The NYIBC Gala Benefit: THE LIFE AND WORK OF ILONA COPEN

 

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION ANNOUNCES THE PROGRAM FOR THE MARCH 22 CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND WORK OF ILONA COPEN

JEAN-PIERRE BONNEFOUX AND PATRICIA MCBRIDE WILL RECEIVE THE FIRST ILONA COPEN AWARD.

Presented by VIRGINIA JOHNSON

Dancers from major ballet and contemporary dance companies will gather to pay tribute to the life and work of Ilona Copen, late Founder and Executive Director Emerita of New York International Ballet Competition, March 22 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. A longtime major figure on the New York dance scene, Ms. Copen was also a founding Board member of World Dance Alliance, a Board member of several dance companies, and an invaluable advisor and mentor to numerous companies and individual artists.

A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the first Ilona Copen Award. Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride have been selected by the Artistic Board of NYIBC to be the first honorees for their contributions to the lives and artistry of young dancers, and to the world of dance in general. The Award will be presented by Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem.

PROGRAM

José Manuel Carreño
Ave Maria………Igal Perry
Carreño, longtime principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, was a Gold Medalist at the second NYIBC in 1987

Alessandra Ball & Addul Manzano
Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux…………. George Balanchine
North Carolina Dance Theatre. George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust

Ana Luiza Luizi & Junio Teixeria (NYIBC Alumni 2005)
Para Dois………… Cristina Helena & Junio Teixeira
New Jersey Ballet

Flavia Garcia & DaVon Doane
Diana and Acteon………… Agrippina Vaganova
Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble

Matthew Rushing
A Song for You………….. Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Roxane D’Orleans Juste
Spanish Dance………. Daniel Nagrin
Limón Dance Company

Victoria Jaiani (NYIBC Alumna 2003)
The Dying Swan….Michel Fokine
Joffrey Ballet

Ilona Copen Tribute, March 22

• Tuesday March 22, 7:30 PM
• Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 LaGuardia Place
   

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New York International Ballet Competition
Educating, mentoring and providing performance and career advancement opportunities since 1984. Founded by Ilona Copen and Igor Youskevitch. New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC) is a three-week intensive professional training and artistic education program for forty-eight talented young dancers from countries around the world, all of whom receive full scholarships. NYIBC nurtures promising dancers aged 17 to 24 from all ethnicities, providing them with an exceptional opportunity to completely focus on training to perform at their highest artistic level. In addition, NYIBC attracts hiring artistic directors and choreographers who is confident that a dancer who has been mentored and trained at NYIBC can endure the rhythm of work and life in a ballet company. Beyond performance and career advancement opportunities, the dancers form a diverse international company in which lifelong associations are born. For more information, visit the NYIBC website: http://www.nyibc.org

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