A total of 350,000 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will compete to win cash prizes and scholarships to the Singapore Ballet Academy, Universal Ballet in South Korea, Ena Ballet Studio in Japan and V. Chabukiani Tbilisi Ballet State School in Georgia. There are also cash prizes and scholarship to Ballet Legacy – Master Class Series in the US for winners of Jury’s Choice Awards.

Said to be the largest and the first annual dance competition in Indonesia, Dance Prix has assembled a three-person judging panel comprising Simon Pointon, a former principal dancer of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Han Kee Juan, principal of Singapore Ballet Academy and Maria Sascha Khan, a former principal dancer at the Ekaterinburg State Ballet in Russia.

 

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Furthermore, there is also a master class with Maria Sascha Khan on April 15.

 

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There are two main categories in this competition, Ballet and Contemporary.

In Ballet, subcategories Solo and Group are divided into two to four smaller categories based on the age of the participants. Ballet Solo Junior A, for instance, is for kids from eight to 11 years old, while Ballet Solo Senior is for dancers at the age of 20 and above.

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“This year we see a significant increase in the number of candidates for Junior A and B. There’s an increase of 20 percent for junior participants,” said Juliana Tanjo, founder and managing director of Dance Prix Indonesia, in press conference on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at the auditorium of the Italian Cultural Institute Jakarta, Central Jakarta.

Juliana Tanjo (left), founder and managing director of Dance Prix Indonesia, Vittorio Sandalli (center), Italian ambassador to Indonesia, and Jetty Maika (right) from Speranza Dance Studio during press conference on April 10 at the auditorium of the Italian Cultural Institute Jakarta, Central Jakarta. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

In Ballet Solo, all participants must choose one out of five provided dance variations. “For Ballet Group, the teachers can use their own choreography. The same goes with Contemporary category,” said Juliana.

Presented by Indonesia Dance Society organization, this year’s Dance Prix Indonesia also collaborates with the Embassy of Italy and Italian Cultural Institute Jakarta.

On April 14, for the first time, two Italian principal dancers of Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Claudio Cocino and Susanna Salvi, will perform contemporary choreography of Stabat Mater by Benjamin Pech and classical ballet piece Sleeping Beauty Grand pas de deux, respectively.

During the press conference, Italian Ambassador to Indonesia Vittorio Sandalli said he aspired to have more regular collaborations in ballet. “There are many other sectors in art, music and other different forms of creativity,” Sandalli said. “So, I think this collaboration in ballet with institutions from two countries is fruitful for both societies.”

Tickets can be purchased by contacting Julie’s Dance Shop via +62213000303 or +6281878300 10303, with price starting at Rp 180,000 ($12). (wng)