Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition releases 2016 results

The 2016 Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition (VKIBC) ran April 26-30 at Symphony Space in New York City. It ended in grand style with the announcement of this year’s medalists and winners, many of whom accepted company contracts and school scholarships. [See the full list of prizewinners below.]

The VKIBC NYC Finals’ Gala Performance featured guests Daniel Ulbricht and Erica Pereira of New York City Ballet. They danced the Tschaikovsky pas de deux in memory of Violette Verdy, to whom the 2016 competition was dedicated. Washington Ballet’s Brooklyn Mack and Ayano Kimura also performed, presenting the pas de deux from Giselle Act II. Soo Bin Lee and Seung Hyun Lee danced the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake.

This year’s illustrious panel of judges was led by Andris Liepa from Russia. The panel included Anderson Santana (Belgium), Charles Jude and Nina Buisson (France), Nina Ananiashvili (Georgia), Patricia Aulestia (Mexico), Olga Guardia de Smoak (Panama), Sergei Soloviev and Nikolai Tsiskaridze (Russia), Dirk Badenhorst (South Africa), Sun Hee Kim and Jeon Mi Sook (South Korea), Jelko Yuresha (United Kingdom), Tracy Inman, Joe Lanteri, Terence Marling, Jennifer Muller, Margo Sappington, Peter Stark, Martine Van Hamel and Septime Webre (USA).

For further information on VKIBC, visit www.vkibc.org.

2016 VKIBC GRAND PRIX: #238 Ildar Tagirov (Russia) 

CONTEMPORARY COMPETITION PRIZES:

DIVISION I:

GOLD MEDAL: #206 Kye Cooley (USA) 

SILVER MEDAL: #205 Cielo Ibarrola (Paraguay)

BRONZE MEDALS: #204 Julia Miro (Spain)

                                #202 Anna Thomashoff (Austria)

DIVISION II:

GOLD MEDAL: #209 Orlando Harbutt (USA)

SILVER MEDAL: #208 London Mills (USA)

BRONZE MEDAL: #212 Somer Mia February (South Africa)

DIVISION III:

GOLD MEDAL: #221 Yun Ju Lee (South Korea)

SILVER MEDAL: #217 Gilles Delellio (Belgium)

BRONZE MEDAL: #214 Nikita Boris (USA)

DIVISION IV:

Female:

GOLD MEDALS: #222 Vivian Lorena Bobadilla (Brazil)

                            #233 Jeong Eun Lee (South Korea)

SILVER MEDAL: #236 Ye Seul Roh (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDAL: #241 Yewen Xu (China)

Male:

GOLD MEDAL: #239 Seung Uk Song (South Korea)

SILVER MEDAL: #230 Hee Won Ham (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDAL: #231 Hui Yeob Jeong (South Korea)

DUETS:

GOLD MEDAL: #252 Senso Fragmentado, Vivian Lorena Bobadilla, Willer Rocha (Brazil) 

SILVER MEDAL: #251 Por Ventura, Fim., Fernanda Godoy, Breno Camargo (Brazil)

BRONZE MEDAL: #250 O2, Lara Fransen, Jonas Vlerick (Belgium)

GROUPS:

GOLD MEDAL: #254 Instigi, Willer Rocha, Fernanda Godoy, Vivian Bobadilla, Breno Camargo, Gabriela Velasco (Brazil)

CHOREOGRAPHY PRIZES:

GOLD MEDALS: #252 Senso by Richardo Sheir

                            #238 Narcissus by Olga Poltarak & Evgeniy Shevtsov

SILVER MEDAL: #238 Almond’s Bloom by Ildar Tagirov

BRONZE MEDAL: #245 Le Petit Prince by Maxime Mathieu Quiroga

CLASSICAL COMPETITION PRIZES:

YOUTH DIVISION:

GOLD MEDAL: #15 Caroline Grossman (USA) 

SILVER MEDAL: #1 Ye Eun Lee (South Korea) 

BRONZE MEDALS: #3 Katya Saburova (Russia) 

                                 #12 Yun Ju Lee (South Korea)

STUDENT DIVISION:

Female:

GOLD MEDAL: #43 Seung Min Yoo (South Korea)

SILVER MEDALS: #40 Seon Hyang An (South Korea)

                              #36 Ye Jin Joo (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDALS: #31 Chae Rin Roh (South Korea)

                                 #41 London Mills (USA)

Male:

GOLD MEDAL: #39 Eun Soo Lee (South Korea)

SILVER MEDAL: #45 Keita Fujishima (Japan)

No Bronze Awarded

JUNIOR DIVISION:

Female:

GOLD MEDAL: #58 Nikita Boris (USA)

