous year (by way of ABT's Studio Company).
http://www.myspace.com/houstonballet
(By the way, if you Google his full name, you will find a link to a YT video of what seems to be a high school solo of a martial-arts influenced, yet still somewhat classical, piece.  Very well received by the enthusiastic student audience!)

Under the Royal Ballet's Ansanelli...Promotions thread, you'll find a link that lists two more YAGPers as new Artists:  This year's GP winner Melissa Hamilton and last year's, Sergiy Polunin.

I wanted to let everyone know that the YouTube video of Jim is NOT a high school performance. It was taped by a friend during a performance at the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts in Miami this past January. You can find info on the program (which is for high school seniors in ANY art form) at http://www.nfaa.org/. The video is a private piece, therefore it is a legal posting.

Enjoy!