Genée International Ballet Competition 2014
Candidate Information Pack
Mission Statement
The Genée International Ballet Competition is dedicated to promoting and rewarding standards of excellence in young ballet dancers internationally. This is achieved by offering aspiring dancers the unique opportunity to work with world-renowned choreographers and professionals as well as the chance to perform on an international stage.
General Information
The Genée International Ballet Competition represents the pinnacle of achievement for young people trained in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus. The competition identifies talented young dancers and often launches them on a professional career.
The competition originated quite humbly in 1931 as the ‘Adeline Genée Gold Medal’ and was introduced as an additional incentive for candidates who had passed the Solo Seal examination. Felicity Garratt was the first recipient of this award with a silver medal and then a bronze medal added in 1934 and 1956 respectively, and both gold and silver medals introduced for male dancers in 1938.
The award continued to progress and develop into a competition format and remarkably it has taken place almost every year since 1931, even during the Second World War. In 2002, Luke Rittner, the RAD’s Chief Executive, took the landmark decision to hold the competition outside London in order to embrace its international spirit taking it to Australia where Sydney Opera House played host to a record number of candidates.
Since 2002, the competition has been held in cities on all five continents, including Singapore, Cape Town London, Toronto and Sydney. In 2014, the Genée will return to Europe and to the heart of the diamond industry, Antwerp in Belgium.
You can learn more about the Genée and its history at www.rad.org.uk/genee
Section 1:
1.1 Venues and Schedule
The week of competition classes and coaching sessions will commence on Friday 19 September and will be held at Royal Ballet of Flanders Studios, Kattendijkdok-Westkaai 16, 2000 Antwerp (Belgium). Times of competition classes and coaching sessions will vary each day and candidates will be provided with a timetable at the Welcome Reception on Thursday 18 September.
The Semi-finals will be held on Wednesday 24 September and Thursday 25 September from 10.30am at the Theater ‘t Eilandje, Kattendijkdok-Westkaai 16, 2000 Antwerp.
The Final will be held at the Vlaamse Opera House, Frankrijklei 1, 2000 Antwerp on Saturday 27 September starting at 7.00pm, doors open at 6.30pm.
1.2 Jury and Coaches
Coaches and Judges of international repute will come to Antwerp for the competition. This year’s judges include Royal Ballet of Flanders Artistic Director Assis Carreiro MBE, former Royal Ballet Director Dame Monica Mason DBE and Petter Jacobsson, Directeur General, Centre Chorégraphique National – Ballet de Lorraine. A list of the full artistic team is available at http://www.rad.org.uk/achieve/the-genee/genee-2014-1/faculty-and-judges
1.3 Entry Qualifications
The competition is open to dancers who are current members of the Royal Academy of Dance and have passed the RAD Intermediate, Advanced 1 as well as Advanced 2 examination in Classical Ballet (Advanced 2 with Distinction). Evidence is required of the relevant qualifications held.
Candidates must be aged 15 – 19 years on Monday 18 August 2014 and be of pre-professional status. They must not have been employed on a professional contract prior to entry of the competition: however students who have been offered a professional engagement that commences after the competition, will still be eligible to enter. There will be no elimination procedure for candidates prior to the competition.
1.4 Closing Date
The closing date for applications is Monday 18 August 2014. Applications received without a biography and passport-sized photograph (high resolution - see example below) will be considered incomplete and therefore deemed invalid.
Please note: the passport-sized photo provided will be printed in the official Genée International Ballet Competition programme.
4.5cm x 3.5cm
Candidates who are waiting for their Advanced 2 examination result must still complete an application form to be submitted by the closing date and must advise by Monday 18 August 2014 whether they are eligible to enter. Candidates who have not achieved the required examination result by Monday 18 August will be refunded their entry fee.
1.5 Insurance
Applicants are advised to take out insurance to guard against withdrawal due to injury or sickness and for the cost of medical treatment throughout the duration of the competition.
Section 2: Content of the Competition
2. Content and Format for the 2014 Genée International Ballet Competition
Dancer’s Own: Variation 1 – Performed at Semi-finals and Final
Candidates will be invited to perform a variation between 1.00 – 1.30 minutes duration (performed in pointe shoes for females), choreographed by themselves, their teacher or a peer to a piece of music of their choice. This section, Dancer’s Own, puts the creative process right at the heart of the Genée.
