Varna 1965 gold medals

[delibes]

From the Jhones thread, we have found at least four female gold medallists in Varna 1965: Loipa Araujo, Natalia Bessmertnova, Natalia Makarova and Martine van Hamel. I know nothing about competitions and am confused. Is there an explanation for the multiple gold medals? Thanks.

[Mme. Hermine]

i don't know about that particular instance, but they often give more than one of a medal in these competitions.

[Mel Johnson]

And in 1965, Varna was just out of the gestational stage. They were still finding their ways in the ways of ballet professional competitions.

[cubanmiamiboy]

And in 1965, Varna was just out of the gestational stage. They were still finding their ways in the ways of ballet professional competitions.

Are they still giving multiple medals in Varna nowadays, or is just only one gold, silver and bronze for each category...? (BTW, thank you Delibes for opening a new thread for this topic...)

[delibes]

And in 1965, Varna was just out of the gestational stage. They were still finding their ways in the ways of ballet professional competitions.

According to the Varna-ibc website, when they started in 1964 they were the first professional ballet competition in the world - Moscow, Paris etc all followed after their example. There seems to have been senior and junior sections from the start, but as the gold medal women we know about were all born about the same time, it looks as if at least 4 golds were awarded in the senior section, which I find (as I say, I am ignorant) confusing. Other years, including the 1st year when Vasiliev and Sizova won, they seem to have had only one for each sex if you go googling about. There is no list of prizewinners on the site, but there is apparently a book about Varna by John Gregory. Does anyone have the book with the explanation? Otherwise, I find myself wondering if ballerinas have remembered their careers correctly. It says by the way that only one Grand Prix has ever been awarded, which was to Vladimir Vasiliev in year 1. So Baryshnikov, Ananiashvili, Makarova, Guillem, Platel, did not quite cut it to the Grand Prix in their years. Is Varna still the 'best' competition? How do they all stack up?

[bart]

Thanks, delibes, for that research -- and for those very interesting questions. (Refeences to competition awards are so common in dancer bios nowadays that it would really be useful to know the answers.)

We have a number of members who follow the international competitions. What can you tell us about Varna?

[drb]

... There is no list of prizewinners on the site, but there is apparently a book about Varna by John Gregory. Does anyone have the book with the explanation? Otherwise, I find myself wondering if ballerinas have remembered their careers correctly.

I dug out the book from deep down in a pile, and thank you for reminding me of it. Extraordinary photos!

1964: Galina Ulanova chaired the Jury and there were 46 competitors. Vasiliev was judged to be clearly above all others, hence the Grand Prix.

Gold Medals: Sizova, Maximova, Kirova were the women; Vikulov and Dolgushin the men.

Siver Medals: Koldamova, Bogoeva, Popa, Sabirova, Drotnerova, Pla; Burkhanov, Wiselowski, Forgacz, Stefansky.

Bronz Medals: Trayanova, Kerkesi, Mendez; Lazarov, Damyanov, Rodriquez, Gessler.

1965:

Gold Medals: Makarova, Bessmertnova, Araujo; Lavrosky, Tikhonov.

Silver Medals: Bosch, Mendez; Assaulyak.

Bronz Medals: Shliamova, Ilieva, Kaszasi; Bundavary, Nagy.

Junior Awards were not given until the third Varna, in 1966. In that year Martine van Hamel received a Junior First Class Distinction, what would now be Junior Gold. Others were Baryshnikov, Vtorushina and Stefanescu.

[delibes]

Thanks indeed, drb, for your trouble. Most illuminating. It is clear that "the gold medal" at Varna should generally be read as "a gold medal". Also Martine van Hamel was 21 when she won a 'junior' gold in 1966, which is not very young. When I heard Ivan Vasiliev won the last Varna junior section at 17, I assumed 'junior' meant pre-company level. It is another world.

[cubanmiamiboy]

Junior Awards were not given until the third Varna, in 1966. In that year Martine van Hamel received a Junior First Class Distinction, what would now be Junior Gold. Others were Baryshnikov, Vtorushina and Stefanescu.

thank you drb for your research! There seems to be lots of discrepancies around online on this type of information. I believed that Van Hamel's gold medal had been in 1965, as the "Ballerina Gallery" website states...

http://www.ballerinagallery.com/hamel.htm

glad to have that clear.

[drb]

... There seems to be lots of discrepancies around online on this type of information. I believed that Van Hamel's gold medal had been in 1965, as the "Ballerina Gallery" website states...

The gallery gives her birth year as 1945 (November), as does virtually every other reference I could find on the web, which would mean she was 20 when she won the 1966 award. But the book says she was born in 1949! So one can't say the book is 100% reliable. However, in 1975 Ms. van Hamel hosted a film on the 1966 competition:

http://www.catarchive.com/detailPages/750126.html

...In 1966 the Bulgarian spa of Varna, the “Miami Beach of the Black Sea” held the “Third International Ballet Competition”, at which extraordinary talent both known and new competed before an audience of tourists and critics.... All eyes were on the gold medal for best young male soloist, which was won by the teenaged Mikhail Baryshnikov. In this film, hosted by Martine Van Hamel, principle dancer of the American Ballet Theater, we see excerpts from his winning performance, and also from the following:

Martine Van Hamel in “Solitaire” (choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan); Marin Stefanescu in “Le Corsair”; Marta Dropnerova & Geromir Petric in “Legend of Love” (choreographed by Yuri Grigorovitch, director of the Bolshoi Ballet); Aurora Bosch of Alicia Alonzo’s Ballet Nacional de Cuba dances from “Coppelia”; Gariella Komleva in the “scarf dance” from “La Bayadere”; Baryshnikov and Olga Vtorushina in a duet from “Le Corsair”; and Nina Sorokina & Yuri Vladimiroff from the Bolshoi dancing the “blue bird pas de deux” from “Sleeping Beauty.” 1975.

Does anyone know whether this film has made its way onto DVD?

[carbro]

The gallery gives her birth year as 1945 (November), as does virtually every other reference I could find on the web, which would mean she was 20 when she won the 1966 award. But the book says she was born in 1949! So one can't say the book is 100% reliable.

I doubt the 1949 date. 1945 puts her age within a year or so of Cynthia Gregory; 1949 one year or so older than Merrill Ashley.