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15th Annual Miami city Ballet School Student Workshop.


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On Saturday i went to the Miami City Ballet 15 th Annual Student Showcase Performance. The program was held at the the MCB studios, which was packed. I came in a little late, rushing like a maniac-(as usual, after work)-lights already down, and as seats were'nt assigned (first come first serve), i spotted an empty seat right in first row, facing the seat-leveled scenario. I sat in there, and when i looked next to me, Surprise!, my neightbors are Eddie and Linda Villela. I said hi, and asked them if the seat was reserved for a friend or something. Eddie, very nicely, told me "No, no, please stay, it's ok!"...(what a shame i didn't bring his autobiography, which i'm reading at the moment).

So the program went on as follows:

Allegro Brillante. Balanchine/Tchaikowsky.

Yoalli Sousa Sanchez/Alexander Mitiaev.

Students of MCBS.

Coppelia variation. Petipa/Delibes.

Franz: Eric Paz

Sleeping Beauty variation. Petipa/Tchaikowsky.

Princess Florine: Madison McDonough

Flames of Paris variation.Vainonen/Asafiev.

Mireille de Poitiers: Natalie Jimenez.

Pas de Deux. Lapshin/Tchaikowsky.

Corps of Ballet.

Come and Get it. Maldonado/Madonna.

Aura BArriga, cloe eiber, natalie Jimenez, Madison McDonough, Eric Paz, alexandra Trujillo.

Big in Japan. Malm/Waits.

Students of MCBS

INTERMISSION

Flower Festival at Genzano.Vodolaga/Paulli

Students of MCBS

Les Sylphides. Vodolaga/ Chopin.

Students of MCBS.

Swan Lake Act I "Pas de Trois". Vodolaga/Tchaikowsky.

Students of MCBS.

La Bayadere Act III "Three Shades Vals". Vodolaga/ Minkus.

Students of MCBS.

Le Corsaire excerpts. Petipa/Pugni.

Renana Cerdeiro, Tegan Rich, Alexander Ferreira, Keryn Breiterman, Stephanie Burkin, Natalie Arja, Alexandra Mller, Danyla Bezzara, Melanie Kunes, Stephanie Silva.

Adv. Jazz Piece. Maldonado/Brittney Spears.

Students of MCBS.

INTERMISSION.

AURORA'S WEDDING. Petipa/ Tchaikowsky.

Aurora: Gabriela Gonzalez.

Desire: Aoi Anraku.

Lilac Fairy: Carolina Rendon

Finger Fairy: Carling Talcott

Canary Fairy: elizabeth Sykes.

Slow Fairy: Suzette Logue.

Jumping Fairy: Jessica Wright.

Bluebird: Jacob Hoover.

Princess florine: Nicole Stalker.

Pus'n'boots: Nicholas de la Vega.

The Cat:Yoalli Sousa.

Red Riding Hood: Melissa Bosomworth.

The Wolf: Rysoukie kikhushi

Corps de Ballet.

What a beautiful night. Everyone was so excited. Parents were there in the audience, as well as fellow students, who were screaming and whistling at their piers with great enthusiasm. From time to time, Eddie would mumble "Amazing!", and he and Linda were looking at each other with such proud faces. They were really enjoying the spectacle. Among all the performances, i specially want to highlight George Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante”- (another first timer for me!)-, which opened the program; Yoalli Sousa and Alexander Mitiaev danced the principal couple, bringing a nonstoping motion flowing throughout the piece; they were beautiful to watch, and i hope to see more of their dancing in the future. (I think they're ready to be in the Company).

