March 28, 2024 2:03 AM
Search

“The Grand Défilé” : Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet – June 17, 2023

Photo: Dame Margot Fonteyn

The Grand Défilé, ballet’s oldest tradition, is a time when ballet students put what they’ve learned over the past year to the test. The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet and Fine Art, located in Prescott, has opened this time-honored tradition to the public. The event is being held at MFAB’s studios on the campus of Mile High Middle School at 300 South Granite Street. Admission is free.

The Academy’s students, who have devoted the lion’s share of their time and energy over the last year to becoming not only tomorrow’s stars, but also to become prepared to remain employed in the highest level of fine arts from graduation to retirement or the grave. The students, who hail from all parts of the world, are expected to not only immerse themselves in ballet but also all of classical theatrical dancing’s sister arts: music, drama, visual art, scholarly art and technical art.

To this end, the students have been presented with a number of assignments to complete and present for grading at the Grand Défilé. The first, no easy task, is to choreograph an original piece. “Every year, MFAB students create the most fascinating and imaginative new works,” Ken Ludden, the Artistic Director of the Academy said. “It is delightful to watch them develop over the years.”

Next, each student performs a Shakespearean sonnet. This is done with an eye towards perfecting dramatic stage presence and delivering that undefinable something that characterizes the consummate artist. This year’s academic theme is “origin stories”, and all student assignments require creating original works based on this concept.

To this end, each student must present an original film based on this year’s theme, demonstrating the richness of their knowledge of the subject.

Raina Dass has choreographed a group dance that the students will perform, and in perhaps the most daunting task of them all, the students have collectively written an original song that they will debut to the audience.

The students are graded on their performance, and their grade constitutes one third of their grade for the year. They are judged by a panel of five professionals from the performed fine arts who are invited to Prescott to be on the panel for the Academy. There is a degree of pressure that factors into this. The student who scores highest at the Grand Défilé wins the prestigious Colin Milnes Award for “Best Student of the Academy.

“I love to joke by saying: ‘I better become rich and famous…because someone will need to pay for the therapy.’ But all jokes aside, exams are and always will be stressful, but the knowledge you gather and amazing international choreographers and professional dancers you get to meet and work with make up for it.” said Matija Prevolnik, a student of the Academy who hails from Croatia.

Excellence in ballet is hard won. Mr. Ludden, who worked closely with Margot Fonteyn, the greatest ballerina in history, reflected on his own experience with the crucible known as the Grand Défilé. “As a student myself, there was tremendous anxiety over the Grand Défilé. So much depended on it, but having that training made me give my all to every performance in my career, and made the most important performances seem easy.”

About Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet

The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet is an Arizona 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that teaches classical theatrical dancing to the highest standards worldwide, so dancers may become artistic leaders of their generations. Based on Dame Margot Fonteyn’s experience as the most celebrated ballerina of all time, and her long experience dancing on stages around the world, Fonteyn’s art, by the end of her life, was regarded as the ultimate in dance performance. Now, in Prescott, Arizona, today’s talented young children will have the opportunity to receive training at an institution which offers world class ballet training along with in-depth education in music, drama, visual art and technical arts, set forth by Dame Margot Fonteyn. All of this is possible due to the vision of Dame Margot Fonteyn, as passed down through her colleague and co-founder, Ken Ludden. More information about auditions, classes, donations and volunteering can be found at MFAB.org.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Related Articles

No Content Available