National Ballet of Canada Wins Prestigious Prize
The Erik Bruhn Prize Celebrates Young Dance Talent
© Y F Chin
Mar 30, 2009
A rising star with the National Ballet of Canada has captured the Erik Bruhn prize, an international award celebrating young talent in the dance world. Elena Lobsanova, a member of the National Ballet's corps de ballet performed a pas de deux from Le Corsaire and Dénouement Lobsanova, 22, reheared with her partner, Noah Long for three months, nearly everyday for two hours for her first competition.
“I think I was more nervous during my warm-up than my entire time onstage put together. After the start of the pas de deux, when I felt most of the muscles in my face quiver with anxiety, I progressively felt myself moulding to the performance atmosphere. Overall, I was very excited. Toward the end, during Dénouement, I was very much at ease, thanks in part to Noah's contagiously relaxed energy throughout the whole process.”
A Rising Canadian Ballerina
Lobsanova competed against other talented dancers from the American Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. She said she was surprised by her win.
“The announcement stunned me. I did not expect it to be me! I grew up watching great artists compete in this competition in the past, so it was an honour alone to have been asked to participate. I'm so thrilled!”
Karen Kain Judges Young Ballet Dancers
Karen Kain, Artistic Director of the National Ballet said it was wonderful that the judges recognized her company’s talented dancers. Kain and the other judges were prohibited from voting for dancers from their own company.
“All of the competitors were quite young, so as judges we were looking for potential and stage presence just as much as great technique. Erik Bruhn exemplified dedication, commitment and extraordinary charisma onstage during his lifetime, and we were looking for promise of these qualities in the young dancers”
Erik Bruhn Legacy
Kain said the competition was a great opportunity for dancers and companies to showcase their talent. Since the prize’s inception in 1988, many of the winners have gone onto successful careers. Those include 1989 winner, Stephen Legate who became a Principal Dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and 1995 winners, Jaimie Tapper and Johann Persson, who later joined The Royal Ballet and became Principal Dancers. More recently, 2007 winner Tina Pereira was promoted shortly after her win to Second Soloist at the National Ballet.
Lobsanova’s Bright Future
Not surprisingly, Lobsanova dreams of becoming a Principal Dancer one day.
“Principal roles are many dancers' ideal, I think, because they are the most complex and interesting to develop. Also, there is freedom to create within those roles or interpret them. My goal is to develop depth in the roles I am given, artistically and technically, regardless of the scale of the role.”
For now, Lobsanova is concentrating on her young career although she says she’d love to dance one day in front of her relatives in Moscow where she was born.
 |