Le Corsaire Excerpts was also a display of the row bravura these kids are fully infatuated with. They interchanged the roles along the piece, so right now i can't remember who was the girl who did the fouettes at the PDD coda. Well, still, they all did a great job, so that's why i wrote all their names. Hey girl , if you were the one who did those tricks, keep the good work going!. :P

And then, dessert. "Aurora's Wedding". Wow. What can i say, if my friends and i all decided by unanimity that they did a better job on this piece than the company itself!. This is true, i'm not kidding. The fairies, Lilac, the characters variations, the PDD, EVERYTHING was done with such happiness and pleasure, that the air was flowing with excitement. Gabriela Gonzalez and Aoi Anraku (which i just saw last night walking on Lincoln Road and stopped to congratulate them) were superb on the roles, and all the technical tricks were accomplished without problems, even those 3 dreadful fish dives. Florine (Nicole Stalker) and the Bluebird (Jacob Hoover)were also great, the last one doing the right ammount of brisses voles, which delighted the audience. And finally, all the characters variations with no awkward stuff going on, Red Riding Hood and the wolf (Melissa Bosomworth/Rysoukie Kikhushi) and Pus'n'boots and the cat (Nicholas de la Vega/Yoalli Sousa) not being cut off, as in the majority of the productions (Thank you!). Lilac, Caroline Redon, did her job beautifully, giving a sense of closure to the whole production, as she'is supposed to do. Kuddos to the King and Queen . They looked regal and dignified, and specially to the Cannari qui chante fairy, Elizabeth Sykes, very cute and light while dancing her variation.

Well, again, my congrats to Eddie, Chairman of the School Faculty, and specially to Linda Villella, the School Director. By the end of the Performance, as they were leaving, they couldn't hide their happiness and enjoyment. Same here.

Bravo! :clapping:

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Thanks for that report, Cristian. I'm astounded at how much they packed into this program. And it's good to know that the students danced it so thrillingly. There are advantages to being in a company school, especially the chance to absorb lessons in stagecraft from professionals, many of whom are not all that much older than the advanced students.

Having had a chance to see Aurora's Wedding earlier this year must have helped, too. I assume they did this without the full elaborate decor of the company's productdion. Maybe greater simplicity -- and less crowding -- made it possible to enjoy the dancing more???

I'm printing out your cast list so that I can look for some of these dancers in the future when they join MCB and other companies.

Incidentally, the other four couples in Allegro Brillante have so much in the way of challenging dancing to do. Did you manage to get their names?

One more thing: you have to love a dance program that features Tchaikosvsky ... finds a place for Chopin -- slides down the slope to relliable old Minkus and Pugni -- but is not afraid to take a chance on Madonna and .... :P Britney Spears!!! These kids are being prepared for everything!

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Thanks for that report, Cristian. I'm astounded at how much they packed into this program. And it's good to know that the students danced it so thrillingly. There are advantages to being in a company school, especially the chance to absorb lessons in stagecraft from professionals, many of whom are not all that much older than the advanced students.

bart, some of the kids were really little, 7, 8 y.o..really cute

Having had a chance to see Aurora's Wedding earlier this year must have helped, too. I assume they did this without the full elaborate decor of the company's productdion. Maybe greater simplicity -- and less crowding -- made it possible to enjoy the dancing more???

They just used the thrones, a simple backdrop and lots of space for the dancing. Just perfect. (Please companies out there...take note!)

I'm printing out your cast list so that I can look for some of these dancers in the future when they join MCB and other companies.

I suggest to watch for Alexander Mitiaev and Yoalli Sousa (leading couple in "Allegro Brillante", particularly Mitiaev, along with Gabriela Gonzalez and Aoi Anraku (Aurora/Desire), particularly Anraku.

Incidentally, the other four couples in Allegro Brillante have so much in the way of challenging dancing to do. Did you manage to get their names?

Sure i did, Mr. bart. Here they are:

Sarah Hochman/Nicholas de la Vega

Lauren Lane/Jacob Hoover

Carolina Rendon/Pablo Papacostas

Carling Talcott/Jesus Rodriguez

One more thing: you have to love a dance program that features Tchaikosvsky ... finds a place for Chopin -- slides down the slope to relliable old Minkus and Pugni -- but is not afraid to take a chance on Madonna and .... :P Britney Spears!!! These kids are being prepared for everything!

bart, some of the pieces, like Sylphides, Pas de Trois from SL and La Bayadere Valse didn't use the original choreography. The choregrapher Yury Vodolaga just used the music and recreated it with his own stuff, mainly for the youngest members of the school.

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