SILVER MEDAL: #65 Seon Mee Park (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDAL: #72 Maria Clara Ambrosini (Ecuador)

Male:

No Gold Awarded

SILVER MEDALS: #75 Justin Valentine (USA)

                              #64 Gilles Delellio (Belgium)

BRONZE MEDAL: #62 Miguel David Aranda (Paraguay)

SENIOR DIVISION:

Female:

GOLD MEDAL: #82 Maria Iliushkina (Russia)

SILVER MEDALS: #101 Da Woon Lee (South Korea)

                              #99 Hee Won Cho (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDALS: #96 Anna Guerrero (Philippines)

                                 #86 Brecke Swan (USA)

Male:

GOLD MEDAL: #100 Seung Hyun Lee (South Korea)

SILVER MEDALS: #102 Dong Hyeon Kwak (South Korea)

                              #95 Gwan Woo Park (South Korea)

BRONZE MEDAL: #85 Thomas Giugovaz (USA)

BEST INTERPRETATION OF THE CLASSICAL COMPULSORY:

Female:

#84 Daniela Maarraoui (USA)

Male:

#100 Seung Hyun Lee (South Korea)

BEST INTERPRETATION OF THE CONTEMPORARY COMPULSORY:

Female:

#96 Anna Guerrero (USA)

Male:

#92 Dante Alabastro (USA)

SPECIAL PRIZES:

COMPANY CONTRACTS:

– Ballet de l’Opéra de Bordeaux Company Contracts: #82 Maria Iliushkina and #102 Dong Hyeon Kwak

-Invitation for one-year trainee program at the State Ballet of Georgia: #86 Brecke Swan, #84 Daniela Maarraoui, #85 Thomas Giugovaz and #92 Dante Alabastro

– Invitation to attend the Vaganova Academy for one-year: #58 Nikita Boris and #75 Justin Valentine

– Columbia Classical Ballet Company Contract: #84 Daniela Maarraoui

– Columbia Classical Ballet Trainee Program Contract: #94 Miho Morita and #72 Maria Clara Ambrosini

– Ballet Centro del Conocimiento, Misiones, Argentina: #84 Daniela Maarraoui (USA)

– Ballet Centro del Conocimiento Apprenticeship: #72 Maria Clara Ambrosini (Ecuador)

SCHOLARSHIPS:

– Accademia Internazionale Coreutica (Florence) Summer Intensive Scholarship: #62 Miguel Angel David and #64 Gilles Dellalio

– Full Year Scholarship to VKDCNY: #215 Magda Studzinska and #220 Iliana Yotova

– Full Scholarship to the VKDCNY Summer Intensive and Exclusive (NYC): #20 Kye Cooley and #205 Cielo Ibarrola

– NYCDA Winter Intensive Full Scholarship 2016 (Juilliard, NYC): #221 Yun Ju Lee

– Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive Full Scholarship, NYC (2016 or 2017): #206 Kye Cooley

– K-Arts Youth Gifted and Talented Program (2016 Winter or 2017 Summer): #9 Anna Thomashoff

– Washington Ballet 2016 Summer Program Scholarship: #20 Kye Cooley

– Brussels International Ballet School 2-Week Summer Intensive (August 1-14): #15 Caroline Grossman, #75 Justin Valentine, #39 Eun Soo Lee and #43 Seung Min Yoo

– Brussels Professional Training Program Scholarship for 1 Year: #85 Thomas Giugovaz and #62 Miguel David Aranda

– Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse Full Summer Scholarship: #238 Ildar Tagirov, #100 Seung Hyun Lee, #102 Dong Hyeon Kwak and #95 Gwan Woo Park

– 2017 Summer Scholarship to the Boston Ballet School: #39 Eun Soo Lee, #64 Gilles Delellio and #62 Miguel David Aranda

– One-Month Scholarship to El Ballet Clasico Santiago Otorga: #37 Ana Camila Malazotto and #62 Miguel Angel David

INVITATIONS:

– Invitation to Los Concursos CIAD (includes all domestic expenses): #13 Julia Miro

– Invitation to the CIAD International Dances Festivals (includes all domestic expenses): #75 Justin Valentine

– Invitation to the VKDCNY Spain Summer Intensive, Summer 2016: #13 Julia Miro, #68 Savannah Leigh Ireland, #67 Nene Ogiwara, #72 Maria Clara Ambrosini, #215 Magda Studzinska and #220 Iliana Yotova

Photo: VKIBC competitors Nikita Boris and Justin Valentine in performance. They have been invited by Nikolai Tsiskaridze to attend the Vaganova School in Moscow for one year. Photo by VAM.