Additional Instructors Announces For Two Week IJ Summer Ballet Intensive

Following the announcement earlier this year of the inaugural season of the IJ Summer Ballet Intensive, founders Irina Paradnaya and Jared G. Lillyhave announced additional instructors - répétiteurs - rounding out what is sure to be an extraordinary opportunity for advanced students and aspiring professionals to learn and perform roles from the classical ballet repertory of the Bolshoi Ballet, the world's most acclaimed ballet company. In addition to Bolshoi vets Anastasia Yatsenko (the Intensive's Artistic Director)and ballet master Yan Godovsky, the Intensive will be led by internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Andrey Merkuriev, former Bolshoi principal Elena Andrienko, current and former soloists Kristina Karaseva, Anna Antropova and Andrey Bolotin. The IJ Summer Ballet Intensive will hold two 2-week sessions this summer from July 17 - August 12 at Lincoln Center. The application deadline isMarch 31 and accepted participants will be notified by April 15. For more information, including audition submission instructions, please visit www.IJBallet.com.

Founders Irina Paradnaya and Jared G. Lilly created the IJ Summer Ballet Intensive in response to the extraordinary rewards of learning ballet masterworks from current and recent Bolshoi Balletprincipals whose technique is still in their feet, who know how and what to dance. Paradnaya and Lilly have assembled a faculty composed of Bolshoi dancers and ballet masters, including Anastasia Yatsenko and Yan Godovsky, who will work closely with students to develop the performance skills necessary to pursue a career in the highly competitive world of professional ballet. Unlike the traditional style of most summer training academies, the IJ Summer Ballet Intensive will provide master classes and individualized workshops that will guide students through the art of classical choreography and character dance while drawing on the Bolshoi's incomparable 240 year tradition.

The curriculum for the IJ Summer Ballet Intensive, created especially for IJ by recent Bolshoi Ballet principals and IJ instructors Anastasia Yatsenko and Yan Godovsky, will encompass training in classical choreography and character dance, with an emphasis on learning and performing selections from the classical repertory.

Students will be divided into two age groups: 15-18 years old (secondary school students) and 18-22 years old (college students).

The two 2-week sessions will take place as follows:

Session One: July 17 through July 29

Session Two: July 31 through August 12

Students may enroll in both sessions for a total of four weeks or may choose to attend one 2-week session. A distinct faculty of four répétiteurs will lead each session.

The maximum enrollment for each session is 80 students. Classes will be held six days a week, with students training for approximately 6 hours per day.

Each session will culminate with a final performance for friends and families, taking place as follows: Session One on July 29 and Session Two on August 12.

TUITION & FEES

A one-time, non-refundable application fee of $40, due with application submission.

IJ offers two tuition options for students:

Day Students - $3,500 per session

Residential Students - $4,400 per session

Four of the most deserving students will be selected from the applicant pool to receive Summer Intensive Fellowships that will include full tuition and housing.

STUDIO SPACES

In keeping with its commitment to providing superior pre-professional training, the IJ Summer Intensive has arranged for classes to take place at the New York City Ballet studios. These exceptional spaces, located in the Samuel B. & David Rose Building and the David H. Koch Theater on the Lincoln Center campus, will place students in a rehearsal setting at the center of New York City's cultural hub.

HOUSING

Students who are not local residents will have the option of residing at St. George Residence, a three-building complex in Brooklyn Heights that provides housing for students and interns who are based temporarily in the New York metro area. Offering students the opportunity to experience the charm of Brooklyn Heights and surrounding neighborhoods, St. George Residence is conveniently located less than 200 feet from the subway station, which takes approximately 30 minutes to arrive at Lincoln Center.

The Summer Ballet Intensive will serve lunch each day at the rehearsal studios, an expense covered in the tuition package for both day and residential students. Breakfast and dinner are not included in the tuition package. St. George Residence is equipped with community kitchens where students can prepare breakfast and dinner, and the Summer Intensive staff can arrange for students to receive these meals at their own expense.

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The inaugural season of the IJ Summer Ballet Intensive, an extraordinary opportunity for aspiring ballet professionals to learn from current and recent principal dancers and assistant choreographers of the Bolshoi Ballet, the world's most acclaimed ballet company will take place this summer in NYC over two 2-week sessions: July 17 through July 29 and July 31 through August 12. The application deadline is March 31 and accepted participants will be notified by April 15. For more information, including audition submission instructions, please visit www.IJBallet.com.

