Kozlova Int'l Ballet Competition Announces Winners
By: Julie Musbach Jun. 18, 2017
The Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition hosted just under 200 dancers from countries around the world for the June 6-10 event at Symphony Space, New York City. The rich display of international talent was breathtaking as dancers in four categories, ages 11 to 26, performed for medals, scholarships to dance academies around the world, and company contracts with the Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and Columbia Classical Ballet. Saturday June 10th found all judges and dancers on stage for the announcement of the winners, followed by a Gala Performance, charmingly emceed by Margo Sappington.
The spectacular evening opened with the presentation by Kozlova of a medal to Arthur Mitchell, accepted by Eddie Shellman, longtime principal dancer of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Continuing her commitment to acknowledge artists who have made significant contributions to dance over the years, Kozlova honored Mr. Mitchell, dance pioneer as a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet and founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Ms. Kozlova's presentation included a moving and heartfelt speech, not only in appreciation of the barrier-breaking accomplishments of Mr. Mitchell, but also in praise of the generosity and equality in the world of the arts, specifically in dance. Kozlova cited the examples of George Balanchine, an immigrant from another country, and Arthur Mitchell, an African-American artist, who were embraced and able to rise to great heights in the dance world.
The evening continued with a performance of medalists, including those who were awarded Grand Prix for the first time in the VKIBC's history, and a guest appearance by Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.
2017 Awards / Prizes
GRAND PRIX
Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan - Classical
Sungmin Kim, South Korea - Contemporary
CLASSICAL COMPETITION MEDAL WINNERS
Youth Division (Ages 11 - 12) Female
- Gold Medal: Seehyun Kim, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Katya Saburova, Russia
- Bronze Medal: Lilly Fridlyand, USA
- Bronze Medal: Chloe Colter, USA
- Bronze Medal: Delaney Hart, USA
Youth Division (Ages 11 - 12) Male
Gold Medal: Kangwon Lee, South Korea
No Silver and Bronze Medals Awarded
Student Division (Ages 13 - 14)
- Gold Medal: Alesia Astashonok, Belarus
- Gold Medal: Catherine Parker, Switzerland
- Silver Medal: Nattalia Tiemi Nakamura, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Jillian Schubert, USA
- Bronze Medal: Natasha Snogren, USA
Junior Division (Ages 15 - 17) Female
- Gold Medal: Rheya Shano, USA
- Gold Medal: Yuyu Ichikawa, Belgium
- Silver Medal: Mari Bell, Canada
- Bronze Medal: Talia Egge, USA
- Bronze Medal: Madison Holdsworth, USA
Junior Division (Ages 15 - 17) Male
- No Gold and Silver Medals Awarded
- Bronze Medal: João Paulo Jezler, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Marco Marongiu, Italy
Senior Division (Ages 18 - 26) Female
- Gold Medal: Yu Jeong Choi, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Eunhye Lee, South Korea
- Bronze Medal: Francesca Loi, Italy
Senior Division (Ages 18 - 26) Male
- Gold Medal: Jinsol Eum, South Korea
- Gold Medal: Koyo Yanagishima, USA
- Silver Medal: Justin Valentine, USA
- Silver Medal: Jun Kyoung Kim, South Korea
- Bronze Medal: Serik Nakyspekov, Kazakhstan
- Bronze Medal: Marcos Silva, Brazil
Best Interpretation of the Classical Compulsory Female
Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria
Best Interpretation of the Classical Compulsory Male
Christian Pforr, USA
Best Interpretation of the Contemporary Compulsory "Deep Mirror"
Alice Lunedei, Italy
Camila Rodrigues, USA
Best Interpretation of the Contemporary Compulsory "In the Wake"
Marcos Silva, Brazil
CONTEMPORARY COMPETITION MEDAL WINNERS
Division I (Ages 12 and Under)
- Gold Medal: Sadie Weintraub, Ireland
- Silver Medal: Lilly Fridlyand, USA
- Bronze Medal: Maria Loberto, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Katya Saburova, Russia
Division II (Ages 13 - 14)
- Gold Medal: Noh Youn Kim, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Jillian Schubert, USA
- Bronze Medal: Giuliana Maria Tavarelli Nunes, Paraguay
Division III (Ages 15 - 17) Female
- Gold Medal: Nikita Boris, USA
- Silver Medal: Yul Ui Kim, South Korea
- Bronze Medal: Alexia Duff, USA
- Bronze Medal: Semi Lim, South Korea
