Dancers Abigail Simon and Roddy Doble, entrants in the 2007 event, rehearsing. Doble is now in American Ballet Theatre and will be a guest on the Awards Ceremony/Gala Performance that concludes this year’s event. / Photo by Whitney Browne
They are the aspiring youngsters who dream of making it to the major stages such as those where American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet have been performing this spring. A few blocks south of Lincoln Center, the 48 entrants in the New York International Ballet Competition will strut their stuff over five evenings at the Rose Theater, as judges scrutinize their every pirouette and bourrée, winnowing down their ranks until the final gala Sunday evening, when the medals are awarded.
NYIBC was launched 25 years ago by Ilona Copen, who remains its executive director, with the revered ballet star Igor Youskevitch as its original artistic director. Originally, the competition, an impressive undertaking in terms of logistic and financial support, was held every three years, but since 2003 it has taken place every other year, and this is the event’s 10th incarnation. Eleanor D’Antuono, an ABT principal dancer in the 1970s, is now artistic director, and a new recruit this year is director Richard Chen See, who recently concluded 15 years as a leading member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
A distinguishing aspect of the event is that the 24 pairs of dancers (they must apply and arrive as a duo) only learn the three pas de deux they will perform once they arrive in New York. They do not even know which pieces will be chosen until they get here, and then they spend two intensive weeks being taught and coached by experts in the various choreographic styles. The learning experience is stressed as much as the striving for awards. Often, the dancers (who come from 17 different nations) are introduced to repertory they might have not previously performed at all, so they must arrive ready to expand their artistic horizons.
“This week, each pair has private coaching sessions, which is an amazing accomplishment for the competition to be able to do that,” D’Antuono remarks as she moves from studio to studio, observing the dancers’ progress during their second week of preparation. She comments on how much a particular dancer had developed during her time at the competition, and explains that one Estonian male dancer entered for a second time because he found NYIBC such an invaluable learning experience.
In one studio, former Paul Taylor dancer Rachel Berman observes two tall dancers from Argentina make three attempts at the duet from Taylor’s Aureole, offering gentle suggestions after each run through. The more weighted, modern dance choreography is not familiar territory to ballet dancers, and Berman has to remind them to be more grounded.
Next door, tutus are part of the motley practice outfits, as the ultra-classical Raymonda pas de deux is being coached by former ABT ballerina Cynthia Gregory. She danced the title role in ABT’s production of this 19th-century ballet alongside Rudolf Nureyev, so she knows its stylistic flourishes and musical intricacies intimately. D’Antuono, who also danced the ballet with Nureyev, joins her at the front of the studio as a spirited pair of Brazilian dancers run through the demanding choreography.
In yet another studio, the Paquita pas de deux—another celebrated excerpt from a 19th-century Russian classic, this one with a Spanish flavor—is testing the dancers, who must toss of multiple pirouettes and other bravura feats. Winthrop Corey, a principal dancer with Canadian ballet troupes and now director of the Mobile Ballet, watches as a Philippine pair runs through it, followed by an American duo.
This week, all the studying and preparation must be put to good use as an international panel of judges (including the recently-retired virtuoso Julio Bocca and directors of major companies) arrive, and every wobbly pirouette, heavy landing or inability to convey the musical impetus can lead to elimination. All 24 couples perform Raymonda on Wednesday and Thursday, but by Friday (when the dancers perform Aureole as well as individually chosen solos) some will be gone, with further cuts after the second and third rounds.
In 1987, José Manuel Carreño, a young Cuban dancer, made it all the way through and won the gold medal at the second NYIBC. Today, he is a celebrated principal dancer with ABT, performing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera House. This week, 48 young hopefuls will dream of launching themselves along a similar path.
> New York International Ballet Competition
June 24-28, Rose Theater, 5th floor, Time Warner Center, Broadway at W. 60th St., 212-721-6500; times vary, $27.50-$70
NYIBC was launched 25 years ago by Ilona Copen, who remains its executive director, with the revered ballet star Igor Youskevitch as its original artistic director. Originally, the competition, an impressive undertaking in terms of logistic and financial support, was held every three years, but since 2003 it has taken place every other year, and this is the event’s 10th incarnation. Eleanor D’Antuono, an ABT principal dancer in the 1970s, is now artistic director, and a new recruit this year is director Richard Chen See, who recently concluded 15 years as a leading member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
A distinguishing aspect of the event is that the 24 pairs of dancers (they must apply and arrive as a duo) only learn the three pas de deux they will perform once they arrive in New York. They do not even know which pieces will be chosen until they get here, and then they spend two intensive weeks being taught and coached by experts in the various choreographic styles. The learning experience is stressed as much as the striving for awards. Often, the dancers (who come from 17 different nations) are introduced to repertory they might have not previously performed at all, so they must arrive ready to expand their artistic horizons.
“This week, each pair has private coaching sessions, which is an amazing accomplishment for the competition to be able to do that,” D’Antuono remarks as she moves from studio to studio, observing the dancers’ progress during their second week of preparation. She comments on how much a particular dancer had developed during her time at the competition, and explains that one Estonian male dancer entered for a second time because he found NYIBC such an invaluable learning experience.
In one studio, former Paul Taylor dancer Rachel Berman observes two tall dancers from Argentina make three attempts at the duet from Taylor’s Aureole, offering gentle suggestions after each run through. The more weighted, modern dance choreography is not familiar territory to ballet dancers, and Berman has to remind them to be more grounded.
Next door, tutus are part of the motley practice outfits, as the ultra-classical Raymonda pas de deux is being coached by former ABT ballerina Cynthia Gregory. She danced the title role in ABT’s production of this 19th-century ballet alongside Rudolf Nureyev, so she knows its stylistic flourishes and musical intricacies intimately. D’Antuono, who also danced the ballet with Nureyev, joins her at the front of the studio as a spirited pair of Brazilian dancers run through the demanding choreography.
In yet another studio, the Paquita pas de deux—another celebrated excerpt from a 19th-century Russian classic, this one with a Spanish flavor—is testing the dancers, who must toss of multiple pirouettes and other bravura feats. Winthrop Corey, a principal dancer with Canadian ballet troupes and now director of the Mobile Ballet, watches as a Philippine pair runs through it, followed by an American duo.
This week, all the studying and preparation must be put to good use as an international panel of judges (including the recently-retired virtuoso Julio Bocca and directors of major companies) arrive, and every wobbly pirouette, heavy landing or inability to convey the musical impetus can lead to elimination. All 24 couples perform Raymonda on Wednesday and Thursday, but by Friday (when the dancers perform Aureole as well as individually chosen solos) some will be gone, with further cuts after the second and third rounds.
In 1987, José Manuel Carreño, a young Cuban dancer, made it all the way through and won the gold medal at the second NYIBC. Today, he is a celebrated principal dancer with ABT, performing leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera House. This week, 48 young hopefuls will dream of launching themselves along a similar path.
> New York International Ballet Competition
June 24-28, Rose Theater, 5th floor, Time Warner Center, Broadway at W. 60th St., 212-721-6500; times vary, $27.50-$70
