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Session Three included thirteen competitors, 3 juniors, 6 seniors and one junior and one senior couple. We were presented with 3 Paquita variations; 3 variations from Swan Lake Act II; one DonQ Act IV; 1 Bluebird variation. The junior couple danced the pas de deux from Coppelia, Act III and the seniors Giselle, Act II.

Sara Lamb in Round 1, Session 1
© Richard Finkelstein

Sara Kathryn Lamb, 17, U.S.A., seemed to take pleasure in dancing her Paquita variation, but a lurking singing quality to her dancing was hampered by an extra slow tempo, and contributed to a somewhat static, if correct, port de bras, and perhaps hop or two in transitions. In a black tutu flecked with sparkles, she made for an auspicious start for the session. Napoli was Lamb’s second variation. Again, her presentation was charming, but the impression of fleetness associated with Bournonville was not present, nor did she seem to possess much elevation.

Yui Yonezawa, 15, Japan, also danced a Paquita variation. Remarkably tall and slender for a Japanese, she made a good presentation, finishing crisply in fifth after her attitude turns. In her black trimmed white tutu, she impressed me with an alert, intelligent demeanor. Her second variation, from Coppelia, Act III, was equally accurate. Considering her age, the promise there is enormous.

Miho Komatsu, 17, Japan, followed immediately after with the same variation, but with a luxuriant, slightly sensual quality, perhaps compensating for being shorter and more solid in build. Equally correct, her port de bras displayed a bit more vibrato and set off by an ivory tutu intricately embellished in gold. Mirroring Yonezawa’s second variation, Komatsu’s impression of pertness deepened, but I noted some of her passe positions in pirouettes lacking crispness.

{Obviously, costumes are a way of remembering the dancer as well as evaluating taste and awareness, to which I add my formative exposure to thread and needle.}

Maria Hibi, 15, and Kenta Shimizu, 18, Japan, danced the Coppelia, Act III pas de deux. What difference two or three years of training makes! Hibi, who was charming in a white tutu with pink touches, danced tentatively, dragged the following foot in transitions and visibly faltered in her vairation. Shimizu partnered attentively, jumped well and finished precisely.

Brooke Kiser, 24, U.S.A. and a Boston Ballet dancer, started the senior dancers with Swan Lake, Act II. She is a large-sized dancer, moving quite terre a terre, and emphasizing the drama of her variation as compensation. Her second, the Lilac Fairy variation, gave her an opportunity for amplitude in movement, but still was heavy.

Rezart Stafa, 19, from Albania, danced Siegfried’s variation from Swan Lake, Act III. Tall, he displayed a liquid ease in movement. His second variation, Desire’s variation in Sleeping Beauty, commenced with equal promise, but was marred with two fumbles in the final tours.

Yaraslav Salenko in Round 1, Session 1
© Richard Finkelstein

Yaroslav Salenko, 20, Ukraine, is small, but wonderfully fleet. The verticality in his first variation, Swan Lake, Act III, was a definitive statement, focusing our attention, and building on it with multiple tours. His second, the Don Q war horse, solidified the impression.

Alexis Panos, 19, U.S.A., danced first the Don Q variation and her second was the Lilac variation from Sleeping Beauty. Like Kiser, she is a larger-sized dancer, with obvious intelligence, but a technique unable to carry her in a competition environment. Her Lilac variation was better than Don Q, which included a major flub.

Ayami Goto, 25, Japan, danced The Blue Bird and the Act I, Giselle variations. Goto’s pirouettes were extremely fast and correct. A small-boned, tiny dancer, she brought physical fragility to both her choices, but her correctness was not equalled by animation. At moments, Goto’s movement flow seemed to stop altogether.

Asta Lindholm, 22, Finland, has the kind of slender, long-limbed body which would have elicited the immediate interest of George Balanchine. She danced first the Act I variation of Giselle and the variation from Don Q, Act IV. Hers is an understated approach, if in Giselle, the very subdued nature could be construed as mental construct for her mad scene. But as Kitri on her wedding day, Lindholm was far more a Quaker in demeanor than a Spanish innkeeper’s daughter.

The senior couple, Nao Kusuzaki, 21, Japan, and Raul Salamanca, 21, U.S.A., danced the Act II pas de deux from Giselle. Salamanca proved an excellent partner, and finished strongly after a fall in transition. Kusuzaki’s Giselle was an exceptional example of artistry and characterization in a daunting environment. She made me believe in her wraithlike existence and also made me want to see her full-length Giselle.