Ballet Grand Prix awards
We were delighted to have 3 students reach the finals of the prestigious Ballet Grand Prix in Dundee. It was a brilliant day with all the finalists taking part in rehearsals, masterclasses, and performing solos for the judging panel and audience. The standard of the competitors was incredibly high and it was a wonderful experience to both watch and take part! We were very proud of our students competing in their first competition.
The categories were grouped by age and in the Mids level section we had Heidi Russell (13) and Marcus Miller (13) competing as two of the youngest in their category. In the Senior category, advanced dancer Jill Russell (15) represented CSBS. Each of them performed a classical repertoire variation and an individual contemporary piece, as well as taking part in the “Grand Defilé”, a group finalé performance before the awards presentation.
MARCUS…
Marcus performed the challenging ‘Frondoso’ male variation for classical and a piece entitled “Czardas” for contemporary which showed the contrast between his serious love of music and dance, and his adventurous and mischievous nature!
We were very proud of his performances and especially delighted that he was awarded a part-scholarship for the Roccella Summer Intensive in Calabria (Italy) by Maestro Giovanni Rosaci.
HEIDI…
Heidi had the challenge of having to prepare a full classical variation en pointe for the first time. She performed a “Flames of Paris” variation and a contemporary piece entitled “It’s a Small World” which contrasted her small size with her big personality, and showed her love of family.
We were very excited to have Heidi place 4th in the section! She was also awarded a bursary by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to attend their Spring Ballet Intensive!
JILL…
This was Jill’s first competition and she was competing against students who travel the world for ballet competitions. We were extremely proud of her strong performance!
She performed an energetic variation from “William Tell” for classical, and a contemporary dance piece entitled “Dance Monkey” which showcased her love of dance… with a fun twist!
The standard at the Senior level was incredibly high, making her achievement of placing 8th even more exceptional!
Jill was also awarded a part-scholarship for Roccella Summer Intensive AND was picked out by the MGA faculty as “The One to Watch”, receiving an additional scholarship place for their contemporary elite intensive.
Please view the small gallery of informal photos from backstage and the presentation on our CSBS Facebook page. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GALLERY
Well done to them all and thank you to CSBS teacher Amanda for coaching all three dancers for the competition. We are delighted that they all enjoyed the experience!