Competitions across the boards - results of 1998 ballet and contemporary dance competitions for young performers

Dance Magazine, Oct, 1998 by K.C. Patrick

It was a year when winners of one competition participated in, and often won awards in, other competitions. In one landmark event, fifteen-year-old Adrienne Canterna won the Teen Miss Dance at the Dance Masters of America nationals just after she had captured the Junior Gold Medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Her teacher, Mary Moran, of Lithicum, Maryland, is an example of the increasingly fine instruction available in small studios. Other participants in competitive events were rewarded, not with scholarships and medals, but with offers of employment. The level of technical excellence now apparent in dancers should inspire choreographers to create new works to showcase their special talents.

AMERICAN ACADEMY PERFORMANCE AWARDS

The American Academy of Ballet's Performance Awards present an opportunity for students to strive for an objective standard without the rivalry that sometimes exists in competitive dance and athletic events. Awards are divided into twelve levels and specific choreography to be accomplished with suggested ages for each of the levels. Students select their own variations from the standards and set their goals. Participants who receive silver medals (with distinction) in levels four through twelve qualify for the national competition held each October in New York City. Students who choose to complete at the national level are eligible for scholarships and other prizes.

The Performance Awards allow parents to see the levels of progression through the training and allow students a rare opportunity to dance either solo or in pairs. The awards are meant to reinforce the feeling of accomplishment and to be a celebration of success that is positive and healthy in the development of young dancers.

AMERICAN DANCE AWARDS

American Dance Awards national championships were held in Washington, D.C., in July. Honors went to Jessica Lynch of Tami's Dance Connection in Leominster, Massachusetts, as the Christina Richmond Entertainer of the Year. Titles are awarded to winning competitors in three classes: Junior, Teen, and Dancer. Jennifer Russell, from Robin Dawn's Academy of Performing Arts in Florida, is Junior Dancer of the Year, and Adam Barber, of Bohaty Studio of Dance, is Junior Male Dancer of the Year. Nicole Ports, from Dance Academy, and Manuel Herrera, from Fran Sullivan's School of Dance, are Teen Dancers of the Year; and Ashley Yeater, Larraine Susa's Dance Unlimited, and Clyde Alves, Performing Dance Arts, are Dancers of the Year.

The remainder of the American Dance Awards are given to the performing groups or to the producing studios. This year's Bill Como Award, presented by Barbara Paige Kaplan, was shared by Gloria Jean's Studio in North Haven, Connecticut, and Performing Dance Arts of Toronto, Ontario, as winners of the national Dance-Offs for ages 13 and over and 12 and under. A large group production number from Performing Dance Arts also received the Gold Family Award of Excellence.

Addressing the need to encourage choreographers, Rhee Gold, director of American Dance Awards, presented the 1998 Diamond Award for Choreography in memory of Sherry Gold, to Mark Simpson from Dance Arts Centre in Bristol, Connecticut, for his work titled 58,214. America's Young Choreographer of the Year is Erica Torrey from Diane Kelley Dance Studio in West Boylston, Massachusetts, for her Birimbau.

DANCEAMERICA/DANCE OLYMPUS

From a field of forty-four women and four men, the title holders were chosen in Orlando, Florida, in early July 1998 to represent Dance Olympus for the coming year. Dancers compete with interviews, a jazz combination class, and solo talent presentations. Male and female dancers of the year receive $1,000 cash scholarships. Female Dancer of the Year is Jeannine Trinka, a pupil of Darlene Ceglia in Buffalo, New York. Male Dancer of the Year is Kenny Noth, from White Oak Dance Academy in Blue Springs and Warrensburg, Missouri.

More than 2,000 dancers and their teachers attended the DanceAmerica national championship competion and workshop held in Orlando, Florida, according to national director Richard DiSarno. More than 112 national championship titles were given out there, including high-scoring solos, groups, and special awards.

DANCE EDUCATORS OF AMERICA

DEA is a professional organization for dance teachers that holds an annual general membership meeting. During this convention they also hold competitive dance events. This year there were three national meetings: in Las Vegas and New York during July and in Orlando, Florida, in August. Results of the Orlando national were not yet available at press time. Platinum and President's Cup winners are awards made for production numbers and their creators. Titles are for male and female dancers in categories of Small Fry, Junior, Pre-Teen, Teen, Young Senior, and Senior. As the number of participants in these competitions increases, the categories become more numerous and tightly focused on specific age groups. Mr. Senior Dance New York was Antwaan Taylor.