Syracuse University Summer Dance audition slated for January

Syracuse University Summer Dance audition slated for JanuaryDecember 16, 2008Eileen Jevisejevis@uc.syr.edu

An audition for Syracuse University’s 2009 Summer Dance Intensive Program will be held on Sunday, Jan. 4, at Syracuse Stage. Registration is 1-1:30 p.m., and the audition is from 1:30-3 p.m. Serious ballet students ages 12-20 from intermediate/advanced through pre-professional levels are encouraged to audition.

The program, led by artistic director Danita Emma, will feature dance legends Gabriela Darvash and Kathryn Posin.

Darvash, a world-renowned, Kirov-trained teacher, was artistic director and resident choreographer for the State Opera Ballet in Cluj, Romania, for 14 years. Quoted in The New York Times, Mikhail Baryshnikov called Darvash “one of the distinguished and fine ballet pedagogues in America.”

Posin, who currently teaches world dance and the art of choreography at New York University’s Gallatin School, is a renowned choreographer. Her works have been performed by Ballet West, Netherlands Dans Theater and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, among many others.

Other notable faculty will include Momchil Mladenov, principal dancer with Suzanne Farrell Ballet; Shannon Parsley, assistant ballet master and artistic coordinator of Boston Ballet; Jared Redik, soloist with Boston Ballet; and Hope Boykin, principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Company.

Held on the SU campus, the program prepares aspiring young dancers to meet the challenges of today’s dance world. Students will participate in a comprehensive classical ballet curriculum in an intensive conservatory environment. The program also includes exposure to modern, jazz and musical theater, and a focus on health and personal growth. With its emphasis on technical growth and artistic performance, the training students receive will develop and refine their technique and broaden their understanding of what it means to be a dancer.

Students may choose a two- or three-week program, either July 13-25 or July 13-Aug. 1, and may commute or reside on the SU campus.

The program is administered by University College of Syracuse University and co-sponsored by SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. Visit the Summer Dance Intensive web site at http://www.yesu.syr.edu/ballet/program.htm for more information. For questions and program details, call (315) 751-3498 or e-mail ballet@uc.syr.edu.