Russian Ballet competition success
We had 7 young dancers compete in the 'Terpsichore of the North International Russian Ballet Competition' in Aberdeen.
All 7 are Majors students worked with teacher Amanda over 4 coaching sessions to master 2 classical ballet solos. They worked extremely hard and each prepared a piece of classical repertoire, and an individual solo choreographed for the event. This is the second year the event has run and it attracted young ballet dancers from across Scotland.
Masterclass and performance
The competition began with a ballet masterclass lead by Maestro Vitaly Akhundov. He set a challenging ballet class onstage observed by a small judging panel and an audience of dance teachers, and the dancer's families.
Each age group then took to the stage to perform a classical variation. The candidates had a choice of 3 repertoire solos from classical ballets which challenged their technical abilities. Following the rep performances, the dancers then performed their individual solos which showed their own style and personality. Here are the routines performed by our dancers:
JUNIOR
- Chloe Murray: Canary Fairy Variation / Snow White medley
- Kirsty Taylor: Canary Fairy Variation / Fairytale
TEEN
- Abbie Garmany: Paquita Variation / Teen Spirit
- Anna Bremner: Cupid Variation / Aspicia Variation
- Iana Phillips: Paquita Variation / La Bayadere
- Olivia Hunter: Paquita Variation / La Nuit
SENIOR
- Sophie Nather: Canary Fairy Variation / The Swan
Prizewinners
All the students performed well and we were especially delighted for some of them to be selected by the judges as winners:
- Kirsty - SILVER - Junior level
- Olivia - GOLD - Teen level
- Anna - SILVER - Teen level
- Sophie - SILVER - Senior level
And then an extra special congratulations to Iana for being awarded the GRAND PRIX for best overall! She received a unique trophy, and chocolates from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow!
Olivia was also presented with a special commendation medal for her performance in the Masterclass. She was also the inaugural Grand Prix winner last year.
Russian Ballet Gala performance
In the evening, winners were invited to perform in a special Gala alongside professional ballet dancers from the Russian State Ballet and hosted by Vitaly Mironov. Each of our winners performed their solos again to a packed auditorium.
What brilliant performances! You can view a small gallery of photos from the event on our CSBS Facebook page. Many thanks to Rachel Mearns, Ballet Without Borders, and Dance Compete Achieve for such a fun and friendly competition!