This year the Children’s Ballet Dance Competition “Mosaic of Dance” is all set to return for its 3rd edition! Over 180 participants from 16 ballet dance schools from all-over India and abroad are registered to attend the three- day event in October 27, 28 and 29.
The level and significance that the festival has reached in 3 years is amazing! The geography of the event covers New Delhi and NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai and other cities of India. Furthermore, the nature of the festival has become truly international with participants being of Indian, Russian, French, German backgrounds.
October 14-15, 2017 saw an abundance of vibrancy, talent and technique. A true celebration of dance, the 2nd edition of The Children’s Ballet Competition Mosaic of Dance brought together over 70 participants from New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, in one unforgettable extravaganza filled with joy, learning and lots of talent!
This competition was a long cherished dream of its organizer, Ms Galina Lyakhova, the director of The School of Russian Classical Ballet in New Delhi. Prior to opening her own school, Galina was teaching at Russian Cultural Centre for 15 years and it is her passion and dedication that made her own ballet school famous across India for its high-quality ballet education, setting high standards and planting seeds of love and passion for this beautiful form of dance.
Mosaic of Dance was born not only with the idea of promoting ballet in India, but with the purpose of bringing together dancers from different schools all over India, giving them a platform where they could showcase their talent, learn from others, gain new exposure and experience. No such ballet competitions have ever been organized in India which makes it very unique and the first of its kind. The next aim is to take this competition to the international level so that it could be appreciated and respected by the world dance community.
The 1st edition of Mosaic of Dance took place in October 2016 and saw about 20 participants from 3 ballet schools of Delhi. Even though it was a small event, the first attempt was successful, as one of our Judges, Mr. Pankaj Guglani, Assistant Director of The Danceworx, Delhi, said: “Spreading Dance in India is just a beginning. These events encourage and challenge people to participate and think out of the box.” The other judge, Ms Anna Voitsekhovich who resides in Moscow and had come specially for the event, agreed with him: “I am very happy with the way the competition shaped up – it was a great first attempt! It was incredible to witness the work of the kids – their creativity, keenness, their hard efforts and excitement.”
After getting such an inspiring response, a huge work was done to organize the 2nd edition of Mosaic of dance, which took place on October 14 and 15, 2017, at Arya Auditorium, New Delhi, and united 70 participants from Delhi and NCR, Mumbai and Pune who performed in four categories: Classical Ballet, Modern Ballet, Character Dance and Contemporary.The Head of the jury was Mr Gabor Sziraky, Ballet Master and international choreographer from Hungary, a graduate of the Hungarian Dance Academy and a former Artistic director of the Madach Musical Dance and Music School in Budapest.The festival was received with great enthusiasm by the dancers as well as the audience. Most of the participants showed tremendous progress as compared to their previous performances.
“Mosaic of Dance 2017 was a great experience for our academy and our students. It is such a good platform for ballerinas to showcase their talent and also get an experience of being in a competition. It gives them a reality check about how the world of ballet is growing around them when they see the whole community come together and compete”, said the teachers of Patmoes Academy, Pune. “It was overwhelming to see so many trained ballerinas performing beautifully. It’s a rare sight especially in India to watch so many ballet performances under one roof. This is a great initiative to uplift and bring the ballet industry of India together and we are very happy to be part of this”, the feedback received from Rhythmus Happyfeet, Mumbai. Indian Academy of Russian Ballet mentioned that “the academy and the students are very grateful for the learning experience that they have received. Seldom do we see such a positive attitude towards classical ballet in the country, and for your team to responsibly work towards this cause is a matter of respect. We hope to keep this association running and to see many more participants and supports for years to come”.
The esteemed Guest of Honor Czarina Villegas, a company ballet dancer from Manila, Philippines, was also very excited and supportive: “It is such a great joy to see children in this competition. How the very young competitors shared their talents here really make for exquisite mosaic pieces that came out as a beautiful whole which this competition showcased: we saw the finesse of their movements, the depth of their artistry, but more importantly, the discipline and dedication that have been instilled in their craft.”
The event is gaining popularity among professionals and schools, and also the prominent art & culture fraternity of India is showingkeen interest in the same. This year, as per plan, the festival will be honored by the presence of Dr.Mahesh Sharma, the Honorable Minister of State for Ministry of Culture and for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.