Alumni Spotlight – Noam Tsivkin, State Street Ballet

Noam Tsivkin, from New York City, received his dance training from Merle Sepel and his mother, Rebecca Tsivkin at The Academy of Dance in California.

He continued his training at the School of American Ballet where he performed with New York City Ballet in productions of The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. He received further training from the Alvin Ailey School, French Academie of Ballet, and State Street Ballet’s Professional Track program before joining State Street Ballet in 2016.

You can see Noam performing in Kismet in Santa Barbara. A fully staged musical and artistic collaboration, directed by Broadway’s Lonny Price, featuring the Santa Barbara Symphony, State Street Ballet, and a cast of performers from across the globe. 

Tickets at https://ticketing.granadasb.org/15635/15647

You can see Noam demonstrating in IDA’s Intermediate Tier Videos.

Alumni Spotlight – Andrea Yorita, Ballet X

Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki. Courtesy BalletX.

Andrea Yorita is from Irvine California, where she received her classical ballet training at Academy of Dance, under the direction of Merle Sepel, Rebecca Tsivkin, and Mignon Furman.

In 2012, she graduated as a Gillespie Scholar with a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine, where she studied under Jodie Gates, Molly Lynch, and Donald McKayle. Originally trained under the R.A.D. syllabus, Andrea has completed all Vocational R.A.D. exams with Distinction, as well as received the Solo Seal Award. In 2008, Andrea competed as a finalist in the Genée International Ballet Competition in Toronto, Canada. She has participated in the National Choreographers Initiative, as an apprentice, and the Traverse City Dance Project. Andrea was a 2016 Dance Finalist for the Clive Barnes Award. She joined BalletX in 2012.

You can see Andie demonstrating in IDA’s Advanced Tier videos. Here’s what she says about the program:

“Working on IDA brought me back to my training with Merle Sepel and Rebecca Tsivkin. It reminded me how important it is as a professional to always remember your roots. As a young dancer, dissecting a set of exercises always allowed me to dive deeper into the movement and pushed me to try and achieve the unattainable perfection of every step. I feel very fortunate to have been trained by Merle Sepel and Rebecca Tsivkin. They not only taught me the incredible athleticism it takes to dance, but also turned me into an artist. I believe that training with this program would make me a physically stronger dancer as well as expand my artistic quality.”

Andie is currently touring the country with BalletX. You can find tour dates here: https://www.balletx.org/on-tour/

The NEW Tier A1 is Ready

We have added a new option for our youngest dancers.

If you have already purchased the Prejunior/Junior Tiers, The new Tier A1 (videos, music and notes) will now appear in your downloads. This is a complementary upgrade to the curriculum! Go to your account and redownload the Tier A videos, the prejunior/junior notes, and the prejunior/junior music, and you will see that we have added:

Tier A1 Port de Bras

Tier A1 Dance Steps

Tier A1 Teddy Bear Dance

If you have not yet purchased the program Tier A1 will be included in your purchase.

How is your Attitude?

By Marlena Juniman –Prima Soft Pointe Shoe Designer – www.prima-soft.com

 

Attitude ([aah-tee-TEWD) A French ballet term introduced by French ballet choreographer Carlo Blasis ,(1797-1876) inspired by the Statue of Mercury by Giovanni da Bologna.

The .Attitude is executed by standing on one leg with the other lifted in back, the knee bent at an angle of 90 degrees with the leg well turned out so that the knee is higher than the foot. The supporting foot may be flat on the floor, demi pointe or sur la pointe. The arm on the side of the raised leg is curved over the head while the other arm is extended to the side. There are a number of attitudes positions according to how the step is choreographed.

Attitude (at-ti-tude) A state of mind or a feeling either negative or positive, conscious or unconscious. The important point here is that we do have choice. The way a dancer views her life, herself and how she chooses to behave towards it will determine the outcome.

To go through the day with consciousness and ‘chose’ to have a good attitude can contribute much toward a good day, class or audition. To chose or to succumb to unconscious living and give in to negativity may contribute to a negative outcome.

So, like ‘Ahh-tee-tewd’ of ballet, there are a number of attitudes for you to choose according to how you want to choreograph your life.

Newspaper Article RE: Upcoming IDA Awards in Poissy, France

Le Courrier des Yvelines 24 June 2015

Poissy Article“When dancers take their exam in front of a public in Poissy Danse en Ile de France is an association of Poissy (France) since 1992 (accredited by the Ministry of Youth and Education), specialized in the training of classical dance using the method and syllabus of Vaganova as in Saint-Petersburg, Russia under the artistic direction of Cécile Däniker, choreographer and professor of classical dance. This association is the first school in France to welcome a new examination, “International Dance Acclaim”

This event open to the public will take place in Poissy, Sunday 28 June from 10 am to 1pm. The program, “International Dance Acclaim”( an evaluation through stage presentation), has been founded by a team of internationally recognized teachers and has its headquarters in the U.S.A.

The exam is composed of around 150 different original choreographies scaled in difficulty. It covers the work of children from 5 years old to professional level. The dancers present several choreographies which cover various difficulties (port de bras, adage, pirouettes, petite batterie, allegro) and they finish with a solo dance (variation) which in the higher levels is from the classical repertoire.

Practical information: Sunday 28 June, room number 2 in the sport complex COSEC in Poissy(42 rue d’Aigremont). Free of charge.”