Greenwich Ballet Academy Seeking New Talent for Spring Season

GREENWICH, Conn. - Jan. 4, 2014 - PRLog -- Greenwich Ballet Academy (GBA) has a long history of exciting and award-winning performances, internationally acclaimed guest artists, and an extremely high quality of pre-professional dance instruction. Young students with an interest in ballet will now have an opportunity to join this exciting program for the Spring semester and/or Summer Intensive. Auditions for the Spring semester will be held Saturday, January 11 at 3:30pm. The Spring semester will culminate with the Spring Gala performance in the Massey Theatre at Greenwich Academy on Saturday, June 14,

“In addition to the opportunity to audition for a limited number of opens positions in the full-time program, students also have the opportunity to train at GBA in the summer,” said GBA Chairman Jeanne Hendrickson.  “We will conduct a full summer program this year and expect to attract budding talent from the tri-state area.   Dancers will be afforded the opportunity to build and further develop the foundation developed over the course of the year.”  Auditions for the GBA Summer Intensive are on Saturday, February 22, at 3:30pm.

Please email Brooke Donatelli at Brooke@greenwichballetacademy.org  if you have interest in either the full-time or the summer intensive program. All auditions will be held at 181 Westchester Avenue, Third Floor, in Port Chester. "We're looking forward to seeing this year's new talent," said Yuri Vodolaga, Artistic Director. "Every year we are thrilled to find exceptional new local talent to join our outstanding program."

Greenwich Ballet Academy offers pre-professional training in classical ballet. All students are given an opportunity to participate in two performances annually, and work alongside more experienced students as well as national and international guest dancers. "Many of our students have gone on to become professional dancers," said Hendrickson.  “When a child has a passion for ballet, the small and vigorous classes GBA offers enables every student the opportunity to reach their potential and achieve success in the very competitive world of ballet.”

GBA offers a unique Pre-Academy program for children ages five and six.  In addition to weekly instruction, a special dance piece is choreographed for these young children that they will perform at the Spring Gala on June 14^th.  Unlike for the academy program, no audition is required for the Pre-Academy program.  Pre-Academy Registration for the Spring and Summer sessions is ongoing.

New for the Spring session is “An Early Prep Program” for pre-school aged children three to five years old. Our Early Prep Program will provide a fun introduction to the foundations of ballet," said Hendrickson. "It is a Creative Movement class for the child who loves to dance. The opportunity to have younger students exposed to ballet at an early age through our program means the “funness” of dance and specifically the art of ballet can be experienced at an earlier age.”

Greenwich Ballet Academy’s program recruits young talent and prepares them for success. Many have gone on to become highly successful professional dancers. One of the great advantages students of GBA have is the ability to perform alongside recognized professionals, such as Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky. Ms. Dvorovenko and Mr. Beloserkovsky have performed as guest artists in GBA's highly popular seasonal performances of the classic Nutcracker Ballet, and in Spring Galas that included La Bayadere and Le Corsaire.

The academy also features master classes, with prominent professional dancers who teach a class or series of classes to more advanced students. Last year our students were given the opportunity to learn from two world-renowned principals from the American Ballet Theatre - Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev.  Last year the school was profiled in many regional publications and local cable News12 .

Greenwich Ballet Academy students regularly compete and distinguish themselves in the Youth America Grand Prix classical ballet competition.   Last year three students advanced to the New York City finals and one received the regional Grand Prix, awarded to the student who achieves first place in both classical and modern divisions.  Several of our students will compete again this year and we anticipate continued success at the YAGP.

About Greenwich Ballet Company

Greenwich Ballet Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) institution that nurtures talented dancers, ages 3-21, toward careers in classical ballet and contemporary dance with a unique emphasis on the Russian Vaganova method of instruction. GBA is the only school in the lower Fairfield and Westchester County area to offer this specialized type of training. The professional faculty also provide classes in modern and character dance, and contemporary ballet. GBA students have earned accolades at international ballet competitions and have joined professional ballet companies. For more information on performances and training, please visit the GBA website: www.greenwichballetacademy.org.