Classical Repertoire Variation: Variation 2 – Performed at Semi-finals and Final
Candidates will select one variation from the .
Into the Unknown: Variation 3 – Performed at the Final only
Each year, the RAD commissions a choreographer to create two (male & female) exclusive solos for the Genée candidates. This has become one of the most uniquely rewarding and challenging parts of the competition and as such, this section has been entitled Into the Unknown. ALL candidates will work with the choreographer and will benefit from the creative challenge of learning and rehearsing the solos throughout the five days of coaching.
2.1 Semi-finals and Final
2.2 Semi-finals
The Semi-finals will be held on Wednesday 24 September and Thursday 25 September from 10.30am at Theater ‘t Eilandje, Kattendijkdok-Westkaai 16, 2000 Antwerp.
The Semi-finalists will be assessed on a non-rehearsed Classical class on day one and on Dancer’s Own (Variation 1) and their chosen Classical Repertoire Variation (Variation 2) on day two.
2.3 Final
The Final will be held at the Vlaamse Opera House, Frankrijklei 1, 2000 Antwerp on Saturday 27 September starting at 7.00pm, doors open at 6.30pm.
Finalists will be assessed on the Into the Unknown Variationvariation (Variation 3);, the Candidate’s own Dancer’s Own (Variation 1) variation and their chosen Classical Repertoire Variation (Variation 2).
New Format: VariationsAn exciting new element will be introduced into the Genée International Ballet Competition for 2012. Along with the choice of one Classical Repertoire Variation and the Commissioned Variation, candidates will perform a Variation of a maximum of 2 minute duration (performed in Pointe Shoes for females) choreographed by themselves, their teacher or a peer to a piece of music of their choice. The commissioned variation will be seen at the Final only.
2.4 Variations
Coaching sessions for all variations will take place from Friday 19 September and are compulsory for all candidates.
2.4.1 Classical Repertoire Variations
The list of approved 19thCentury and 20thCentury Classical Repertoire Variations is shown below. Candidates should select and rehearse ONE choice of Vvariation provided from the list below prior to the competition.
Females – 19th Century Variations
Please note: as there are sometimes differences in the way that the female 19th century variations are titled in different productions, a guidance sheet showing the opening melody of each variation (numbered 1-9 below) is provided with this pack.
1. Sleeping Beauty Prologue Fairy Variation III 2/4 (miettes qui tombent) D major allegro moderato
2. Sleeping Beauty Prologue Fairy Variation V 2/4 F major,
allegro molto vivace
3. Raymonda Act I Variation I 2/4 allegretto D flat major
4. Raymonda Act I Variation II 6/8 allegretto A major
5. Raymonda Act II Variation II 6/8 allegretto B major
6. Raymonda Act III Variation I 6/8 prestissimo D major
7. La Bayadère Act III 1st Girl 2/4 allegro D major
8. La Bayadère Act III 2nd Girl 6/8 allegro G major
9. La Bayadère Act III 3rd Girl 2/4 moderato D major
Females – 20th Century Variations
Danses Concertantes Principal Variation
(MacMillan, 1955) 4/4 Risoluto
Cinderella Summer Variation
(Ashton, 1948) 12/8 Andantino Sognando
Males – 19th Century Variations
Sleeping Beauty Act III Prince Florimund Variation I A minor 6/8 tarantella
Swan Lake Act I Pas de Trois, Variation IV, C minor 6/8
Swan Lake Act III Prince Siegfried A major, 2/4
Coppélia Act III Franz
Raymonda Act III Jean de Brienne, allegro Moderato A flat major
Le Corsaire Act III A flat, 3/4
Don Quixote Act III C major 3/4
Males – 20th Century Variations
Danses Concertantes Principal Variation
(MacMillan, 1955)
Les Patineurs Blue Boy’s Variation
(Ashton, 1937)
If candidates choose a 19thCentury variation Vvariation from the above list, the Vvvariation must be taken from a traditional classical 19thCentury production. Versions must be rooted in classical, 19th century vocabulary: contemporary interpretations using 20th or 21st century choreography will not be accepted.
There is no DVD available for the 19thCCcentury Vvvariations. The Faculty reserve the right to alter the 19th Century Classical Rrepertoire Vvariation if necessary.
All candidates will receive an exclusive Genée DVD of the 20th Century Century Vvvariations. If candidates choose any of the listed 20th Century century Vvvariations to perform, they should select, learn the choreography from the DVD. Benesh Movement Notation scores are available on request.
