Dayton Ballet Announces Competition Winner and Audience Favorite 3/24-27

Dayton Ballet Association is pleased to announce the winners of the New Music for New Dance choreography and composition competition, which culminated with a series of performances March 24-27 at the Victoria Theatre. The Overall Winner in Choreography was local artist Susanne Payne for Interactions, with music by composition winner Jesse Ayers. The People's Choice Award for audience favorite ballet performance was Daniel Karasik's Fixed Action, with music by composer Jeff Olmsted.

Selected through a national competition sponsored by The Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund, Payne's Interactions was one of three ballets performed over the weekend at the historic Victoria Theatre. "Set to original music by composer Jesse Ayers, Interactions is a two-part work inspired by the unpredictable nature of circumstance," says Payne "... these daily encounters make us susceptible to change and can sometimes change the course of our destiny." Audiences said, "Interactions was by far the most entertaining!" and "I have never had a better time at a Dayton Ballet performance. Seeing the original works danced with such verve was a true joy!"

The audience was also involved in selecting a People's Choice Award. The winning ballet was Fixed Action by Dayton Ballet dancer Daniel Karasik. Described as, "... a mix of classical choreography with a contemporary touch..." Karasik's ballet was paired with composition winner Jeff Olmsted's Dervish. Fixed Action "... [stood] alone as its own distinctive work or art," said an fan of the ballet.

The third ballet in the competition was Shaded Dimensions by Cydney Spohn, paired with composition winner James Barry. Shaded Dimensions was also welcomed by rave reviews from the audience and judges. For public comments and People's Choice Award voting results, visit Dayton Ballet Association's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DaytonBalletAssociation.

Thanks to The Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund, audiences were treated to a special experience, as the ballets were performed to live music under the director of local musician and conductor, Dr. Tim Olt. Costumes for all three ballets were designed by Dayton Ballet Costume Designer, Lowell A. Mathwich; lighting effects were by Dan Feith.

More About New Music for New Dance

While New Music for New Dance was a national competition, three choreographer finalists (Daniel Karasik, Susanne Payne and Cydney Spohn) have southern Ohio connections. Two composer finalists (Jesse Ayers and Jeff Olmsted) have had music premiered in Ohio. Jeff Olmsted has also had a composition premiered by the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. The third composition finalist, James Barry, is from New York.

Finalists:

Composer Finalists: Jesse Ayers (OH), and James Barry (NY) and Jeff Olmsted (MA).
Choreographer Finalists: Daniel Karasik (PA), Susanne Payne (OH) and Cydney Spohn (OH).

Judges:

NEW MUSIC: Dayton Philharmonic Music Director Neal Gittleman; Composer Dr. Steven Winteregg; and music producer William Sellers.
NEW DANCE: BalletMet Artistic Director Gerard Charles; Ballet Austin Artistic Director Stephen Mills; and, former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Kathleen Moore.

Project Timeline:
2010
Sept. 1 - Deadline for choreography submissions. All entries were made anonymous and submitted to the New Music judges.
Sept. 15 - Deadline for choreography submissions. All entries were made anonymous and submitted to New Dance judges.
October - New Music judges ranked top 5 compositions; New Dance judges ranked top 3 choreographers.
November 1- Winning choreographers received recordings of top 5 compositions and asked to chose preference.
November 16 - Via conference call, choreographers drew lots and chose a recording to use for the project. Winning composers were notified.
2011
Feb. 17 - Choreographers begin to arrive for two weeks of intense rehearsal with Dayton Ballet dancers, choose cast from pool of dancers, meet with Costume Designer Lowell Mathwich.
March 1 - Choreographers meet with Lighting Designer, Dan Feith.
March 21 - Rehearsals begin with live professional musicians.
March 24 - Opening night.
March 26 - Overall winner announced at 8 p.m. performance.

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