Dancers at the Sonoma Ballet Conservatory have had a busy spring. Overall 11 students have passed their Royal Academy of Dance examination and/or have been accepted into prestigious professional ballet school summer programs following an intensive audition season.
“Everyone here at Sonoma Ballet Conservatory is so proud of and happy for all of the students and their accomplishments this spring in auditions and exams. It’s gratifying to know that the training they have received here at Sonoma Ballet Conservatory was a factor in their success,” said Patricia O’Reilly, artistic director of the school. “We’re also looking forward to being able to present many of these dancers to the community in our August 8 performance at the Sebastiani Theatre.”
The dancers and their accomplishments are as follows:
Mallory Bardet (14) will attend American Ballet Theatre’s Alabama Summer Intensive, Kellyn Lopes (17) has been accepted to Marymount Manhattan where she will be an incoming dance major in the fall, Viridiana Martinez (14) will attend Lines Ballet School’s Summer Program for which she received a scholarship. Other students who auditioned for summer programs include Elizabeth Eagles (12), Isabel Falls (11), Angelica Griggs-Demmin (12), Siobhan O’Reilly (12), and Celine Reilly (11). Conservatory students were accepted to Boston Ballet School’s Summer Program and American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensives in Alabama and Michigan. Ms. O’Reilly has been placed on the waiting list for the Royal Ballet School of London, England.
Jamie Bond (14), Laurel McCaull (12), and Siobhan O’Reilly all passed the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Intermediate Foundation Vocational Examination taken in March, the first level of RAD exams. Ms. McCaull received the mark of Distinction for her performance during the exam, and Misses Bond and O’Reilly received the mark of Merit.
Mallory Bardet, Marissa Head (13), and Viridiana Martinez each passed the RAD Intermediate Vocational Examination (the second level of exams) with the mark of Merit. The RAD is an international organization that promotes the knowledge, understanding, and practice of dance and seeks to accomplish its mission through promoting dance, educating and training students and teachers, and providing examinations to reward achievement.
For students who do not wish to travel away from home, Sonoma Ballet Conservatory offers its own Summer Intensive. For more information regarding the Summer Intensive or its regular schedule, the Conservatory may be contacted at 707.938.1424.
