Fot. Paweł Wyszomirski.
The Opera na Zamku in Szczecin will host on 19?22 April 2016 the 9th International Ballet Competition ?Golden Pointe Shoes 2016? and the Jubilee 15th National Ballet Competition for the title of the Best Ballet School Graduate in Poland 2016, as well as an International Ballet Star Gala to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Ballet Foundation. The foundation supports talented children and youth, and is the founder and main organiser of the ?Golden Pointe Shoes?, Poland?s only international ballet competition for the best graduates of ballet schools from Poland and other European countries. The event promotes the young dancers and their work, and helps them launch a career. In 2002, the competition went nationwide, and in 2008, it became an international event.
The history of the Best Ballet School Graduate in Poland title awarded by the Ballet Foundation goes back to 1994. This year, the competition will be held for the 23rd time. The participants, nominated by ballet school heads and teachers, will present classical and contemporary choreographies.
This year, 20 dancers will compete for the ?Golden Pointe Shoes?. They will include graduates of the Polish ballet schools, as well as of the Hungarian Dance Academy and the Dance Conservatory in Prague. The jury will include Ewa Głowacka ? first soloist of the Teatr Wielki ? National Opera in Warsaw (chair); Rosa Olimpia Estrella ? dancer, choreographer, teacher of flamenco (Spain); Beata Książkiewicz, adancer and professor at the University of Music in Warsaw; Barbara Sier-Janik ? teacher of classical dance at the Dance Theatre Department of the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Cracow; Vladimir Issaev ? ballet master and head of the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida (United States); Wiesław Dudek ? dancer, long-standing first soloist in the Stuttgart Ballet and Staatsoper in Berlin, now teacher in K-ballet Company in Tokyo; Jacek Przybyłowicz ? dancer, choreographer, teacher; Piotr Nardell ? dancer in Maurice Béjart?s Ballet of the 20th Century, teacher, co-author of Béjart?s greatest ballet works, including Boléro with the participation of Moscow?s Bolshoi Theatre; Dominik Muśko ? head of ballet at the Wielki Theatre in Łódź; Małgorzata Borowiec ? a representative of CEA and of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, as an observer.
In the competition for one-year artistic scholarship funded by the Ballet Foundation, 11 students of Polish ballet schools will take part. The scholarships will be awarded by the Ballet Foundation Chapter including Maria Andrzejewska ? Ballet Foundation?s president of board, Prof. Warcisław Kunc of the Academy of Music in Poznań, Grzegorz Kotek ? long-standing soloist of the ballet in Szczecin, Uran Azymov ? ballet teacher in the Wielki Theatre in Łódź, and Zofia Rudnicka ? dancer and chorographer.
For three years, Vladimir Issaev has awarded additional awards to competition participants ? one-month ballet workshops in Florida funded by the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida.
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The gala will feature finalists of the ?Golden Pointe Shoes? competition and international ballet stars who were the guests and winners of previous editions, including Wiesław Dudek ? the first Pole to make guest appearance with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow as Onegin in the ballet Onegin, choreographed by John Cranko; Shoko Nakamura ? first soloist of the Vienna State Opera, Staatsballett in Berlin and the Hungarian State Opera House in Budapest; Ida Nowakowska ? dancer, actress, judge in the 9th edition of You can dance ? Po prostu tańcz; Viktoria Nowak ? the winner of Eurovision Young Dancers 2015; Anna Sąsiadek, Monika Maciejewska, Gintautas Potockas ? first soloists of the Wielki Theatre in Łódź; Matěj Šust ? soloist of the Czech National Ballet in Prague; and Marek Ludwisiak, Stephanie Nabet, Mary Carmen Catoya and Herman Montenegro from the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida. The gala will be directed by Paulina Andrzejewska.
?Golden Pointe Shoes? is the only international competition for ballet school graduates in Poland. This year, participants will include dancers from Polish schools, the Hungarian Dance Academy and the Dance Conservatory in Prague. The international jury will he headed by Ewa Głowacka, first soloist of the Teatr Wielki ? National Opera in Warsaw. Also, the title of the Best Graduate of Ballet School in Poland will be awarded for the 23rd time. In addition, 11 students of Polish ballet schools will compete for a one-year artistic scholarship funded by the Ballet Foundation.
Paulina Andrzejewska ? dancer, choreographer, teacher. In 1999, she graduated from the Roman Turczynowicz State Ballet School in Warsaw. In 2005 she obtained an MA in Ballet Pedagogy at the Music Education Department of the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. She has taught contemporary dance since 2003.
Andrzejewska has collaborated with Warsaw theatres, including the Roma Musical Theatre (musicals Les Misérables, Upiór w operze / The Phantom of the Opera, Aladyn jr / Aladdin Jr. and performances: Morfina / Morphine, Berlin 4 rano / Berlin 4 am); Rampa Theatre (Latający cyrk Monty Pythona / Monty Python?s Flying Circus), Polonia Theatre (Klaps! 50 twarzy Greya / Spank! Fifty Faces of Grey, Czerwony kapturek / Little Red Riding Hood) and Studio Theatre (Onegin), as well as with Hans Christian Andersen Theatre in Lublin (Przygody pszczółki Mai / The Adventures of Maja the Bee musical), Polski Theatre in Szczecin (music shows Opera za trzy grosze / The Threepenny Opera, Bal manekinów / The Mannequin Ball, Magia obłoków / The Magic of Clouds), and the Musical Theatre in Poznań (Evita, Jekyll & Hyde). She has developed choreography for performances abroad, including Aladdin Jr. in St. Petersburg Musical Comedy Theatre and Tadas Blinda in Vilnius. She is currently working on choreography for the musical Jesus Christ Superstar which will premiere in Poznań as part of celebrations of the 1050th anniversary of baptism of Poland.
Ballet Foundation
The Ballet Foundation has operated in Szczecin since 1990, led by Maria Andrzejewska. It collaborates with renowned choreographers, dancers and teachers. Its goals include ballet education, financial support for talented children and youth and promoting artistic achievements of ballet students in Poland and abroad. Since 2002, the foundation has organised the International Ballet Competition Golden Pointe Shoes for the best graduates of ballet schools. Since 2007, it has run a Dance and Musical Studio, offering classes for children aged 4 or older.
Programme
19 April 2016
5.30 pm ? OPERApress: Polowanie na czarownice w Europie (Witch-hunt in Europe)
7 pm ? Competition opening, Witch-hunt ballet by Opera na Zamku in Szczecin, chor. Cathy Marston
20 April 2016
Competition day 1 ? Classical dance
12 noon ? press conference
5 pm ? competition
21 April 2016
Competition day 2 ? Contemporary dance
5 pm ? competition
22 April 2016
7 pm ? Competition Finale: International Ballet Star Gala on the 25th anniversary of the Ballet Foundation
Competition organisers include the Ballet Foundation and the Opera na Zamku in Szczecin in collaboration with the Artistic Education Centre, the Association of Polish Stage Artists and the Institute of Music and Dance.
Honorary patrons: Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Mayor of Szczecin and Governor of Western Pomerania Province. The event is financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Szczecin City Office and the Office of the Governor of Western Pomerania Province.
Media patrons: TVP Kultura, TVP 3, Radio WAWA, Radio ESKA, Kurier Szczeciński
More on the history of competition and operation of the Ballet Foundation can be found at the website: www.fundacjabalet.pl
