ECC Wins BIG at World Ballet Competition 2018 Finals in Florida!
What a week! ECC competed at World Ballet Competition Finals in Orlando, Florida in June 2018. After being accepted via video submission back in March, four ECC students spent a week competing in multiple rounds, attending master classes, and rehearsing their solos. Aubri Parker (age 10) and Skylin Helms (age 11) were in the Introductory Category, Ava Arbuckle (age 13) was in the Preparatory Category, and Katie Kelley (age 14) was in the Pre Professional Category. WBC has a unique scoring system similar to the Olympics where scores are posted online and in a "kiss and cry" area immediately following the solo and all is broadcast live to follow along with. It was a very exciting and transparent approach to judging! Competing against dancers pre selected from all over the world, our dancers took home Gold, Silver, and Bronze as well as Best School and Best Choreography and performed in the Gala of Stars!
Ava Arbuckle made it through two rounds with two classical variations and a contemporary solo Seize choreographed by ECC Director, Catherine Lewellen. Seize received a 98, the highest score of the entire competition and a choreography award of $500. Ava won the Gold Medal in Preparatory Division, full scholarships to Kirov Ballet and Ballet West for their year round training program, as well as a scholarship offer to Master Ballet Academy's summer program and performed in the gala.
Skylin Helms was awarded the Silver Medal in the Introductory Division along with full scholarships to Atlanta Ballet and Logrea Ballet as well as a half scholarship to Kirov Ballet and also performed in the gala.
Aubri Parker was awarded the Bronze Medal in the Introductory Category and also was given a full scholarship to Kirov Ballet and danced in the gala!
Catherine Livengood Lewellen was given a Choreography Award for Seize and ECC was awarded a huge honor as BEST SCHOOL after less than one year in existence! What an incredible way to end our first season and head into a summer of training and new experiences and revamping to begin our second year! A huge thank you to World Ballet Competition for believing in us and encouraging and supporting our hard work! An even bigger thank you to our hardworking students, dedicated coach and director, and all of the sacrifices of our parents to make all of this possible!