Kozlova Int'l Ballet Competition Announces Winners

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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