Vail Valley's Teacher Conference - information about programs about ballet - training

Dance Magazine, Dec, 1999 by Marian Horosko

It was a busy summer for those students chosen by audition to take part in the tenth Vail Valley International Workshops in Colorado. Established in 1990 as an American-Russian exchange with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy of Moscow, Vail's program has continued the exchange and has expanded to include World Masters at Vail. This program invites masters known worldwide to teach selected students, ages fourteen to nineteen, in a four-week intensive course, concluded by a public performance in Vail's beautiful Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

Vail workshops included a program for students, ages eleven to fourteen; a preprofessional program for students, fifteen to nineteen; and a seminar on technique for teachers, administrators, and directors.

Katherine C. Kersten, Vail's director, is a woman of extraordinary energy and achievement. A former dancer and teacher, Kersten's mission is not only to present exciting evenings of dance from the roster of international stars, but also to discover what needs can be filled for the entire dance profession. "We have a wonderful group of sponsors," says Kersten, "and through the Vail Valley Foundation, they not only support the festival, they are knowledgeable about dance and devoted to what can be done in just the short time each summer to make a cultural and educational impact."

Vail programs and projects have done just that. Kersten travels worldwide to discover performers for the festival evenings; conducts cross-country auditions; and searches for teachers for the summer programs, who would not be available to American students in any other way.

Guest teachers this year included Gilbert Mayer and Nicole Cavallin of the Paris Opera Ballet School; Pytor A. Pestov, formerly from the Bolshoi School and now on the faculty of the John Cranko School in Stuttgart; Michael Ho, who has taught at London Studio Centre and Northern Ballet Theatre; Jenny Chiang, who is on the faculty of Dance Theatre of Harlem school; as well as other guest teachers. Vladimir Anguelov, teacher and resident choreographer at the Kirov Ballet Academy in Washington, D.C., was selected through Vail's 1999 Emerging Choreographers Project to create a work for the closing student performance.

Opening night was swept by torrential rain running down the steps of the Amphitheater, fringing the stage, and blowing across the audience. But the Kuban Cossack Russian Ensemble began the festival without a slip on August 5, performing again on the 6th and the matinee on August 8. The Cossacks, once known for their fierceness in defending the czar, displayed their colorful folkloric dances, flashing knives, and bold songs as arranged by their artistic director, Victor Zakharchenko, and choreographer, Nicolay Kubar. On August 7 and 8, Trinity Irish Dance Company, founded by Mark Howard in Chicago in 1990, presented his champion high-steppers.

The Paul Mitchell International Evenings of Dance, a program of guest artists from major companies, was presented August 13 and 14. Anna Antonicheva and Dmitri Belogolovtsev (Bolshoi Ballet), Adrienne Canterna and Rasta Thomas, Huang Dou Dou (Shanghai Dance Company), Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre (San Francisco Ballet), Yseult Lendvai and Robert Conn (Stuttgart Ballet), and Jaimie Tapper and Johan Persson (National Ballet of Canada) performed.

For information about auditions, write Vail International Dance Festival, P.O. Box 309, Vail, CO 81658; call (970) 949-1999; fax (970) 949-9265.

MEETING GUGGENHEIM ARTISTS

The Guggenheim Museum series, Works in Progress, now in its fifteenth year, will present nine programs of interest to dance students. The format includes a mini performance followed by a discussion with the artists. The 1999-2000 lineup included Christopher O'Riley discussing Martha Clarke's new work, Vers la flamme (September 12), and Fernando Bujones with students from the School of American Ballet (October 3 and 4). The first of three programs featuring American Ballet Theatre begins with Kevin McKenzie, ABT's artistic director, with principal dancers in excerpts from the company's early repertory (October 15 and 16).

Fred Ho and The Afro-Asian Music Ensemble follow with excerpts from their martial arts ballet (December 12 and 13). ABT's second program includes Angel Corella, Paloma Herrera, Cynthia Gregory, and Lupe Serrano in discussion of their careers (February 6 and 7), followed by Donald Byrd/The Group in a talk about his new choreography based on Duke Ellington's less frequently performed works (February 6 and 7). Contemporary dancers Homer Avila and Edisa Weeks will show sections of their new work, Seat of Dreams (February 28 and 29). ABT's third presentation, a discussion of its new Swan Lake (April 16 and 17), ends the series.

All performances, produced by Mary Sharp Cronson, are free to the public and held at 8:00 P.M. at the Museum's Peter B. Lewis Theater, 1017 Fifth Avenue at East 89th Street in New York City.

COMPETITION HANDBOOK

Liz Gallego, a teacher whose students have won national high-point awards at competitions, has written Winning: The Dance Competition Handbook, for teachers, students, parents, and judges. The book has common-sense, no-nonsense information about choreography, costuming, music, and preparing students before and after competitions. Their have been many publications devoted to competitions, but Gallego goes into detail on every aspect. Order copies at $29.95 plus $4, from Liz Gallego; P.O. Box 227496, Dallas, TX 75222-7496; (972) 571-6368, fax (214) 651-9456. For more information: www.hawkpci.net/lizgallego.