Five dancers from the Fleur de Lis Dance Company, including Wilton residents Esha Ivengar and Maddie Davidson, have been accepted to the American Academy of Ballet’s 2015 Summer Intensive, to be held at Purchase College, State University of New York.
Dancers from all over the globe auditioned for only 200 spots in this annual summer program. The program includes a one-week intensive ballet program that gives dancers the opportunity to focus on their classical ballet technique for eleven hours a day–nine hours training and two hours in rehearsals–and four additional weeks of training in ballet, jazz, Spanish and variations. It culminates with a Gala Performance at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College.
Esha and Maddie, along with three other dancers in the Fleur de Lis Dance Company, (Isabella Sperry, Esneicy Almonte, and Rebecca Szabo), auditioned with the American Academy of Ballet in mid-January to be considered for the program.
Analiese Umana, a dance instructor at Fleur de Lis Dance Academy and an executive coordinator for the AAB auditions, says that the audition process is highly selective.
“The American Academy of Ballet holds auditions in cities throughout the world, as far away as South Africa, Japan, Israel and Argentina. It’s a highly competitive process so it’s a real honor to be accepted.”
Michelle Sperry, owner of the Fleur de Lis Dance Academy, says she is thrilled that five of her students have been accepted to such a prestigious program.
“The girls have all worked so hard on their technique; I know they will enjoy the program and the chance to train with dancers from all over the world.”
Pictured above: Wilton resident and Fleur de Lis Dance Company dancer Esha Iyengar (center) along with Isabella Sperry (left) and and Esneicy Almonte (right). Missing from the photo are dancers Maddie Davison, also from Wilton, and Rebecca Szabo.