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Sep 18, 2020
Laurent Liotardo (post-production by Nik Pate), Courtesy ENB
Catch English National Ballet’s Rising Stars in the Emerging Dancer Competition Livestream
The coronavirus pandemic may have postponed English National Ballet's annual Emerging Dancer competition last spring, but the show must go on—digitally! You can still watch ENB's best and brightest talent during the competition's livestream, taking place on September 22 at 7:20 pm BST (that's 2:20 pm ET). Now in its 11th year, the competition for the Emerging Dancer Award will be broadcast live from the company's East London production studio for the first time. Tickets are available for $6.99 per device and will remain available to view on demand until September 29.
<p>ENB announced its six 2020 Emerging Dancer <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/2020-emerging-dancer-finalists-2645029840.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" target="_self">finalists</a>, selected by their peers, last February. The repertoire for the evening includes a pas de deux from <em>Talisman</em>, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpQnidi23YM&feature=emb_logo" target="_blank">Ivana Bueno </a>and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTxDwA-bf7A" target="_blank">William Yamada</a>; a pas de deux from <em>Satanella</em>, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEpyGZvEDhc" target="_blank">Emily Suzuki</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgJ9T6QqQ2g" target="_blank">Victor Prigent</a>; and a piece from <em>Diana and Acteon</em>, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MtJEg17xuM" target="_blank">Carolyne Galvao</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ9329EAttA" target="_blank">Miguel Angel Maidana</a>. The contemporary section will feature three brand-new original works created especially for the event by choreographers Mthuthuzeli November (Ballet Black dancer and choreographer), Stina Quagebeur (ENB first artist and associate choreographer) and ENB lead principal <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/search/?q=jeffrey+cirio" target="_blank">Jeffrey Cirio</a>. There will also be special performances by last year's Emerging Dancer Award winner Julia Conway and the People's Choice Award winner Rhys Antoni Yeomans.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5952a51a539209ce08cdb76e5b811f61"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wr3wDQL9hOw?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>For the first time the live viewing audience will be able to vote for the People's Choice Award winner on the night of the performance by using a new text-to-vote system (a UK number will receive any international votes). Viewers will also enjoy backstage access to the event throughout the broadcast, with interviews and much more. The recipient of the Corps de Ballet Award will also be announced during the evening, acknowledging the on- and offstage work of a corps member chosen by ENB's artistic team.</p><p>The Emerging Dancer competition is the company's first major live event since January and kicks off ENB's 2020 digital autumn <a href="https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/new-autumn-2020-season/" target="_blank">season</a>, which includes nine new commissions and the launch of the online viewing platform ENB At Home. </p>
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Sep 17, 2020
From left: Alaina Broyles, Courtesy Werner; Courtesy Underwood
Gaynor Minden's Latest Dancer Lineup Features a Body-Positivity Activist and Its First Guy
Pointe shoe brand Gaynor Minden recently welcomed 32 young dancers to its coveted roster of Gaynor Girls. But this year, the company included two applicants who push the boundaries of what it means to dance on pointe. While both Mason Simon Underwood and Colleen Werner are longtime GM wearers, they stand out from the rest of this year's group: Underwood is the first ever Gaynor Guy, and Werner is a body-positivity activist.
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</p><p><br/></p><p>These two influencers prove that you don't have to fit into the stereotypical ballerina mold to love dancing on pointe. Get to know these inspirational young dancers below.</p>
Mason Simon Underwood
<p>Mason Simon Underwood's favorite variation is Aurora Act III, from <em>The Sleeping Beauty</em>. Last month <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CD-E14vASJ7/" target="_blank">on Instagram</a>, he shared a video of himself rehearsing it in his family's living room. His lines are long and clear as he moves confidently on pointe. Underwood, age 16, started dancing when he was 12, and like many of his peers at the School of Nashville Ballet, he got his first pair of pointe shoes two years ago, at 14. "I was in the level where all my friends were starting, and I thought it was really cool," he says. "I saw some guys on Instagram doing it, so I thought I might as well try."</p><p>While Underwood was the only guy in his school interested in pointe classes, his teachers were supportive. "They encouraged it, and said it would be good for strength and expressiveness," he says. And his hard work has paid off. Having attended virtual intensives at Nashville Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre and San Francisco Ballet School over the summer, Underwood is now moving to California to start full-time training at SFB in October.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQyMTQ0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjI4MDM0NH0.HJXjcLUs01gANqKydzXyto9WirDh1JdQ4G21CxcdYYc/img.jpg?width=980" id="0eccd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1d643fb54df559778b2a18f62bd8942b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Mason Simon Underwood poses in attitude back on pointe as he practices in his living room." />
Mason Simon Underwood practices his pointework at home
Courtesy Underwood
<p>In addition to Aurora, Underwood's Instagram page includes forays into classical roles like Giselle, Lilac Fairy, Kitri and Raymonda. Though he's learned a few of these variations in school, the rest he's taught to himself. "I love male variations and female variations," he says. "I think it would be great to have the opportunity to try both." His dream roles? "Albrecht, Romeo or Giselle."</p><p>When thinking of his future, Underwood dreams of joining a big company and "getting to dance all the time." He also hopes to be an inspiration to younger dancers, in the same way that pros like <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/search/?q=james+whiteside" target="_blank">James Whiteside</a> and <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/carlos-hopuy-2508403930.html" target="_blank">Carlos Hopuy</a> were to him, supplying him with courage through their Instagram posts to break down ballet's rigid gender lines. "I think the ballet world needs to be more inclusive, and accept everyone for who they are," says Underwood. "Everyone should have the chance to live their dreams and fight for what they want." </p>
