Fifth New York International Ballet Competition

Dance Magazine, Sept, 1996 by Doris Perlman

An exciting and exhausting three weeks awaited forty young dancers from as far afield as Mongolia, as well as from fourteen other countries, when they arrived in New York City in June to participate in the fifth New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), founded in 1983 by Ilona Copen, the present executive director. The late Igor Youskevitch served then as the original artistic director, a position now filled by former prima ballerina Eleanor D'Antuono. Two weeks of rigorous classes and coaching sessions culminated in a series of four elimination rounds which took the form of live performances on the stage of Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The distinguished panel of judges included Melissa Hayden, chairperson; Fernando Alonso; Egon Bischoff; Serge Golovine; Hans Meister; Zhao Ruheng; Dame Antoinette Sibley; and Rudi van Dantzig. Classes were given by D'Antuono, Winthrop Corey, Simon Dow, Judith Fugate, Cynthia Gregory, Sandra Jennings, Andrei Kramarevsky, and Elaine Kudo.

The mission statement of NYIBC reads that its purpose is "to identify promising young dancers, enhance their professional education, provide them with career opportunities that would be difficult to achieve otherwise, and promote international understanding and good will." Rules state that the dancers must be between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four and must come prepared with designated repertoire. They are informed of the announced repertoire upon their arrival and taught it during the first two weeks. Dancers must arrive with a competing partner but are judged individually. All must live for the entire three-week event in NYIBC-provided housing. The dancers arrived prepared to perform the pas de deux, male variation, and one of the female mazurka variations from Fokine's Les Sylphides. During the coaching sessions they were taught the grand pas de deux from Petipa's Sleeping Beauty, staged by Corey, and Raymonda, staged by Gregory, as well as the "Embraceable You" pas de deux from Balanchine's Who Cares?, staged by Jennings and Fugate. Semifinalists were, in addition, required to perform solos of their own choosing, also prepared in advance.

All dancers performed the Les Sylphides excerpts in the first round, over two evenings. Dancers with the highest scores were advanced to the second round, where all performed the Raymonda pas de deux, again over two evenings. An interesting feature of the competition is that some dancers who are eliminated from competition continue to perform as partners for dancers who have advanced.

It is possible that there is more dispute over Les Sylphides as to choreography, style, and performance practice than over any other ballet in the standard repertoire. This was evident in numerous details displayed by the performers in early rounds. For example, the arm position which ends the woman's mazurka variation differed from dancer to dancer. Several dancers possessed strong technique along with good looks and considerable charm, while others were clearly not ready for prime time. In general, the Sylphides performers seemed too conscious of the audience, smiled too much, and seemed unaware of the otherworldly, slightly remote quality that this ballet requires. The nuances sometimes elude even professionals far more experienced than the dancers on display.

The Raymonda pas de deux, performed in Round II, makes different demands on the performers. The Hungarian-inspired woman's variation requires a great sense of style, demicaractere qualities, and as much showbiz sex appeal as is permissible in classical ballet. Despite the cast-iron technical demands of Petipa, the Raymonda excerpts, on the whole, came off more successfully than Les Sylphides, perhaps because subtlety is neither required nor desirable in this work and also perhaps because of Gregory's excellent coaching. Some of the performers barely managed to negotiate the technique, but got through on sheer grit and determination.

Balanchine and more Petipa comprised the final two rounds. Seventeen-year-old Barbora Kohoutkova of the Czech Republic, partnered by Ivan Dinev of Bulgaria, seemed to be the audience favorite among the ten Auroras and Desires seen in the final competition round, turning in the most technically consistent and stylistically adept performance.

Judges reserve the right to withhold awards or to designate a shared award, and gold medals have been given only twice in the past: to Victoria Mazzarelli of the United States in 1984 and to Cuba's Jose Manuel Carreno, now a principal with American Ballet Theatre, in 1987. This year, however, there was no doubt that Kohoutkova was a deserving recipient of the gold. She was trained at the Prague Conservatory of Dance, won a first prize and Grand Prix at the 1996 Helsinki competition, and was a finalist in the 1995 Prix de Lausanne. Other winners were: women's silver, Tatiana Jouravel, Ukraine; women's bronze, Alisa Sokolova, Russia; Lefkowitz Award for Artistic Achievement, Emily Rose Patterson, United States; men's silver, Ivan Dinev, Bulgaria, and Gennadi Saveliev, Russia; men's bronze, Roman Lazik, Slovakia, and Arionel Vargas, Cuba; Lefkowitz Award, John Hall, United States, and Andres Neira, Colombia. Carlos Molina, Colombia, received the newly created Igor Youskevitch Award--a one-year contract with American Ballet Theatre--from ABT artistic director Kevin McKenzie.