In 2022, ABA started off our competition season at National Ballet Competition (NBC) in late January, and then Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) two weeks later. ABA was very successful in Delaware and New York, bringing 15 soloists and 8 group dances to NBC, and then 10 soloists and 9 ensembles to YAGP. Like always, I had a wonderful time performing on stage again, as a soloist and an ensemble member. Having had different experiences at each competition, I learned and took something from them both that I think will help improve my future performances.

National Ballet Competition lasted 3 days, each day containing different events. The first day was for the soloists to compete, the second day included master classes taught by a few judges, and the last day involved ensembles and the award ceremony. Because this was my fourth year attending this competition, I was already used to the stage and knew many dancers there. That helped me feel more confident on stage and during open stage, when I tested out my placements and the floor. Especially for ensembles, I was able to feel connected to the other dancers around me in the dance and the piece itself. Even though I did feel comfortable and composed at this competition, what worried me a little were the masks. At other competitions, masks aren’t always required, sovit was easier to breathe and show facial expressions. For example, during my contemporary piece “Insomniac Lullaby,” some parts of the choreography required me to yawn, but because of the masks, I had to do it in a way that made my facial expressions seem more visible. That was one of the more challenging parts, but that also pushed me to focus on more facials during the next competition. Another part of the competition were the masterclasses. Taught by different teachers, we had ballet technique class, as well as variations. Even though the variation we learned was difficult to master, I still had a good time learning it and taking class with my friends at ABA. In the end, I enjoyed NBC and meeting the other dancers who competed as well. ABA received many awards including:
• 1st Place/Gold: Bliss / Choreography: Marina Timofeeva (Lucy Qian, Maggie Cusick, Tess Moayedi, Juliana Anderson, Jojo Levin, Nandi Chase, Kendall Walker, Ellen Xin, Abigail Riley, Anna Ross, Eleanor Merritt, Jennifer Ku, Ariel Barnett, Elaine Xin, Emma Paskhal, Avery Wang)
• 2nd Place/Silver: Terra E Liberta / Choreography: Mimmo Miccolis (Tess Moayedi, Jojo Levin)
• Bronze: Senior Classical & Contemporary Category – Lucy Qian
• Bronze: Senior Classical & Contemporary Category – Maggie Cusick
• 4th Place: Senior Classical & Contemporary – Lucy Qian
• Top 10: Senior Classical & Contemporary – Eleanor Merritt
• Top 5: Pre-Pro Classical & Contemporary Category – Josephine Levin
• Top 5: Preparatory – Emma Paskhal

Next, the Youth America Grand Prix was the second competition of 2022 with the whole studio. Like I said above, we brought 10 soloists and 9 group pieces to New York, which made out days there very eventful. My experience at this YAGP was somewhat different to my last ones, one reason being that we were in New York, causing it to feel more competitive, and the second being that it was a completely new stage for me. Even though it turned out to be adequate, I was afraid that it would be more slippery than I am used to. For me, that component is fairly important and usually helps me build up a better mindset before walking on stage, even though I know I should be prepared for whatever happens. In addition to that, I felt a little intimidated and had some nerves during the open stage, mainly from some of the other dancers who were practicing with me. I think that prioritizing what I need and focusing on my own dancing would have helped with my nerves, but that is something to look out for next time. While on open stage, I also didn’t finish each complete set of movements and fell out of some turns and balances in the process of practicing, affecting how I actually did on stage. Knowing that it is important to hold positions, even during the open stage of a competition, this advice will hopefully improve my performance at the next competition, in Tampa, Florida, for the YAGP finals. In the ensembles category, I performed four pieces this time, opposed to the two the ensembles that I competed at NBC. I think that as a team, we performed beautifully on stage, even with the amount of dances we had and the time in between for quick changes. Furthermore, YAGP had its first ambassador performance at the New York semi-finals, where 9 of their ambassadors presented their solos for us. It was a great experience to watch them and see the process of their performance. Later that evening, after the ambassadors performed, we had the award ceremony. We gratefully received our awards, including:
• 3rd Place: Bliss / Choreography: Marina Timofeeva (Lucy Qian, Jessica Novakovich, Tess Moayedi, Juliana Anderson, Jojo Levin, Nandi Chase, Kendall Walker, Ellen Xin, Anna Ross, Eleanor Merritt, Jennifer Ku, Ariel Barnett, Elaine Xin, Emma Paskhal, Avery Wang)
• 3rd Place: Bella Ci Dormi / Choreography: Mimmo Miccolis ( Lucy Qian, Jessica Novakovich, Tess Moayedi, Jojo Levin)
• Top 12 Junior Contemporary Category – Lucy Qian
• Top 24 Senior Classical Category – Eleanor Merritt
• Top 12 Pre Competitive Classical and Contemporary Category – Emma Paskhal

This competition ended up being a triumph for us, though we know there is still a lot to improve on. Overall, I had a great time representing ABA at these competitions, performing for all the judges and audience members, and competing with my ABA family.


Publish Date: 02/26/2022