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Colleen Werner
<p>Colleen Werner is not your typical Gaynor Girl. While most are on a pre-professional ballet track, Werner, age 23, is getting her master's in clinical mental health counseling at Trevecca Nazarene University. "One of my overarching career goals is to create an eating disorder treatment program for dancers, because dance was a huge contributing factor to my eating disorder," says Werner.</p><p>Originally from Long Island, New York, Werner began dancing when she was 3. She started on pointe at 13, and attended intensives with the Joffrey Ballet and Eglevsky Ballet before entering New York City's Hunter College as a dance major. But while recovering from an eating disorder, she switched her major to psychology. "I realized that as much as I loved dance, it was coming from a toxic place," she says. After a healthy period of distance from ballet, Werner got back into the studio two years ago. Since moving to Nashville last summer to start graduate school, Werner has made taking classes with Nashville Ballet's Community Division and performing with <a href="https://www.thedancerproject.com/" target="_blank">The Dancer Project</a> a central part of her life. </p><div id="01a50" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aba5fede4aaebbd13048dbacb2403a1c"><blockquote class="instagram-media"
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<p>Werner posts regular dance content, usually clad in whimsically printed leotards, on her Instagram page, where she has nearly 35,000 followers. She also posts about her work as a therapy intern, and her belief in the <a href="https://www.sizediversityandhealth.org/content.asp?id=76" target="_blank">Health at Every Size Paradigm</a>. "Health isn't defined by a particular size, and people can pursue health regardless of their size," she says. "It's getting away from the numbers." Her posts have received a lot of feedback, and not all of it positive. But Werner forges ahead, eager to inspire. "Dancers reach out who are struggling with body image. They say they're being represented, and that they really look up to me."</p><p>Going forward, Werner plans to continue performing, and keep dance in her life as a necessary stress-reliever from her work as a therapist-in-training. "It's incredible that Gaynor Minden is representing me and celebrating me as a dancer even though my body type is very different from the traditional dancer stereotype," says Werner. "Growing up, I never saw anyone who looked like me in magazines or on the stage. It's a really fulfilling moment for me, my younger self and this new generation of young dancers." </p>
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Sep 16, 2020
Dylan Giles, Courtesy Festival Ballet Providence
Festival Ballet Providence's New Leap Year Program Gives Dancers Facing a Gap Year a Place to Grow
A new training program at Festival Ballet Providence called Leap Year is welcoming pre-professional and professional dancers who don't have a studio or company to dance for this season.
The endeavor is the brainchild of Kathleen Breen Combes, FBP's executive and artistic director. "I kept getting these emails of dancers saying they just need a place to train this year," says Combes. "I thought, What if we could provide a space for dancers to get stronger, experiment and try new things in a nonjudgmental and no-pressure environment?"
<p>While performances in Rhode Island<strong> </strong>are still on hold because of <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/search/?q=covid-19" target="_blank">COVID-19</a>, dancers can safely return to studios with a few health precautions in place. (FBP's reopening plan has been approved by the state.) The Leap Year program will help dancers hone their technique during what may have otherwise been an off year. "Let's use this time to work on all the things we always wished we could work on if we had time," says Combes. Her husband, <a href="https://www.pointemagazine.com/search/?q=Yury+Yanowsky" target="_blank">Yury Yanowsky</a>, who serves as FBP's artistic curator and principal teacher, and who will be leading the program, cheekily calls this approach "fine-tuning the Formula 1 car."</p><p>To get ready for next season's auditions, dancers will work closely with Combes and Yanowsky, as well as FBP faculty members Christopher Anderson, Leticia Guerrero and Marissa Parmenter. Leap Year is designed to help dancers safely get back to jumping and pointework, since most have not had consistent, in-studio training over the last several months. The program will also offer master classes, individual coaching, choreographic workshops and career mentorship.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM4ODMxOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTM2MzUzM30.0CWQLaN6sfTlfd9ulxdds36P96KKb3uhc73p-mGh1kM/img.jpg?width=980" id="cc96e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8abee092ea3f8252f7b4cc9f70c9bf3a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="A man wearing a face mask, gray T-shirt and black athletic pants teaches a ballet class to a group of dancers wearing practicewear." />
Yury Yanowsky (left), shown here teaching class at Festival Ballet Providence, will head FBP's new Leap Year Program.
Dylan Giles, Courtesy Festival Ballet Providence
<p>What makes Leap Year different from typical trainee programs is the schedule. "We'll come in for three hours in the morning, five days per week [plus an hour and a half on Saturday], and work super hard, but then the rest of the day will be free," says Combes. The goal is to accommodate those who need to work or do other things in the afternoon and evenings.</p><p>The program, which is tuition-based and open to dancers ages 18 to 24, will run in three 10-week sessions, beginning in October. Dancers have the flexibility to attend one or multiple sessions depending on their schedules, budgets and goals. Registration is rolling, and interested dancers can apply by sending in a video reel, headshot and resumé.</p><p>For Combes, getting dancers back in the studio with a goal is her biggest priority. "We're such goal-oriented people and we're so influenced by the people around us," she says. With Leap Year, she hopes to give dancers back the sense of purpose and community that COVID took away. "Everyone who signs up for this program is looking for the same thing: a space to feel good about yourself and improve."</p>
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