No Grand Prix

The Fourth Serge Lifar International Ballet Contest ended with a gala concert at the National Opera on Friday, May 24. The jury, in keeping with tradition, was presided over by the celebrated choreographer Yuri Grigorovich, president of the International Choreographers’ Union. They believe this year’s competition was considerably less spectacular than the previous ones and decided no one rated the Grand Prix. In the junior group the girls proved the best and men were strongest in the senior group.

Yana Salenko was the only ballerina to win the highest twelve points and be placed first in the senior group. A graduate of the Donetsk branch of the Ukrainian Dance Academy, she often appeared in ballets at the Donetsk Opera even as schoolgirl; later she went on foreign tours as a partner of the excellent dancer Vadym Pysarev. At present, she is a prima with the National Opera. Girls from the junior group were also very good: Christine Shyshpo (Ukrainian Dance Academy’s ninth grader), Suzanne Mkrtchian (soon to graduate from the Austrian Dance Academy and already invited to the Vienna State Opera), and Yelizaveta Cheprasova (eighth grader in the Kyiv College of Choreography) shared first place. The boys in the junior group were not as good, unfortunately, winning neither gold nor silver. Serhiy Polunin and Oleksandr Kuznetsov shared the bronze. Jury member Alex Ursuliak (Canada-Switzerland) pointed out, “Today’s failures by no means indicate that the contenders won’t surprise us with future victories. Some fruits ripen late and require active tending. I would ask the teachers to pay more attention to academic dancing.”

It should be noted that many of the 57 dancers and choreographers represented the Ukrainian school of ballet. On the one hand it was good that our contenders became laureates and were awarded diplomas; on the other, this Lifar contest could be described as an all-Ukraine show starring Belarusian, Moldovan, Japanese, and Israeli performers. Of the guests the Ukrainian audience was especially impressed by Eri Mori (Japan) and Marina Hasid (Israel) placed second in the junior and senior groups. Ivan Kozlov showed the finesse inherent in the Tetiana Borovik and Anatoly Kozlov school. Ivan is currently with Boris Eifman’s St. Petersburg Ballet Company. Eleonora Stebliak’s pupil Serhiy Sydorsky (currently with the National Opera) performed with powerful drive and expressiveness. Both received silver Icarus awards (no gold was given the senior male group).

Rad Poklitaru came first in the choreography nomination, having noticeably improved professionally (placed third at the Second Lifar Contest), now an established ballet master with the Moldovan Opera and Ballet Theater. His productions are marked by a modern Western style, reminding one of the celebrated Matsa Eko. Bronze went to choreographer Andrei Pir, an actor with the Yuri Nikulin Circus (Moscow) who also conducts plasticity classes at the Russian Theatrical Art Academy and Kyiv Variety and Circus College. Ballet masters Tetiana Ostroverkh, Olha Rohova, and Milena Sydorova, student with the Kyiv choreography college, received diplomas.