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FACULTY and STAFF

Anastasia Yatsenko | Artistic Director

Born in Moscow, Anastasia Yatsenko graduated from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (class of Sofia Golovkina) and joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1991, where for most of her career, she was coached by legendary Bolshoi dancers Raisa Struchkova and Svetlana Adyrkhaeva. Ms. Yatsenko's repertoire with the Company included the title role in Vladimir Vasiliev's Anyuta; Marie in The Nutcracker; Kitri and Mercedes in Don Quixote; Myrtha in Giselle; Cinderella in Yuri Possokhov's Cinderella; Diamond Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty ; Ramze, the Fisherman's wife, and Guadalquivir in Pierre Lacotte's La Fille due Pharaon; Helena in Midsummer Night's Dream (choreography by John Neumeier); Lise in Sir Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal Gardée; Gulnare in Le Corsaire (choreography by Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka); Zina in Ratmansky's Bright Stream and Adeline in his The Flames of Paris, as well as soloist and principal roles in Balanchine's Tarantella, Agon, Serenade, and Symphony in C. Ms.Yatsenko originated principal roles in Boris Eifman's Russian Hamlet (Paul's Wife); Radu Poklitaru's Ward No. 6 (Nurse/Kitchen Maid); Christopher Wheeldon's Misericordes (soloist), Ratmansky's Capriccio (soloist), The Bolt (Nastya) and Jeu de Cartes (soloist). Ms. Yatsenko's awards include the Gold Medal at the Arabesque Competition in Perm and the Silver Medal at the "Maya" International Ballet Competition (both in 1996). She is an Honored Artist of Russia (2002). Currently, she is a Bolshoi Ballet Mistress responsible for the Balanchine, McGregor, Kylian, Forsythe and other contemporary choreographers' works in the Bolshoi repertory.

Yan Godovsky | Ballet Master

In 1993, after completing his training at the Moscow College of Choreography (now the Moscow Academy of Choreography; Igor Uksusnikov's class), Yan Godovsky joined the Bolshoi Theatre Company, where he became a leading soloist and was coached by Boris Akimov. In 2006, he was awarded the Golden Mask National Theatre prize for his performance as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and in 2008, he was awarded the Ballet magazine Soul of Dance prize. Besides performing a variety of parts in the Bolshoi Ballet repertoire, he danced as a guest at Ekaterina Maximova's Gala at the Bolshoi. Since 2011, Godovsky has been a Bolshoi répétiteur, assisting such leading choreographers as J.C. Maillot, Wayne McGregor, Ji?í Kylián and Angelin Preljocaj. His repertoire in the Bolshoi Theater includes Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Declan Donnelan and Radu Poklitaru production); solo parts in Balanchine's Tarantella and Symphony in C; Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dreams; soloist in Ratmansky's Jeu de cards; soloist in Christopher Wheeldon's Misericordes; James in La Sylphide (choreography by August Bournonville in a version by Johan Kobborg); and soloist in Wayne McGregor's Chroma.

Elena Andrienko | Ballet Master

Elena Andrienko joined the Bolshoi Theatre Company in 1991. She trained under Marina Semyonova, and, at present, her teacher is Lyudmila Semenyaka. Andrienko won 2nd prize at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow in 1993 and 2nd prize at Serge Lifar International Ballet Competition in Kiev in 1994. In 2003, she was awarded the title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation. Andrienko has danced leading parts in such legendary ballets as Giselle, Swan Lake, La Sylphide, andThe Bright Streamand has worked with such renowned choreographers as Alexey Ratmansky, Yuri Grigorovich, Twyla Tharp, Johan Kobborg, and Yuri Possokhov.

Kristina Karaseva | Ballet Master

Kristina is a soloist with the Bolshoi Theater and is coached by Yulianna Malkhasyants. Her repertoire includes the Gypsy dance in Don Quixote; Widow in J.C. Maillot's The Taming of the Shrew; Larina in J. Cranko's Onegin; Zulmea in Le Corsaire (production and new choreography by Alexei Ratmansky and Yuri Burlaka after Marius Petipa); a leading part in the Symphony of Psalms (J. Kylian); and many other roles in the Bolshoi Theater repertory. She was one of the performers of the Flamenco dance (from Chabukiani's Laurencia ) at the gala closing of the Bolshoi's 233rd season. In 2010, she was among the performers of the Basque dance (Vainonen's The Flames of Paris) at the Dance Open International Ballet Festival in St. Petersburg.

