YAGP Finals
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VERONICA MORETTI NIEBUHR |
What do you do after you perform at the Youth America Grand Prix Finals?????
HAIRCUT!!!!!!!!!
Alston danced beautifully today!
Archive for youth america grand prix
Back from YAGP
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VERONICA MORETTI NIEBUHR |
Well it was quite a weekend at the Youth America Grand Prix regional in Spartanburg, SC! A who’s who of young talent. All of my kids did very well-I am so proud of them. It was very intimidating and a lot of pressure. I am really tired so here is a quick post on our results:
Alston Macgill (pre-competitive) came in Third place and was invited to the finals in NY in April!!
Shakira Bell (pre-competitive) and Angela Novelli (SR Contemporary) both finished in the top 12.
The scoring was very tight due to the unbelievable amount of talent in all categories. I am very pleased with how they all did. Justin in particular brought the audience to tears with his moving performance. He narrowly missed the top 12 by tenths of a point. They certainly learned a lot this weekend and had a great experience.
Here are a few photos:
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YAGP Rehearsal
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VERONICA MORETTI NIEBUHR |
We have been very busy at the STUDIO preparing for the Youth America Grand Prix regional in Spartanburg, SC! We are leaving in the morning and the dancers begin in the early evening. It has been quite a process for them all, the usual blood sweat and tears. I decided to take 8 dancers this year: Justin, Emma, Skye, Angela, Kieran, Linzy, Shakira and Alston. I am so proud of them all and excited to see them reach their personal goals. They are an incredible group of talented young dancers and people. It has been so nice to see them grow together-their support of each other is amazing.
Here are a few shots from our rehearsals. (photographs by the STUDIO’s unofficial, official photographer-Mary-Margaret Macgill)
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Back in the swing of things
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VERONICA MORETTI NIEBUHR The STUDIO Savannah, GA USA BIO | POSTS |
POSTING:
It’s been a long while since I’ve posted! Let me try to do a little catching up! Not that I ever really take a break, I tend to operate at a very hectic pace, but, I’ve gotten into the full swing of regular classes at the studio and have also been preparing for some major and minor events.
My schedule is a little tight this year. I decided to limit my children’s classes to 10 students. This is good and bad; good because I have created a very focused learning environment with a lot of individual attention—bad because I am feeling like I am outgrowing my space. I don’t have the time or space to open up new classes and I am seriously lacking in the beginner beginner class area. I do like this however– I wanted a smaller focused school full of kids who really want to dance and this is what I have-I just need about 20 or 30 more of them!
A couple of weeks ago, we were asked by the city to perform and give a class in Forsyth Park, to promote dance as a way of keeping fit. Well, I love dancing outside, but-they didn’t give us anything to perform on, so we danced in the grass. Fun, except it had been raining for days and it was very very wet!
We actually had a great time and also learned some belly-dancing with the Lotus Dance Company.
I have also started rehearsals for our December show “Swingin’ at Club Sweets’. This is my Nutcracker. Never allowing myself to get bored, I had to create a show that would challenge me and wanted to give the students and Savannah something ‘different’. I have live jazz musicians and the set is a speakeasy club. More on this in a future post…….
I have some talented students who will be going to the Youth America Grand Prix in February. It is an overall good learning experience for them. Well the learning starts now and we have been working on a few variations and I have chosen what I think shows them best. I also need to give them each a Contemporary piece, which, like last night-I stay up at all hours of the night listening to music, looking for that perfect fit for each personality.
Next week we perform outside again, at the Richmond Hill Seafood Festival. I look forward to this one. It is in a huge beautiful park, has incredible local seafood and amusement rides for the kids. AND we will actually get to dance on a stage!!!
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Youth American Grand Prix
Posted by Veronica Moretti Niebuhr
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!
