The Orlando Ballet School (OBS) received an astounding 12 awards at the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) semi-finals. OBS students won honors for their inspiring performances at the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition held in Columbia, South Carolina.
Central Florida’s leading ballet school garnered awards in various categories, including Outstanding School for the seventh consecutive year. Robert Hill, artistic director for Orlando Ballet, received Outstanding Choreographer and First Place Ensemble for his piece “Allegretto.” Additional awards were granted to students across all classes and age groups. This year marked the first time OBS has had a female student win the Grand Prix Award in the senior division, as well as the first time both junior and senior categories took home the top place award in the same year. The top award winners will go on to compete in the YAGP Finals in March in New York City.
“We are immensely proud of our students’ performance,” said Hill. “It is a double honor, in that it also speaks volumes about our school director, Dierdre Miles Burger and the significant work she and her team have done in only her first year as school director.”
“It was an honor and a privilege to see our students perform so well and to be named ‘Outstanding School’,” said Burger. “These awards represent our commitment to provide students the highest quality dance training, and remind us that we are developing male and female dancers of all ages to be exceptional dancers.”
OBS snagged the following awards at the competition:
* Outstanding School
* Outstanding Choreographer- Robert Hill
* First Place Senior Grand Prix- Nayara Lopes
* First Place Junior Grand Prix- Blake Kessler
* First Place Senior Women Classical Division- Melissa Gelfin
* Second Place Senior Male Classical Division- Claudilan dos Santos
* First Place Senior Women Contemporary Division- Abigail Cotter
* Third Place Senior Men Contemporary Division- Jacopo Delmasso
* Second Place Junior Women Contemporary Division- Briana Berrios
* First Place Pas de Deux- Nayara Lopes and Claudilan dos Santos
* Second Place Pas de Deux- Briana Berrios and Blake Kessler
* First Place Ensemble- Allegretto (Robert Hill) and End in View (Olivier Munoz)
The host, non-profit organization YAGP, awards over $250,000 annually in scholarships to dance schools worldwide. The organization also provides educational and professional opportunities to dancers of all ages. In its 12th year, the YAGP has awarded over 2,000,000 scholarships to leading dance schools.
OBS is currently preparing for their spring intensive workshop in February. For more information on the Orlando Ballet School, please visit www.orlandoballet.org. For more information on the Youth America Grand Prix please visit http://www.yagp.org/.
