On Feb. 9, 10, 11th, I took 3 of my students to the Youth America Grand Prix regional in Orlando. For those not familiar with it, it is an international youth ballet and contemporary scholarship competition. It is different from other dance competitions since the dancers are competing for traineeships and scholarships with major dance schools in the US and abroad and the winner of the “Grand Prix” receives a contract with ABT.

I have gotten a lot of flack about dance competitions from many parents. It’s true that not every dancer is cut out for this. But it is my feeling it is another chance to be on stage and develop experience. It is healthy to learn to deal with reward and rejection. And there are only so many hurdles that you can conquer in the studio. They also get feedback from the distinguished judging panel. That correction I’ve been giving them all year just seems to have so much more of an impact coming from Ethan Brown!

I decided to take Angela, Kieran and Alston, since they each have an intense desire and drive to dance. And also because I feel it is so important for them to see other dancers their age who are good, and how hard they work. I wanted them to set a goal and reach for it. I want my dancers to feel that there isn’t anything they can’t do-but they need to see how high to reach. Being from Savannah, I chose Orlando, feeling that there would be a high level of competitors. There were some beautiful and amazing dancers, but my girls far exceeded my expectations. This experience changed and inspired them.

Kieran and Alston getting ready for barre with me in a conference room at the lovely Hilton Garden Inn on the morning before they have to compete. Lunch is next and then we’re ready to go. The girls are really nervous and anxious.

Right before the competition begins they do something called “open stage” for the dancers. All 50 dancers go up on stage at one time and try to run their variations. This is similar to the ice skaters at the Olympics when they are all on the ice whizzing by each other nearly colliding. This is Kieran in red. She was really freaked out, so I had to pull her off and bring her in the hallway.

A more congested picture of “open stage”.

Each girl competed with a Contemporary and 2 classical pieces.

Kieran in the middle of the tour jete section of her Diana variation. She does this variation so well and it is so hard, only a few girls try their hand with this one.

Here is Angela competing with her contemporary piece. She really spilled her guts with this one. She had been waiting to dance for about 4 hours. She was awesome, you could hear a pin drop in the audience. She finished in the top twelve-amazing. The beautiful dress was made by her very talented mother, Karen, who makes so many costumes for me. She gets a feel for the music and choreography from me and just goes to her sewing machines and……. wha-la!

Angela’s mom made this tutu too for Coppelia.

Angela doing her Esmerelda variation. She gets to dance this about an hour and a half after her comtemporary piece. She was tired, hungry and in a heap in the wings. I had to tell her to stand up 2 dances before she went. This variation is difficult when you are energetic. She did a great job. I’m so proud of her, she wanted to “win” and although she did not, she conquered a lot of demons that night, and she won for me.

Alston’s group had 40 dancers aged 9-11 and probably had the deepest talent. She was the only 9 year old and she placed in the top 12 overall! Amazing! The boys competed as part of her group and some of these kids were technical machines.

Angela (14) placed in the top 12 for her Contemporary piece. Kieran (12) did not place. They were in the same age category which had about 50 girls. A very talented group, many from Orlando Ballet School. They both danced beautifully. Kieran’s scores were maybe one or two points off of Angela’s-you can imagine how tight the scoring was. Kieran had the hardest time of the 3 girls-she is a perfectionist and very hard on herself.

The scoring system was based on a perfect score of 100. The girls all had scores from 88-92’s. They also got very positive feed back from the judges. Very good for their first time there. Most of the competitors have been going since they were old enough to!

The workshop portion of the weekend was the most fun. I think it was interesting to watch. It still retained a very competitive feeling.

Angela and Alston were also invited to the NYC workshop and Gala at the finals in April, where I believe the winger’s own David Hallberg will be performing at the Gala!

After the awards finished at midnight on Saturday, the girls had to be at the workshop at 9:30am Sunday. This was a really wonderful opportunity for the girls to be with other talented dancers. Ethan Brown, Raymond Lukens, Carlos Dos Santos and Alexandra Koltun gave the classes.

Surprisingly, I found that Alston’s classes were more challenging. The talent in her group was amazing, Alston is 9 most of them were 10 & 11. This is a picture of Alston with Alexandra Koltun who gave the Variation classes. She taught a variation from Corsaire to them (the one with all those brisees) She shows the beginning and the kids don’t even flinch, so she let them give it a try. No problem. Ms. Koltun turns and says “this is the 21st century” !

We had a great experience here. Exhausted and inspired, we are back to work in the STUDIO. I can’t wait to come to NY in April with the girls. I miss my city!