Ballet, Yesterday, Today, Always

The Extraordinary Ballet Gala at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest took place this year in the first half of the month of June

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 21.06.2022, 01:46

It is an event become tradition, a reference point for young up and coming artists, taking place on the stage of the Bucharest National Opera. At this event, young ballet dancers, in grades 5th to 12th, presented selections from classic ballets, contemporary dance pieces, and traditional Romanian music suites.

The artistic director of the event is Mihaela Tiganus Vasilovici, a teacher of classical ballet with the high school, who told us:

“It will be an evening of high emotions, it is the Extraordinary Ballet Gala at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest, a vocational high school, where children come out of their passion to do ballet, body and soul. Our gala is a tradition with the Bucharest National Opera, this wonderful institution. We care a lot for it, and we do it every year. You will be seeing classical dance numbers, contemporary dance numbers, and, of course, traditional Romanian dance. The children will present fragments from grand classical ballets, with virtuosity and technique, there will be emotional moments, which we hope will pierce the hearts of our spectators.”

The 70 year anniversary gala took place in 2019. Then followed an unavoidable pause for the passionate ballet goers, as our interlocutors told us.

Before the show, Iulia Campeanu, 14 and a half years old, seemed prepared:

“Today the dance I will perform is a dance, Floras Awakening, also Floras variation, together with a few colleagues, in 6th and 7th grade. It is a new opportunity for me to go unleashed, to gain new knowledge, to become friends with others, and, little by little, get one step closer to living my dream.”

Daria Ene, 14, added:

“Today I will be presenting Pas des esclaves, from the ballet The Corsair, a group dance, the Mazurka, also a group dance with my 8th grade colleagues, the Jewels, and also a Romanian dance. It is a great pleasure for us to dance on the stage of the Opera, and to represent our choreography high school, Floria Capsali, along with all our colleagues, making proud the teachers who coordinate us.”

Alexandru Constantin, 17, completed the picture:

“We prepared the Pas de deux from the ballet The Corsair, a group choreography along with my 11th grade colleague, and a contemporary dance duet. As for any ballet dancer, being on the stage of the National Opera is an honor, and the greatest opportunity, which on the one hand forces you to perform at the highest level, and to always challenge your limits.”

Simona Paraschivu, a contemporary dance teacher at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest told us that they prepared to begin with a moment from Swan Lake, followed by ballet pieces that got the first three places at the national dance Olympics, and additional moments choreographed by the teachers at the high school. We asked them all what they wished for:

“It is to have an end of year gala festivity, and to show the audience our passion for dance, to share with them our joy of being on stage.”

Claudiu Stanciu, a traditional dance teacher, encouraged us to be more patriotic:

“It is one of the most important events of the year, the end of year extraordinary gala, where we will present all the numbers that we perform along the year in all of the classes. There is high emotion every time. The children have lots of nerves. I prepared a suite of traditional dances from three ethnographic areas, representative of the entire country, Wallachia, Banat, and Moldavia, with the proper costumes, with child dancers in grades 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th. It is a joy to be back on stage, especially we, who deal with folklore, and who should be more nationalistic, I would say.”

The Extraordinary Ballet Gala at the Floria Capsali Choreography High School in Bucharest is a real joy for everyone. Beyond it, the children are preparing to keep working valiantly towards their dream, tirelessly, getting closer to it year by year. Their goal is to shine on stages all over the country, then all over the world.