New York International Ballet Competition 2003 - Round III, "La Bayadère", Pas de Deux from the "Kingdom of the Shades"

Founder/Executive Director - Ilona Copen
Artistic Director - Eleanor D'Antuono

Music by Ludwig Minkus
Choreography by Marius Patipa
Coached and Staged by Martine van Hamel
Lighting design by Jeff Fontaine
Costume Sketches by Natalie Garfinkle

Presented at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center

Robert Abrams
June 28, 2003

This round of the New York International Ballet Competition featured ten couples dancing the same section from La Bayadère. The dancers were Caitlin Valentine and Eddy Tovar, Laura Kleinke and David Hovhannisyan, Violeta Angelova and Alexei Agoudine, Susanne Grinder and Kristoffer Sakurai, Kathleen Breen Combes and Jonathan Jordan, Yuki Sento and Takuma Oshiba, Victoria Jaiani and Temur Suluashvili, Erica de la O and Kenta Shimizu, Saori Nagata and Ogulcan Borova, and Ludmila Pagliero and Cesar Morales.

The New York International Ballet Competition is different from other competitions I have seen (such as the Youth America Grand Prix), in that all of the dancers dance as couples, although they are judged individually. This is in contrast to ballroom competitions where dancers dance as couples and are judged as couples.

The dancers were all wonderful. There were nicely done leap circles, fast sections with surefooted confidence, and impressive spinning, including one that almost looked like a bicycle kick in the horizontal plane. The dancers showed passion and poise. Several dancers had an exemplary attack. They made good use of the section where they dance with a long cloth connecting the two dancers (which looked a little like a similar section in the Ramayana). The style of this section resembled rhythmic gymnastics. Some dancers would do well to show a little more emotion as they dance, and there were moments with a little shaking as they stood still with one foot raised high in the air, but these were minor concerns. All of the dancers received enthusiastic applause from the entire audience, not just their own supporters. The applause was deserved.

Photo courtesy of Roberta Zlokower

More NYIBC Articles NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION - Round I (Two Nights) - 6/26/2003 - by Roberta E. Zlokower. - Article sponsored by Danskin. The 7th New York International Ballet Competition - A Look into the Future of Ballet - 6/27/2003 - by Mila Gorokhovich. - Article sponsored by Danskin. New York International Ballet Competition 2003 - Round III, "La Bayadère", Pas de Deux from the "Kingdom of the Shades" - 6/28/2003 - by Robert Abrams. - Article sponsored by Danskin. NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION - AWARDS CEREMONY/GALA PERFORMANCE - 6/29/2003 - by Roberta E. Zlokower. - Article sponsored by Danskin. New York International Ballet Competition - Candids - 6/29/2003 - by Roberta E. Zlokower. - Article sponsored by Danskin.