Youth Dance Festival of NJ Announces Dance Awards
The Youth Dance Festival of NJ announces the winners from the first annual festival held October 8th and 9th , 2005, in Hackensack, NJ. Nine schools and 78 dancers participated in the festival, which included 47 solo and ensemble competition performances, 4 dance workshops and a Gala Performance attended by nearly 400 dance enthusiasts. Each dance competition participant received written feedback from a panel of esteemed judges, and an achievement award. Following the competition, twenty performances were selected by the judges for the final evening Gala Performance. Dance award winners received metals, trophies and/or scholarships.
In the Ensemble Category, winners included the gold medal to The New Jersey Ballet School's Junior Company (Livingston, NJ) for its performance of "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker. The Company is directed by Carolyn Cark.
The silver medal went to the Light of Life Dance Company, directed by Alexandra Blaise and based in York, PA, for their inspired jazz ensemble performance of "Never Alone".
The bronze medal went to Kozlov Dance International's (KDI) performance of Jumpin', a unique choreography of jazz ballet. KDI is directed by Leonid Kozlov and is based in Ridgewood NJ.
In the Solo Competition, Division I (ages 9-12), The gold medal went to Olivia Gonzales, Kozlov Dance International. The silver medal winners, in a tie, were Aleksey Babayev of the Academy of International Ballet and Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA and Sasha Paulovich of Kozlov Dance International. Bronze medal winners, also a tie, went to two dancers of the Academy of International Ballet and Performing Arts Nora McGinley-Hence and Esmiana Jani.
Division II winners (age 13 and up) included Gold Medalist April Giangeruso of Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory of New York and Silver Medalist Catherine Westerduin of Kozlov Dance International. The Bronze metal was awarded to Morgan Corley. She is a student at the Valentina Kozlova's Dance Conservatory of NY.
A number of special awards were also given. Leonid Goykhman, age 17, of the Academy of International Ballet and Performing Arts was awarded "Best Male Dancer." Leonid Goykhman also received the award for "Outstanding Potential", age 13 and up, which was accompanied by a $125 scholarship from The Dance Bag of Ridgewood, NJ for dancewear supplies. Kira Anderson, age 9, of Kozlov Dance International, won the "Outstanding Potential" award and $125 Dance Bag scholarship for age 12 and under.
Individual achievement awards accompanied by a $250 scholarship to the dance school of the recipients choice went to Gillian Mulhere, Kozlov Dance International, Kerven Floreal of the Dance Loft, Suffern, NY, and Eileen Mitchell of Light of Life Performing Arts.
The panel of judges for the event included Judges for the event included Christine Dakin of The Martha Graham Dance Company. Also judging the event was Katherine Healy, former principal ballerina with the English National Ballet and the youngest gold medal winner of the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. Carolyn Clark, Artistic Director of The New Jersey Ballet also participated as a judge.
Four dance workshops were a highlight event for festival participants, giving students from across the many dance schools the opportunity to share the stage at the same time. Ballet workshops for ages 12 and under and age 13 and older were artfully led by Katherine Healy. Christine Dakin taught a lively modern dance workshop for all ages and Leigh Webster led a well-received Broadway Jazz workshop for festival participants.
The culmination of the dance festival was the Gala Performance on Sunday night. In addition to performances of the dances selected by the judges, three professional dance companies entertained the audience with several dramatic and inspired dance selections. These included performances by The New Jersey Ballet Company, The Buglisi/Foreman Dance Company, and The Cedar Lake Dance Ensemble. Robert Anderson of Allendale, NJ was Master of Ceremonies for the event.
Leonid and Adriana Kozlov of Kozlov Dance International organized and hosted the Youth Dance Festival of NJ, including the handing of individual awards. Inspiration for the festival came from Leonid Kozlov, who is celebrating his 26th year of artistic freedom in the West. In 1979, Leonid Kozlov, principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, made his leap to artistic freedom and has dedicated the last 26 years to the performing arts. Since his arrival in the U.S., he was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine; choreographed productions for the National Ballet of Chile, The Australian Ballet and the New Jersey Ballet; and starred as the lead in the Broadway revival and national tour of Roger's & Hart's "On Your Toes." Since 1991, Leonid Kozlov has directed Kozlov Dance International in Ridgewood, NJ. The Kozlov's were assisted in the festival organization by a large number of volunteers from Kozlov Dance International.
The Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey will be an annual event and plans are underway to secure specific dates for next year's festival. For additional information on next year's festival and how to participate, call 201-961-4123, or email ydfofnj@optonline.net. Additional information is available at www.KozlovDance.com