Round One, Session Eight, June 19

This final Session gave us four Junior and two Senior soloists. We watched one Junior and three Senior pas de deux, two with non-competing partners brought to an earlier evening finish.

Sarah Newman, 17, U.S.A. is a Jackson native sidelined earlier because of illness. She danced the female variation from Flames of Paris and the Coppelia variation in Act III. She has nice legs, is compact in build and needs to work hard on her sense of flow and an equal fluidity in port de bras. She will not appear in Round Two.

Mariko Kida, 18, Japan, received a Prix de Lausanne scholarship to study at San Francisco Ballet in 2000. In both the Coppelia variation and her choice of the Paquita repertoire, she displayed charm, accuracy, and well controlled shoulders and port de bras. She has advanced to Round Two.

Zhang Jing, 18, China, dances with strength and fire, and her grands jetes looked effortless in a Paquita variation, but in the Diana and Acteon variation, I felt smoothness was lacking and noted some unnecessary hops in her backward travelling arabesques. She continues to Round Two.

Ginger Smith, 17, U.S.A., gave us two Paquita variations. I noted her first variation was “one of the best U.S. interpretations I’ve seen.” Her second Paquita variation was a last-minute switch from a printed Diana and Acteon variation, which I noted as both “pert, short and accurate.” While Smith was one of the better Juniors in Round One, the last-minute switch cost her advancing to Round Two.

Kanami Fujimistu, 20, Japan, a Bolshoi Academy student, elicited rhythmic clapping from the balcony for her tambourine work in the Esmeralda pas de deux. Petite, and accurate, she also danced a Don Quixote variation flawlessly with a lively and assured quality. Unfortunately, she will not appear in Round Two.

The only Chinese male senior. Hao Bo, 19, is currently a soloist with the National Ballet of China. Tall, slender, he is the picture of understated elegance and well suited to princely roles. This he displayed in Swan Lake, Act III, but seemed excessively sober for the Don Quixote variation. He will dance in Round Two.

Michele Carpenter, 17, U.S.A., danced The Act III Coppelia pas de deux with non-competing partner Nicholas Leschke. Their version was staged by Ben Stevenson and I could read Janie Parker all through its lines and phrasing finishes. With the benefit of excellent partnering, the accent was on love. Overall, Carpenter made a nice appearance and will go into Round Two.

Emi Hariyama, 25, Japan, has appeared at the New York and Paris International Ballet Competitions, and dances with Boston Ballet after a season with Ballet San Jose. With non-competing partner Ta Mila she essayed The Black Swan pas de deux, a daunting choice for a tall, thin dancer. She gave us a genuine aura of attractive menace and provided evidence of sustained movement and balance. She will appear in Round Two.

To close the evening we had a second Black Swan Pas de Deux and a highly professional Don Quixote pas de deux, which I will discuss in reverse order of appearance.

Sara Webb, 23, and Ian Cassady, 21, are both Americans who dance with Houston Ballet. Cassady actually comes from Marin County, but it is apparent this is his first competition. He partners well and makes a good appearance, but in Siegfried’s variation he fell to the left. It was Webb’s mannerisms which were so startling, to say nothing of the bouffant quality in her tutu. She made a consistent forward swoop of her hands from en haut as if dipping into a fish tank. It was quite disconcerting. Since both dancers will appear in Round Two, let us hope such idiosyncrasies are simply choreographic requirements.

With Ramon Moreno as a non-competing partner, Mirai Noda, 22, Japan, gave us a stylish, well-emphasized Don Quixote pas de deux. Both soloists with Ballet San Jose, their familiarity gave us a steady, consistent performance level, and all the sparkle one expects to see in this balletic staple. I will be writing about her performance in Round Two.

That did it for Round One in the VII International Ballet Competition in Jackson.