Division III (Ages 15 - 17) Male
- No Gold Medal Awarded
- Silver Medal: Gabriel Barbosa, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Roberto Santos, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Khevyn Sigismondi, Belgium
Division IV (Ages 18 and Up) Female
- Gold Medal: Jooeun Son, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Kyungmee Hwang, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Scarlet Oliveira, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Yasmine Matos, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Isabella Souza, Brazil
Division IV (Ages 18 and Up) Male
- Gold Medal: DongHun Go, South Korea
- Gold Medal: Haneul Jung, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Seungmin Choi, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Justin Valentine, USA
- Bronze Medal: In Hyeok Jung, South Korea
- Bronze Medal: Jey Santos, Brazil
Duets
- Gold Medal: Yasmin Matos and Jey Santos, Brazil
- Silver Medal: Nicole Soares and Marcos Silva, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Ana Luiza Santilli and Gabriel Barbosa, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Mima Freitas and Alexandre Lobo, Brazil
Groups
- Gold Medal: Dedicatoria de um Retrato by Laura Moeckel, Brazil
- Silver Medal: Implexus by Flavia Sà, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Sensibus by Ricardo Scheir, Brazil
CHOREOGRAPHY COMPETITION MEDAL WINNERS
- Gold Medal: A Thin Line Between by Sunghoom Kim, South Korea
- Gold Medal: Delusion by Jungoh Ha, South Korea
- Silver Medal: Implexus by Flavia Sà, Brazil
- Silver Medal: Hersperion by Ariel Rose, Brazil
- Bronze Medal: Only... by Flavia Sà, Brazil
COMPANY CONTRACTS
Boston Ballet - USA
Natasha Snogren, USA
Cincinnati Ballet - USA
Marcos Silva, Brazil
Columbia Classical Ballet - Columbia
- Camila Rodrigues, Brazil
- Mari Bell, Canada
- Lily Saito, USA
SCHOLARSHIPS
Accademia Internazionale Coreutica - Italy
- Rheya Shano, USA
- Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria
- João Paulo Jezler, Brazil
Boston Ballet - USA
Natasha Snogren, USA
Brussels International Ballet School - Belgium
- Francesca Loi, Italy
- Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria
- Catherine Parker, Switzerland
- Marcos Silva, Brazil
- João Paulo Jezler, Brazil
- Koyo Yanagishima, USA
- Clément Guillaume, France
- Marco Marongiu, Italy
Cincinnati Ballet - USA
Rheya Shano, USA
Cinevox Junior Company- Switzerland
Marcos Silva, Brazil
Columbia Classical Ballet - Columbia
Natasha Snogren, USA
Conservatoire National Superieur de musique et de danse de Paris - France
- Catherine Parker, Switzerland
- Christian Pforr, USA
K-ARTS - South Korea
- Sydney Hensen, USA
- Madison Holdsworth. USA
Le Atelier Loft - Switzerland
- Alesia Astashonok, USA
- Pauline Gierling, Belgium
Munich National Conservatoire - Germany
Alesia Astashonok, Belarus
Tulsa Ballet - USA Alice Lunedei, Italy Camila Rodrigues, USA
VKDCNY Full Year Scholarship - USA
Jillian Schubert, USA
VKDCNY Sotogrande Summer Intensive - Spain
- Alesia Ashtashonok, USA
- Alexia Duff, USA
- Elodie Lefebvre, Belgium
- Marcos Silva, Brazil
- João Paulo Jezler, Brazil
INVITATIONS
Confederacion Interamericana y Mundial de Profesionales de Danza Gala Tijuana - Mexico
Clément Guillaume, France
Corporea in the State of Mexico - Mexico
Koyo Yanagishima, USA
Gala Rudolph Nureyev Moscow March 2017 - Russia
Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan
Performance at the Ecuador Congress Gala - Ecuador
Nikita Boris, USA Justin Valentine, USA
Riga National Gala August 2017 - Latvia
Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan
GIFTS
- Alby Pretty Dancewear Leotards
- Lilly Fridlyand, USA
- Talia Egge, USA
- Francesca Loi, Italy
- Camila Rodrigues, USA
- Alby Pretty Cassandra Reentry of ABT T-Shirt
- Katya Saburova, Russia
JURY FOR 2017
- Andris Liepa (Russia), Chairman of the Judges
- Nina Mireille Buisson (France)
- Charles Jude (France)
- Nina Ananiashvili (Georgia)
- Caroline Llorca (Germany)
- Ivan Cavallari (Italy)
- Alberto Pretto (Italy)
- Tursynbek Nurkaliev (Kazakhstan)
- Aivars Leimanis (Latvia)
- Patricia Aulestia de Alba (Mexico)
- Olga Guardia de Smoak (Panama)
- Sergei Soloviev (Russia)
- Sun Hee Kim (South Korea)
- Mi Sook Jeon (South Korea)
- Jelko Yuresha (United Kingdom)
- Virginia Johnson (USA)
- Victoria Morgan (USA)
- Radenko Pavlovich (USA)
- Margo Sappington (USA)
- Peter Stark (USA)
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