FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIRGINIA JOHNSON, will present the first ILONA COPEN AWARD TO JEAN-PIERRE BONNEFOUX AND PATRICIA MCBRIDE at the New York International Ballet Competition Gala, March 22 at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NYU
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 New York International Ballet Competition, 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, 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.
When asked about the Award Presentation, Mr. Bonnefoux and Ms. McBride
requested that it be presented by Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance
Theatre of Harlem and member of the Artistic Board of NYIBC, who graciously accepted.
In addition, the Gala Performance will include Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble dancers:
Flavia Garcia and DaVon Doane, performing the virtuoso pas de deux Diana and Acteon by Vaganova.
Both Ms. Garcia and Mr. Doane are members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, a 16 member company comprised of younger dancers trained in the DTH style is currently performing on its 2010-2011 national tour.
Virginia Johnson was a founding member and principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Born in Washington, DC, Johnson graduated from the Academy of the Washington School of Ballet. She briefly attended the School of the Arts at New York University as a University Scholar before joining DTH in 1969. During her 28 years with the company she performed most of the repertoire, with principal roles in Concerto Barocco, Allegro Brillante, Agon, A Streetcar Named Desire, Fall River Legend, Swan Lake, Giselle, Voluntaries, Les Biches among others. She was also founder and editor- in-chief of Pointe Magazine from 2000-2009.
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