If you have any queries regarding the music for these Vvvariations, visit our website.
2.4.2. Into the Unknown – Commissioned Variations 2014
Ricardo Amarante has been commissioned to create a male and female variation with the female variation to be performed on pointe. These two variations will be premiered at the Genée International Ballet Competition 2014 Final. No music or notes will be provided to candidates in advance of the competition for either of these variations.
Ricardo Amarante, Commissioned Choreographer: biography
Ricardo Amarante began dancing in Brazil following the RAD examinations syllabus and completed his studies on scholarship at the National Ballet School of Cuba. After taking part in the Genée International Ballet Competition in 1998, he was offered a scholarship at the English National Ballet School in London where he was awarded the RAD Solo Seal.
The following year he worked with the prestigious Paris Opera Ballet and then joined Jeune Ballet de France, travelling and performing around the world.
In 2000, Ricardo joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders. He was promoted to half soloist in 2003 and then soloist in 2008. Throughout his career he has performed soloist and leading roles in all the major classical ballets, and has also worked with the master choreographers from the contemporary dance world.
Ricardo created several ballets for the Coupe Maison initiative with the Royal Ballet of Flanders: Desert, A Fuego Lento, Aquarela, Sonho Angelical, Train of Thoughts, Lune’Air, Love Fear Loss, My Way and Rondo Capriccioso.
Aquarela was re-staged for the Royal Ballet of Flanders in 2010 for an audience of over 2,000. Sonho Angelical was re-staged for Ballet Dortmund in Germany in 2011 and A Fuego Lento for the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp in2013. The solo My Way was re-created for YAGP.
Ricardo was nominated in December 2013 for the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Choreographer programme.
He has also created a new ballet, Essential Shift, for the SESSIONS programme by the New York City Ballet & Choreographic Institute, where he worked with composer Sayo Kosugi.
Recently, he has been commissioned by the Royal Ballet of Flanders to produce a new ballet for a mixed bill in May 2015.
Ricardo's ballets are characterised by energetic, emotional and sensitive choreography to which audiences tend to respond in a positive manner. Several dance magazines including Dance Europe and Danse Magazine Paris have reviewed his work as highly successful.
2.4.3. Dancer’s Own – Candidate’s own choreography (Variation 1):
2014 will see the continuation of the Choreographic Award introduced in 2013, which will give the Semi-final judges a formal opportunity to recognise the best of the Dancer’s Own choreography. The winning choreography will be announced alongside the decision on who will progress to the Final, and will be performed at the Final on Saturday 27 September.
Variations – Guidelines for Choreographer
· Candidates should present a variation (performed in pointe shoes for females) between 1.00 - 1.30 minutes duration choreographed for them by themselves, their teacher or a peer to a piece of music of their choice.
· Dances for female candidates must include pointe work.
· The choreography should not make any reference to characters, storylines or films that are still in copyright e.g. Harry Potter, Billy Elliot, Avatar, etc., unless written proof of permission from the copyright owner of the story or underlying work can be provided in advance.
· Candidates may wear a simple costume and/or use hand-held props if appropriate; however no scenery or masks may be used.
· The candidate’s costume must not make any reference to characters from films or musicals that are still in copyright e.g. Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang etc.
· The Faculty reserve the right to alter the rDancer’s Own Vvariation if necessary.
Music – Guidelines for Variations
The music:
· Should be between 1.00 - 1.30 minutes duration.
· Taken from a recording which has been purchased legitimately or recorded for and licensed to the candidate.
· If desired, be an original composition by the student or teacher or the result of a collaboration.
· Please note that only “topping and tailing” of recordings is permissible. There should be no “internal” cuts to the music as this will likely constitute an infringement of copyright.
· Candidates are required to send ONE copy of their music to Maria O’Connor by the closing date Monday 18 August. The music may be in either CD, .wav, .aiff, AAC or mp3 format ONLY. No other file formats will be accepted. No alterations to this music will be accepted after 18 August.
· Candidates must bring one copy of their music with them on CD, with any cuts or fades already edited. This CD must be in audio CD format (i.e. it must be playable on a standard CD player).
Things to think about
· How will your variation begin – before the music, after the music, with the music? How easy will it be for the sound equipment operator to know when you should start?
· How does your music end? Remember it is easy to fade out music, but you cannot fade yourself out from the stage so easily!