Newsletter, May 2006 - Goh Ballet Academy - Vancouver's World-Class Dance School

May 2006:

The trees are busy filling themselves with leaves, and we’re keeping ourselves quite busy as well at the Goh Ballet this spring.

Mr. and Mrs. Goh traveled to Victoria April 26th, where they received the 2006 B.C. Community Achievement Award from Premier Gordon Campbell and Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo. They were humbled to be included in such an outstanding group of recipients who have dedicated decades of service to building communities of pride, health, activism and art across the Province.

The 30 dancers and 5 staff from the Youth Ballet Company of Canada who embarked on their China Tour in April have returned safely after critically-acclaimed performances, fantastic hospitality and getting a warm, lasting impression of China and its people. We are proud of the excellent impression they made in China as ambassadors of Canadian youth, arts and culture.

The Goh Ballet is proud to add a 19th Solo Seal, earned by Youth Ballet Company student James Stout, to its record of accomplishments. The Solo Seal is the Royal Academy of Dance’s highest examination honour.

We are also pleased to announce that students James Stout, Fei Fei Ye and Kostya Keshyshev have been admitted into the 2006 Varna International Ballet Competition. They head off to Bulgaria in mid-July for this professional competition at which luminaries of the ballet world have consistently crossed the stage since the first competition in 1964.

The tally of awards from the Surrey Festival of Dance are not quite in yet (the “No Borders” Competition will be held on May 6th), but number into the dozens – and that’s just counting 1st Place awards. Festival adjudicators selected Goh Ballet students to represent the Festival at the Provincial level in both the Junior (Isabelle Chang) and Senior (Yuka Ebihara) ballet levels. Students fared equally well at the Pacific West Festival in late April.

The Honours Performances for the Surrey Festival will be on May 13th at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Surrey Arts Centre. The 2:00 p.m. show will feature the groups “Ugly Duckling” and “Faust” and Junior Provincial Representative Isabelle Chang. The 7:30 p.m. show will feature the group “Jewelry” and Senior Provincial Representative Yuka Ebihara. Tickets are available, but will probably go fast, at the Surrey Arts Centre box office or on-line at https://secure1.city.surrey.bc.ca/cgi-bin/tm.cgi.

A few tickets remain for “Day into Night,” the June 17th Year-End school show at the Massey Theatre. Tickets are available in the office.

Tickets for the June 10th Youth Ballet Company of Canada show, “Jardin Animée,” at the Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver will be available 9:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 10 at the Academy and on-line at: http://www.centretix.com. Orchestra seats are $35, $30 for seniors and students. Dress Circle seats are $25, $20 for seniors and students.

Deadlines for two scholarships are in late May. Stop into the office to see Brian for details. We will be arranging video taping of student portfolios with a professional videographer - please contact Brian as soon as possible if you would like to be included.

Registration for the 5-week Summer Intensive from July 3 to August 5 is on-going. Contact us for schedules and fees and/or to register for an audition. Auditions are required for professional division applicants and can be arranged in-person at the Goh Ballet studios or via video submission.