| Students highlight degree of creativity
DOZENS of pairs of used ballet shoes hang from a ceiling, next to which stands a shed with stencilled slates - York St John's Art and Design faculties have pulled out all the stops to produce their annual degree show. The entrance of the show is a large room lined with hanging wallpaper designed by BA students. The patterns range from contemporary funky designs to William Morris-like sixties floral prints, each design reminiscent of a different aura or era. In the design space itself, space-saving solutions are the order of the day - including Elizabeth Law and Jennie Nash's U Cube,' a corner cabinet which opens out into a desk, complete with integral lighting. At the other side of the building is the fine art exhibition. Student Laura Steele explained how she made her intricately-sculpted clay figures, which are exhibited there.
Second Empire The Second Win For Portelli
Former West Australian mare, Empire Dancer ($10-$12) brought up a double for the Gary Portelli stable at Sandown today after the earlier win of Something Anything. The five year old mare was purchased by Portelli clients G&M Grimish after twice winning at stakes level in Perth. According to Melbourne stable foreman Troy Portelli, Empire Dancer will race in Melbourne pending the commencement of a stud career this Spring. "The owners brought her over here to put her to stud next season", said Portelli. "Hopefully we can get a couple more." Well weighted at 55kg, the Second Empire mare relished the wet conditions to run home an easy winner from Wildcoast ($11-$12) and Majestic Point ($12-$14). Winning jockey Michael Rodd did his homework rated Empire Dancer a strong winning chance today on her West Australian form.
Dancer learned more than steps in Fergus
Like many other alumni from the Fergus Falls School of Dance, I traveled back to Fergus Falls this last weekend for the annual and much anticipated spring performance. As I sat in the Middle School auditorium watching the dancers perform, I was flooded with memories of my own steps on that very stage. I remembered the moments of success when I expected failure and the moments of defeat when I expected victory. I remembered the feeling of standing in the wings, my feet throbbing inside my pointe shoes, feeling like I couldn't possibly dig deep enough to find another ounce of energy to perform, only to forget my aching and fatigued muscles the moment I stepped into the light on stage. As I watched the dancers during Saturday's show, I was taken back only two years, though it seems like it's been much longer, when I danced my last performance with the Fergus Falls School of Dance.
How to get a leg up on a ballet career
During the grueling elimination rounds at the New York International Ballet Competition, a biannual contest for young professionals and pre-professionals from around the world, competing couples execute the most difficult pas smiling with an off-hand ease. At least, they try. "I want them to enjoy the music, to enjoy the movement, and hopefully that will come across," says Victoria Mazzarelli, one of the coaches preparing 24 young couples for next week's event at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater. Under the X-ray vision of a panel of judges that includes several distinguished company directors, the contestants will perform a contemporary pas de deux that Mazzarelli has choreographed to Haydn's Divertimento in C Major, plus two rigorous classical showpieces: The Black Swan Pas de Deux and the Wedding Pas de Deux from "Coppélia." The New York International Ballet Competition differs from other ballet contests because entrants are required to learn this shared competition repertoire during an intensive, two-week workshop here.
Deb Peterson
RISING TO THE TOP: Tamisha Tillman graduated second in her class at Normandy Senior High School last month with a 3.8 grade-point average. Her grades, her community service work and her extracurricular activities — such as serving on the student council, being class president and captain of the varsity basketball team — won her the distinction of being the first recipient of Truman Bank's leadership scholarship to the University of Missouri-Columbia. Tillman was awarded a $3,000 scholarship, which bank prez Ken Kraus said would help cover her fall tuition and housing costs. It was just a year ago that Tillman came home from school to find her mother, a diabetic, having a heart attack. Tillman's mother was hospitalized for two months, during which time the high school student ran the household, paying the bills and holding down two part-time jobs.
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