There is no doubt that everyone loves a celebrity, and ballet dancers always seem to hold a special mystique in the eyes of the public. Even those who are not interested in dance will have heard of the great ballerinas Anna Pavlova and Margot Fonteyn and dancers like Nureyev.   

Why do ballet dancers seem to enchant the public? Maybe it’s because they come from a completely different world – where strange and magical things are possible, the women are always beautiful, the men gallant and the clothing simply exquisite.  It’s an escapist world where the dancers seem to achieve the impossible by creating awesome beauty by moving in unimaginable ways. They are a rare breed and quite special.

Dancing is not a phenomenon new to the modern ages of man. Throughout history, people have danced as part of religious ritual and social celebration but ballet, in a form recognisable today, was the ballet du cour (court ballet) which evolved in the 1500s in France. It rose from the belief that man was the focal point of the universe and could control his existence though the arts and sciences.
During the 1700s ballet moved from a courtly arrangement to a performance art in its own right ultimately resulting in costuming and choreography which was more liberating to the dancer while also opening the door to pointe-work. The era of Romanticism in the early 1800’s saw ballet more focussed on emotions, fantasy and spiritual worlds and it was during this period that the ascending star of the ballerina eclipsed the presence of the poor male dancer, who in many cases was reduced to the status of a moving statue, present only in order to lift the ballerina!
However, this was redressed by the rise of Nijinsky and the Russian Ballet in the early twentieth century.  Ballet as we know it today had truly evolved by this time with all the familiar conventions of costume, choreographic form, plot, pomp and circumstance firmly in place.

Today, there is a great enthusiasm by young girls especially to study ballet, but evidence shows that this initial enthusiasm tends to wane after ten or eleven. There are fewer people joining dance companies, so one wonders, is ballet still relevant today?

In Cyprus, there are no fewer than 120 ballet schools enrolled with the Cyprus Dance Association.  President, Mrs Annita Hadjieftychiou, who is also Director of “The Dance Studio” said that in Cyprus, the ballet situation is “very difficult and a rather sad situation for up and coming ballet dancers.  They study, work hard and put so much effort into their art and then have nowhere to continue. It’s a cycle which goes nowhere. For years we have tried to address the situation of a ballet company to bring back all our dancers we have lost, and to give some future for those still here, but somehow despite numerous requests to the ministries, we don’t seem to make progress.  It is a venture which needs financial and personnel to research it, and for it to be done properly, we need the assistance and support from the Ministry of Education and Culture. It feels sometimes as if we are hitting our heads against a wall, but you can’t just quit….” She continued that “there are many talented Cypriots, who have left the island to pursue their careers – some are in the Bolshoi Ballet, New York and dotted elsewhere around the globe.”

Rea Madella Ioannidou, scriptwriter, choreographer and ballet producer feels that another very important part of her work, is to foster future audiences, and give Cypriot ballet students the opportunity of international exposure to foreign companies who visit Cyprus.  So, when companies visit Cyprus, part of their performance includes giving master classes for ballet students in Cyprus.  
Competitions of all forms, but especially in the arts are unnerving, even for the best. Standing in the wings, watching the competitor who precedes you, give a perfect quadruple pirouette can disarm you, even if you felt as confident as Margot Fonteyn at the start.
For dancers who compete, steel nerves and an ability to be ready for anything is as important as the months of rehearsal and years of classes. But, for all the challenges which they present, competitions are not all bad.
In Cyprus, we too have a ballet competition, the Pancyprian Ballet Competition 2007 which takes place annually.  The competition was founded in 2005 by Annita Hadjieftichiou who as President of the Dance Association of Cyprus presented her initiative to the Board which was thrilled with the idea and gave it full approval.
The aim of the competition is to give talented young dancers in Cyprus the opportunity and a platform to gain experience before proceeding to international competitions, seminars and summer schools abroad.  The prizes and financial support which is given to the winners by the Cyprus Dance Association provides incentive and the means through which they can strive for the top in the field of dance. But, as Annita Hadjieftichiou reiterated “All the participants are winners as they all leave the competition richer in knowledge. For a week prior, all the contestants are offered free of charge, daily classes by distinguished teachers from abroad giving them experience and the enthusiasm to persevere.”
“At the moment, as the competition is in its embryonic stages, there are not a lot of entrants so everybody is accepted.  Later, as it grows, we will have preliminary rounds.”  There are two divisions – a junior and senior with 13 entrants in the junior and 8 in the senior. The ages of the junior range from 11 to 14 with seniors, 15 to 20 years.
The juniors have the option of presenting any classical piece of ballet with any choreography – it can even be their own whereas the seniors must choose from the well known classical repertoire such as Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Cinderella. Most often, the choreography is that of Marius Petipa as he was the creator of most of the classical ballets.
The second round comprises a contemporary piece which must be no longer than five minutes.
There are five judges, two of whom are Cypriot and three who come from abroad.  The Cypriot judges are nominated and chosen by the Board of the Dance Association with the stringent rules that judges are not permitted to have any relationship with the candidates on a personal or other level. The names of the three judges from abroad are not announced so that the confidentiality ensures fairness for all.
In 2007, the first prize in the senior division is £2 000 and covers the expenses for the winner to participate in an international competition. The second prize is valued at £1 500 to cover participation in a summer school or workshop abroad and the third prize, a cash gift of £500. The junior division in 2007, had cash prizes of £200, £100 and £50.
Congratulations to Annita Hadjieftichiou for having the courage to start a competition in Cyprus to encourage the growth and development of ballet in Cyprus. We hope that the competition will go on to become as successful and prestigious as the American competition.
The Founders of Dancecyprus aspire to provide a permanent, professional company for dancers and choreographers to have a future in Cyprus and to develop a Cypriot identity with the repertoire not be restricted to classical ballet but with a variety of styles. The first production in December 2006 was a new ballet by Cypriot choreographer Carolina Constantinou A Pair of Wings Please and Sirens by Antonio Colandrea – a Mediterranean ballet commissioned for the opening performance of the company.

Written by Saskia Constantinou
Copyright Cyprus Mail