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Dateline:18th December, 2005
The first of five regional heats for the Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition, the Royal Academy of Dance premier UK dance competition presented in association with the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation; took place at The Patrick Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, and the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester, simultaneously on Sunday, 11th December. Nearly 300 young dancers have entered the competition to compete for only twenty places in the Final in April 2006. Out of fifty hopefuls in Birmingham and 63 in Manchester eight places in the Final, four at each Level, have been decided. At both levels, (Level 1: 10-11 yrs, Level 2: 12-13 yrs) the young dancers took the stage to compete firstly in a classical class, in front of an audience of friends, family and local dance enthusiasts. Secondly, each candidate performed world premieres of variations choreographed exclusively for this competition by renowned choreographer Gillian Lynne CBE, (Cats, Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang). Desmond Kelly (Assistant Director, Birmingham Royal Ballet) and Marion Tait (Ballet Mistress, Birmingham Royal Ballet) and in Manchester, David Nixon (Artistic Director, Northern Ballet Theatre) and Pippa Moore (Leading Soloist, Northern Ballet Theatre) demonstrated their support and commitment to the competition by acting as guest judges at the heat. David Nixon commented on the level of the young dancers. "It was a difficult decision each time but the dancers chosen displayed confidence, clean technique, a sense of musicality and beautiful characterisation in the variations. They showed the potential to become intelligent dancers." Finalists
This competition aims to provide young dancers in the UK with the opportunity to perform and benefit from coaching from renowned dance professionals and teachers. All of the candidates taking part thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the day; the anticipation, performing on stage in a real theatre in front of a live audience and the realisation of all of the hard work and preparation leading up to the event. Desmond Kelly ended the day by stating, "I have not enjoyed a working Sunday so much for a long time. The young people were a delight to watch and rose to the occasion splendidly. I was particularly pleased that four young men took part. This Competition is a marvellous idea - giving young people the opportunity to dance a specially choreographed solo, in competition, on stage. I wish the Competition every success in the future." Victoria, Ashley, Fay & John and Maria, Dominic, Anna & Dominique will compete against other Finalists from the remaining heats in the Final at The Lowry, Salford Quays on 9th April 2006. The other finals will take place at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking, on 14th January (London and Middlesex) and 15th January (South East), and at The Playhouse, Weston-Super-Mare (Wales & South West England, including Channel Islands) on 22nd January. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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