Congratulations are in order!
Last weekend, Conservatory Dancers Rebecca Stewart and Simon Tischler presented their classical ballet variations and contemporary solos in the 2021 Youth America Grand Prix Regional Competition in White Plains, New York.
Simon, age 14, performed two classical variations, “La Fille Mal Gardee” and the “Ocean Variation” from Ocean and Pearls, and two contemporary solos, “Arrow” choreographed by Choreographer-in-Residence Robert J. Priore and “Cobalt” by School & Conservatory Founding Artistic Director Lorraine Spiegler, for which he placed 2nd in contemporary and 3rd in classical in the Junior age division!
Rebecca, age 14, won a coveted and rarely awarded Youth Grand Prix Award for her performances in both her classical variations “Diana” and “Odile” (Black Swan) and her contemporary solos “Strange Fruit” and “Winter”. “Winter” was choreographed by Lorraine Spiegler. “Strange Fruit” was choreographed collaboratively by Rebecca Stewart, Lenaya Williams and Lorraine Spiegler. Deeply moved by Nina Simon’s song and the emotions that it invoked within her, Becca was a driving force in creating this new solo. The Grand Prix Award is awarded for the best overall performances in the Junior and Senior divisions.
Both of these dancers are in the Conservatory Training program training in ballet under the direction of Conservatory Ballet Master, Stanislav Issaev.
We are incredibly proud of these young dancers and grateful to YAGP for giving our students the opportunity to perform on stage again for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for more regional competition news in the coming weeks!
