Skagit Valley Herald www.skagitvalleyherald.com April 5,  2004

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Ballerinas earn Russian choreography award By KATHY BOYD Staff Writer

Students from the Anacortes-based Northwest Ballet School and their coach gather beside a sandwich board  announcement in February at the St. Petersburg Ballet Competition in Russia. Kiersten MacKenzie (from left), coach John Bishop, Miye Bishop, Tani Wright, Kelly Skomerza, Katrina Shull and Mija Bishop won the special award for Best Choreography during the competition

Six area ballet dancers from the Northwest Ballet School in Anacortes journeyed to Russia to compete in the St. Petersburg Ballet Competition, held Feb. 16-22, and won the special award for Best Choreography. Four 16-year-olds -- Tani  Wright, Kiersten MacKenzie and Katrina Shull, from Anacortes, and Kelly Skomerza of La Conner -- and Miye Bishop, 14, and Mija Bishop, 17, from Mount Vernon, were accompanied by their teacher and coach, John Bishop. The group spent a week taking master classes, visiting historical sites and attending performances of the famed Kirov Ballet while preparing to compete with dancers from Russia and other countries. The group spent a week taking master classes, visiting historical sites and attending performances of the famed Kirov Ballet while preparing to compete with dancers from Russia and other countries. John Bishop said the girls performed their pieces with grace and poise and were very supportive of  each other's performance. "I will never forget the evening of joy they gave me and those in the audience," Bishop said. The dancers did not receive any individual awards in the competition, but their combined scores in the        choreography category were the highest of all the participating groups, earning them the special award. Bishop said the six girls truly earned  the honor by taking five two-hour ballet classes a week, then rehearsing four or five hours on Saturday afternoons to prepare for local ballet productions. He said they didn't decide until mid-January to go to Russia, which gave the girls just a few weeks for additional preparation. "What my students were able to achieve there, for never having been in any kind of competition before, was truly exceptional," Bishop said. He said they are making plans to participate in next year's competition. But in the meantime, the        Northwest Ballet School will present three ballets -- Paquita, Graduation Ball and Norwegian Fantasy -- later this spring with a cast of about 60 ballet students. For information, call 360-588-1689.

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Return to Northwest Ballet Trip to Russia 2004 Return to Northwest Ballet

This article was originally published in the Skagit Valley Herald on April 5, 2004. We would like to thank the Skagit Valley Herald for their support of the Arts and of Northwest Ballet Theatre, and graciously allowing NBT to include it on the original Northwest Ballet web site. The Northwest Ballet website has been redesigned, and this article returned to www.northwestballet.org on 02-28-07

Northwest Ballet Theatre and School of Classical & Contemporary Dance  360-714-1246