FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION ANNOUNCES THE PROGRAM FOR THE MARCH 22 CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF ILONA COPEN
JEAN-PIERRE BONNEFOUX AND PATRICIA MCBRIDE WILL RECEIVE THE FIRST ILONA COPEN AWARD, PRESENTED BY VIRGINIA JOHNSON
HONORARY CHAIR, ROBERT BATTLE
Tuesday March 22, 7:30 PM
Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU, 566 LaGuardia Place, Tuesday-Saturday 12noon-6pm
Tickets for performance only: $45; $15 for students/seniors (available for sale in person with ID)
Tickets to performance only: http://skirballcenter.nyu.edu/calendar/nyibc or call 212-352-3101
Tickets to performance and dinner/dance following, call 212-956-1520 or
http://nyibcgala.charityhappenings.org
Tickets start at $500
Dancers from major ballet and contemporary dance companies will gather to pay tribute to the life and work of Ilona Copen, late Founder and Executive Director Emerita of NYIBC, March 22 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU. A longtime major figure on the New York dance scene, Ms. Copen was also a founding Board member of World Dance Alliance, President Emerita of the International Theatre Institute’s International Dance Committee, a Board member of several dance companies, and an invaluable advisor and mentor to numerous companies and individual artists.
A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the first Ilona Copen Award. Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride have been selected by the Artistic Board of NYIBC to be the first honorees for their contributions to the lives and artistry of young dancers, and to the world of dance in general. Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, will present the Award.
PROGRAM
José Manuel Carreño (NYIBC Alumn 1987) Ave Maria…… Igal Perry
Carreño, longtime principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, was a Gold Medalist
at the second NYIBC in 1987
Alessandra Ball & Addul Manzano Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux…… George Balanchine
North Carolina Dance Theatre
George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Ana Luiza Luizi & Junio Teixeira (NYIBC Alumn 2005) Meditation…… Vladimir Salimbaev
New Jersey Ballet
Flavia Garcia & DaVon Doane Diana and Acteon…… Agrippina Vaganova
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Matthew Rushing A Song for You…… Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Roxane D’Orleans Juste Spanish Dance…… Daniel Nagrin
Limón Dance Company
Victoria Jaiani (NYIBC Alumna 2003) The Dying Swan…… Michel Fokine
Joffrey Ballet
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VISIT THE NEW NYIBC FACEBOOK PAGE.
New York International Ballet Competition
Educating, mentoring and providing performance and career advancement opportunities since 1984.
Founded by ILONA COPEN and IGOR YOUSKEVITCH
New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC) is a three-week intensive professional training, performance and artistic education program for forty-eight talented young dancers from countries around the world, all of whom receive full scholarships. NYIBC nurtures promising dancers aged 17 to 24 from all ethnicities, providing them with an exceptional opportunity to completely focus on training to perform at their highest artistic level. The contemporary duet form and the classical pas de deux are the core of the repertory NYIBC participants learn from world renowned coaches under high standards of fairness. In addition, NYIBC attracts hiring artistic directors and choreographers who are confident that a dancer who has been mentored and trained at NYIBC can endure the rhythm of work and life in a ballet company. Beyond having access to extraordinary performance and career advancement opportunities, during their time at NYIBC the dancers form a versatile international company in which lifelong associations are born. For more information, visit the NYIBC website: http://www.nyibc.org
Press Contact
Audrey Ross, 212-877-3399
audreyrosspub@aol.com
NYU SKIRBALL CENTER:
The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Led by executive producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and senior director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU’s mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center’s mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu