South Africa results
It’s been weeks since the first South African International Ballet Competition ended. Final results are reported in the April/May issue of Pointe, but to satisfy the curiosity of blog readers, they are listed below.
This was my first experience judging a competition, and I am left with many fond memories. My thanks go to Dirk Badenhorst, SAIBC founder and CEO, his team—and to the computer program that made score tallying simple and straightforward—and to my fellow panelists, who each brought their hearts as well as their expertise to the deliberations.
The best part of the competition was watching these young dancers test themselves day after day. I think we all had our favorites, but by the end it was clear who should be rewarded. Considering the span of a career, a competition is but a blip, but medal or not, the dancers who participated carried away a life experience of tremendous value. That said, the prizes went to: Camille Bracher, 16, of South Africa, who won the junior contemporary prize. The senior contemporary prize was divided between Thoriso Magongwa, 24, and Andile Ndlovu, 19, both of South African. In the junior classical division, the gold medal winner was Sung Woo Han, 15, from South Korea; the silver medal winner was Ki Riyeong Kim, 15, also from South Korea; and the bronze medal winner was Sanae Sugiura, 15, from Japan. In the senior classical division, the gold medal went to South Korea’s Hyo Jung Jun, 28; the silver and bronze medals went to Latvians Elza Leimane, 23, and Raimond Martinov, 25, respectively.
The awards and were announced at a gala final evening that also included the official debut of iKapa, a new contemporary ballet company founded by South African dancer Theo Ndindwa, and a performance by 17-year-old South African Idol winner Jody Williams. The next SAIBC is scheduled to take place in 2010.