Anna Antropova | Ballet Master

One of the key character dancers at the Bolshoi Ballet, Antropova graduated with distinction from the Moscow College of Choreography in 1993 and again in 1998 from the Department of "Choreographic Arts" at the Bolshoi Ballet Institute with qualifications as both "ballet dancer" and "teacher-répétiteur." Her teacher is Yuliana Malkhasyants. In 1998, she took part in the Bolshoi Theatre's New Year Premieres of works by young choreographers, dancing in The Ups and Downs of Love to the music of W.A. Mozart staged by Jörg Mannes. She has worked with internationally renowned choreographers such as Johan Kobborg, Alexei Ratmansky, Yuri Posokhov and Yuri Grogorovich.

Andrey Merkuriev | Ballet Master After spending several years dancing with the Mariinsky Theater, Andrey joined the Bolshoi Theater in 2006 where he debuted as Yan in Bolt. Currently, he rehearses under Viktor Barykin. In the early 2000's, he won several prizes in various competitions, including the Arabesque Open Competition of Ballet Dancers of Russia International Competition of Young Ballet Dancers in Kazan, Russia. In 2005, he won the Golden Mask National Theatre Prize for his performance in In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. He regularly participates in international gala concerts with Svetlana Zakharova, Diana Vishneva, the Roberto Bolle and his Friends and VLADIMIR MALAKHOV and his Friends concert programs. He took part in the traditional Viennese New Year's (2003) concert (Eggenburg Palace, choreography by Boris Eifman).

Andrey Bolotin | Ballet Master

In 1996, having completed his studies at the Moscow Academy of Choreography (Pyotr Pestov's class), Bolotin joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company. In 2006, he graduated from the balletmasters' faculty of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. Andrey is one of the most active soloists in the company. His wide repertory includes Marseillaise dance (Boris Asfiev's The Flames of Paris;production and new choreography by Alexei Ratmansky after Vasily Vainonen), Soloist (Igor Stravinsky's Jeu de cards; Alexei Ratmansky creation), The Nutcracker-Prince (The Nutcracker), Soloist ( Passacaille to music by Anton von Webern; choreography by Rolan Petit), Tarantella(choreography by George Balanchine) and many others. At present, his teacher-répétiteur is Victor Barykin.

Irina Paradnaya | Managing Director

Irina Paradnaya was born in Moscow and received a degree in Theater Producing and Arts Management from the Moscow Art Theater School (MXAT). In 2010, she became the Executive Producer of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, where she was responsible for producing 15 ballet and opera premieres, two international tours, an international ballet festival, and the Grand Re-Opening Concert of the Historical Stage of the Bolshoi Theater. During her five-year tenure at the Theater, she worked with such internationally acclaimed companies as the Paris Opera, The Israeli Opera, and New York City Ballet and with Alexei Ratmansky, Pierre Lacotte, JormaElo, and Wayne McGregor, some of the most heralded choreographers of our time. Paradnaya received an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University, concentrating on nonprofit Marketing and Development while holding internships at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and The Joyce Theater. In 2016, she and fellow New York University graduate Jared G. Lilly launched IJ Group, an organization dedicated to providing a new approach to arts management.

Jared G. Lilly | Managing Director

Jared G. Lilly is a classically-trained vocalist and pianist who received a B.A. in Vocal Performance from Wake Forest University and pursued further training at The Boston Conservatory before he took a temporary break from the performing arts to become a Special Events planner for two highly regarded hotel properties: the Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia and The Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels, West Virginia. After four years and much valuable experience, Lilly left the corporate world to obtain an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University, where his research focused on nonprofit board development and governance and corporate philanthropy. While at New York University, Lilly worked with the Metropolitan Opera's Patron and Individual Giving department and met Irina Paradnaya, his future IJ Group business partner. A dedicated advocate for nonprofit Board service, Lilly currently sits on the Wake Forest University College Board of Visitors and the WAKE New York Community Board. He has also served on the Grants Distribution Committee and the Advisory Committee of the Beckley Area Foundation and on the Community Engagement Advisory Committee of the Charlottesville University Symphony Orchestra. In November 2016, Lilly presented on corporate philanthropy and charitable giving to the arts at the annual international conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action in Washington, D.C.

(Photo Credit: IJ Ballet)