A World Of Ballerinas: August 2015

Monday, August 24, 2015

Juliette Bosco (YAGP Gold Medal)

(Photos taken by Rachel Neville)

Juliette Bosco, an aspiring ballerina, began training with the Ellison Ballet School, one of the most prestigious and high ranking ballet schools in the country, since last year. In the April of this year, Juliette Bosco, although one of the youngest in her age category, received the gold in the junior division of YAGP, one of the largest and most competitive ballet competitions in the world.

Although, winning comes with honor and praise, it can’t be done without a great deal of hard work. Juliette trains from 25-30 hours a week and homeschools. “It's very very hard. But it's all worth it,” she says.

Juliette loves ballet competitions because it is an opportunity for her to be on stage, dance in galas, and receive scholarships from different ballet schools. Juliette says, “I was very very very surprised [to have won and] It was such an amazing feeling I don't even know how to explain it!” The most valuable lesson she learned was “you can’t doubt yourself because of others. I felt that I wasn't good enough to be there.” Juliette gained a lot of self-confidence from the win.

Unlike most kids, Juliette says, “I had always dreamed of being a ballerina,” She had done some baby classes when she was younger, but the real training began when she was 10 years old. When she was 10, she went to a vaganova trained school, Greenwich Ballet Academy, and truly experienced what ballet was like. “I had no idea what I was getting into. After the first day of being there, I knew what ballet meant; I knew what it was going to take; and I knew what kind of life this would be. I loved every second of it. I couldn't picture myself without ballet,” she says.

Being talented has its ups and downs. As you might expect, with talents comes high expectations, stress, injuries, and a lot of jealousy. Juliette doesn’t let any of this discourage her. She has committed herself to ballet and fallen in love with it. She describes dancing as therapeutic as well. She says, “I can let all of my emotions out when I am dancing. I have to deal with so much drama with some of the girls there. At times it can be very painful. I don't have friends and I have no one to really talk to, I don't have anyone that I can trust. No one there has my back except for my parents, Mr. Ellison, ️Ms. Forrest, and ️Ms. Valekaite. It's very stressful. So when I am dancing I can really let myself go and just be free.”

Even with all the drama in her life, Juliette is very appreciative for all that she has. Juliette thanks her teachers and her parents for where she is today. She says, “I am so thankful to have such a dedicated family. They do so much for me. They have made so many sacrifices for me in the past …. My favorite thing about Ellison is how much Mr. Ellison does for us. He works so hard to get everything we have out of us. The training is also over the top unbelievable. There is no teacher like Mr. Ellison, anywhere.”

Juliette has big dreams for the future. However, she is already on track. She hopes to be a prima ballerina at the Mariinsky theatre.

(Juliette Bosco and Theophilus Pilette won the silver for their pas de deux performance)

Fun Questions:

What is your favorite thing about ballet?

My favorite thing about ballet is how beautiful the art is and how I can relate to some of the stories in some of the most famous ballets. Like Giselle I can relate to a lot.

Favorite Leotard Brand?

My favorite leotard brand is Grishko because they are very high cut and so beautiful. I also wear Grishko pointe shoes. I love them so much!

Any tips?

Always have your pelvis aligned properly. That is the key to almost everything.

Where do you get your costumes?

I get my costumes from Theatre ballet. They have the most beautiful costumes on earth!!

Favorite Variations?

My favorite variations are, Kitri, Swan lake( both odile and Odette), Giselle , corsaire and la bayadere.

Who is your ballet idol?

My favorite ballerina is Kristina Shapran. I want to be just like her!

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Rebecca Blenkinsop (Prix de Lausanne Finalist)

Rebecca's Prix de Lausanne Classical Variation

Rebecca's Prix de Lausanne Contemporary Variation

An extremely talented ballerina, Rebecca Blenkinsop, will be attending the Royal ballet in just 2 weeks. Rebecca was a finalist in the highly competitive Prix de Lausanne that received a scholarship to the school. The scholarships are given at the networking forum that is connected to the competition.

Rebecca began her ballet training at the age of 10, a time in which most people began pointe. The reason that Rebecca had started ballet so late was actually because she began dancing with jazz and only later did she fall in love with ballet. Now, Rebecca says, “I can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love putting in all the hard work and effort.” Despite starting at such a young age, she was able to improve quickly and eventually receive scholarships to amazing ballet schools such as the Royal Ballet school, Houston Ballet Academy, English National Ballet School, ABT, and more. Choosing between these schools can be very difficult but not for Rebecca. She says that she always knew the Royal Ballet School would be her first choice and that she “always wanted to go to the Royal Ballet School.”

Reaching the top isn’t easy. Rebecca had to train approximately 24 hours a week to prepare for the Prix de Lausanne. She used to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School where she would receive full-time training. “My greatest influence is probably my ballet teacher, Maggie Lorraine. She has inspired me a lot,” Rebecca says. Aside from training at her studio, she also has a long routine of daily warm up stretches. Aside from her stretches, she says, “I cross train for 30 minutes everyday and do a 15 minute strengthening workout (push ups, sit-ups, planks etc…). I do gyrotonics as well which is incredible and has help me a lot.”

To reach the finals, there is a great deal of auditioning. It can be difficult to stand out during an audition when you’re in a room packed with dozens of talented ballerinas. Rebecca says “ [During an audition,] I usually wear a brighter color leotard. I also try to practice at the back of the studio while other groups are dancing, which makes you seem like a hard worker. I generally tend to separate myself and where I am standing from other dancers as well.” She is also able to set herself apart from other dancers when she is on stage by expressing her passion through each of her performances. She has the added advantage that she doesn’t get stage fright. She says, “I’m pretty good with nerves I don’t usually get to nervous. SOmetimes, I take deep breaths. I just run through my dances before I go on stage and think positive thoughts. It’s all in the mind.”

Rebecca feels that the prix de lausanne was an invaluable experience for her. The greatest lesson she learned from being apart of the competition was, “to have confidence in yourself. The level of competitiveness can be very overwhelming. You just have to focus on what you are doing instead of watching other dancers and comparing yourself to them.” Rebecca says, “Attending the Prix de Lausanne was incredible because it was like auditioning for the world’s top ballet schools in one week in one place. The exposure is amazing and I loved meeting all the other incredible dancers as well.”

Rebecca will be moving to England by herself to attend the school. She says she is “excited, but [she] will miss her friends and family.” Luckily, she will not be completely alone as she already knows a couple of people that will be starting in the same year as her. One of the benefits of attending such an amazing ballet school is the possibility of meeting famous dancers. Rebecca says, “[she] would love to meet Carlos Acosta, Marianela Nuñez and Natalia Osipova.”

In the future, after completing her training at the Royal Ballet School, she says, “[She] will audition for companies around Europe and hopefully join one.” She also says, “[Getting to dance with the Royal Ballet Company] would be amazing” and she would like to hopefully receive that opportunity in her 3rd year. Although the road ahead is difficult for any ballerina, I have no doubt Rebecca will do just fine. As she says so herself, “Just work hard and be dedicated. That is the best advice I can give, if you work hard, you will achieve what you want to.”

Congratulations to Rebecca on her amazing accomplishment!!!

Fun Questions: