Exciting News for the Second Annual Youth Dance Festival of NJ
The Second Annual Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey, hosted by Kozlov Dance International, has added two outstanding dance professionals who will assist with this year's festival: Ludmilia Smenyaka, world renowned prima ballerina from Russia, and Luigi, the "Innovator of Jazz." They join returning celebrities Christine Dakin, former artistic director of Martha Graham Company, and Katherine Healy, former principal ballerina with the English National Ballet as judges and workshop leaders.
This year's festival and dance competition will take place Saturday, October 7th and Sunday, October 8th at the Bergen County Academies Theater, in Hackensack, NJ. The Youth Dance Festival of NJ is designed to be an artistic and educational exchange between dancers from around the country aged 9-25. In addition to scholarships and awards, festival winners may receive an all-expenses-paid invitation to perform at a youth dance festival production in China.
Ludmila Semenyaka, world renowned prima ballerina and dance teacher, will join this year's jury of the Festival and teach master classes during the workshops. She currently works now as a repetiteur at the Bolshoi Ballet, coaching the leading ballerina, Svetlana Zakharova, and Anastasia Meskova. Ms. Semenyaka is a graduate of the Vaganova Academy and danced with the Kirov-Mariinsky for two years. She joined the Bolshoi in 1972, where she was coached by the legendary Galina Ulanova. An impeccable classical dancer she also possessed a bright dramatic talent. Among her best roles were: Aurora ("The Sleeping Beauty"), Raymonda, Odette-Odile ("Swan Lake"), Giselle, Phrygia ("Spartacus"), Shirin ("The Legend of Love"), Anastasia ("Ivan the Terrible"), Rita "(The Golden Age"), Kitri ("Don Quixote"), Katerina ("The Stone Flower"). Ms. Semenyaka was made Honored Artist of the Russian Federation in 1976.
Also new to the Festival this year is Luigi, the "Innovator of Jazz". Luigi will give a master class at the workshop portion of the festival. This is an unusual opportunity to experience his teaching personally. Luigi has worked in every part of show business, from Hollywood musicals, Broadway and beyond. He has received many major awards and has given master classes throughout North and South America, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan and South Africa. He has served on the faculty for the Harkness Ballet School, Sarah Lawrence College, NYU, Metropolitan Opera House and the Joffrey Ballet School. The exercise routine he created for his own rehabilitation after a devastating accident became the world's first complete technique for learning jazz dance. His method is taught today by not only himself at his "Jazz Centre" in New York, but also by his students in schools and colleges all over the world.
Returning from last year's Festival is Christine Dakin, performer, teacher, and director, known for her performance of Martha Graham's roles in classic works "Appalachian Spring", "Cave of the Heart", and "Lamentation" and for roles Martha Graham created for her in "Rite of Spring" and "Phaedra's Dream." She joined the Martha Graham Company in 1976, and has been Principal Dancer, Associate Director, and Artistic Director during the time of the company's rebirth. Ms. Dakin has won numerous awards, including a "Bessie" Performance Award in 2003 and the Dance Magazine Award for 1994.
Also returning is Katherine Healy, former principal ballerina with the English National Ballet, Les Ballet de Monte Carlo, and the Vienna State Opera Ballet. At the age of fourteen she was the youngest gold medal winner of the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. Ms. Healy was also the subject of the children's book, a Very Young Skater. Both Ms. Dakin and Ms. Healy will serve on the jury and teach master classes.
The goal of the festival is to create a venue for dance schools and students to share their knowledge of dance through performance. Scholarships, certificates of merit and written evaluations from judges will be awarded.
The festival's mission is education through performance. Goals for the festival include:
4 Create a warm and supportive
atmosphere
4 Motivate to strive for excellence
4 Raise awareness of quality
4 Celebrate creativity
4 Bring the aesthetics of dance to the
forefront of dance performance
Age categories include Division I (9-11), Division II (12-14), Division III (15-25). Dance categories include classical ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, folk dance and Irish step dance. The schedule of events include a welcome reception, warm up, competition, workshops, awards ceremony, and the Festival Gala Performance, which will feature the award winners as well as selections chosen by the judges from across the participating schools. In addition there will be performances by several professional dance companies. Students may register through their dance school or independently to participate in solo and/or ensemble numbers. To request an information package or to register for the festival, call the festival hot line at 201-961-4123. Additional information is also available at the festival website: www.ydfofnj.org.
Inspiration for the Festival came from Leonid Kozlov, who in 1979, being principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, made his leap to artistic freedom and has dedicated the last 27 years in America to the arts, youth and quality dance education. Since his defection, 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, a non-profit organization, in Ridgewood, NJ, host of the Youth Dance Festival of New Jersey.
Kozlov Dance
International Background
Kozlov Dance International is dedicated to teaching a new generation of dancers to carry on the traditions of classical ballet and providing ongoing cultural contribution to the metropolitan area community through a variety of annual performances including--Swan Lake, Giselle, and the holiday classic The Nutcracker. KDI students are recognized globally and nationally through award winning performances at the TanzOlymp International Youth Dance Festival in Berlin, Germany and the Youth American Grand Prix in Torrington, CT and New York City. KDI students have performed at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, at the Petroushka Ball held annually in New York City, and European Folk Festival at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City.
For more information on Kozlov Dance International performances, tickets, instruction and/or corporate sponsorships please contact:
Adriana Kozlov, Kozlov Dance International, Inc., 580 North Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201) 444-3223; www.kozlovdance.com.