The Monthly talks to Rana O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of High Points Youth Ballet, about the Belfast International Ballet Festival – Part 1

Is this the first Belfast International Ballet Festival?

Yes, this is the first Belfast International Ballet Festival organised by our team, and High Points Youth Ballet, and we will bring over 100 dancers into the city for a week of amazing activities and celebrations. The festival runs from 5-10 August in Belfast City Centre.

What lead to the organising of the festival and why now?

The impetus behind organising the Belfast International Ballet Festival stems from the consistent success and growing prominence of the High Points Youth Ballet CIC students in international ballet competitions since 2022. One of our standout students, Georgia Crawford, secured a scholarship to attend an International Ballet Festival in Nervi in the summer of 2023, which served as a significant source of inspiration. Anna Carapellotti, one of our dedicated facilitators, was really taken by the positive impact of such festivals and proposed that we should organise a similar event here in Belfast. This idea received enthusiastic support from Argyro Tsampazi and Jake Allison, who are a key part of the High Points Youth Ballet team.

High Points has experienced considerable growth, driven by the impressive accomplishments of our students and the unwavering support from the ballet and dance community here in Northern Ireland. The increasing number of students enrolling annually coupled with the strong relationships we have cultivated with local dance artists and choreographers has been particularly encouraging. Alongside, our motivation was further bolstered by the recent achievement of Argyro Tsampazi’s choreography “Initiation,” performed by High Point Youth Ballet students, which reached the World Finals at the Lincoln Centre in New York.

The Belfast International Ballet Festival is more than just an event; it’s a grand family gathering, a true celebration of Northern Ireland’s success in ballet and dance. The festival aims to celebrate the exceptional talent within our community, bringing together alumni, current students, and local artists with international acclaim, and enriching local tourism by drawing visitors to Belfast to experience our giant welcome, our culture and people. We are continually inspired by the dedication and sacrifices made by our students and their families. Many of our students have progressed to full-time training schools abroad, graduated, and embarked on their professional journeys. These alumni often return to support our current students, creating a nurturing and aspirational environment.

How did the festival go about securing the participation of the international dancers?

Securing the participation of international dancers for our ballet festival was as a result of the diverse and global connections within our brilliant High Points Youth Ballet CIC team. Our team members come from various parts of the world: Artistic Director Jake Allison and his wife, Anna Carapellotti, are from USA.; Argyro Tsampazi is from Greece; and I originate from Istanbul, Turkey. Fortunate coincidences have united us in our mission to strengthen the roots of ballet here in Northern Ireland.

The global nature of the ballet community also played a crucial role. Ballet news travels fast, and dancers maintain strong connections regardless of geographic distances. Jake and Anna leveraged their network by reaching out to Stephen Everson of First State Ballet. Argyro contacted her Vaganova graduate ballet master, Yuri Tcvetkov, and her teacher, Andromachi Kafantari, in Thessaloniki, Greece. Andromachi, the director of the professional ballet academy Kafantari, will give a masterclass to dancers and students on Saturday, August 10. Our steadfast supporter, Amy Growcott, a ballet historian from Northern Ireland and the founder of the Petipa Society, was instrumental in securing participation from Ukrainian professionals. She facilitated the involvement of her friends Elizabeth Gogidze and Oleksii Kniazkov from the Ukrainian International Ballet in The Netherlands.

High Points has built strong links with Sara-Maria Barton’s ballet school, SMB in Scotland too, with one of their students performing a solo at our Spring Gala in 2023. Several students from SMB participated in our annual Nutcracker production last December. It was only natural to invite Sara as a guest master class teacher for our festival. Many more of her students will be taking part in our classes and rehearsals throughout Festival Week, which starts on August 5 and runs for 5 days.

With the enthusiastic support and efforts of our team and community, we have managed to bring together an impressive international cohort for our inaugural festival. We are thrilled by the potential for even greater international collaboration in future festivals. We are already in agreement that Irish National Youth Ballet will be involved in future festivals and are delighted that their artistic director Lindsay Ash-Brown will be taking part in our Youth Dance Matters panel during the festival.

For more details on the festival, or to buy tickets for our performances, visit Belfast International Ballet Festival see the link below

www.belfastballetfestival.com

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