Dear WBC Participants & Supporters,
We would like to thank you all for a great 2011 event! Our fifth competition was a great success, filled with tremendous talent, and we thank you for your standing ovation and appreciation for what you saw!
Unfortunately, our event is not supported by our local county or city. Each year we bring unbelievable talent to the city - from as far away as Australia, Spain, and Ukraine! However, this year we did not receive the Cultural Tourism Funding grant provided by Orange County. The purpose of the grant is to bring tourist dollars to Orange County through the arts and our competition was created specifically for this grant. Our 2011 event brought over 120 participants from 18 countries and 20 USA states to Orlando. The WBC allowed these dancers to be seen by directors and choreographers worldwide with the potential to be offered dance scholarships, job offers, cash prizes, and worldwide exposure. This year we gave more than $65,000 in cash prizes and scholarships to the world's leading dance schools. Several dancers landed full year contracts in the International Job Fair and our Master Class Workshop inspired local dancers with classes taught by famed artists. Most notably, the concluding All Stars of Dance performance gave Orlando a performance to remember for years to come!
We live here in this community and would be proud to keep the World Ballet Competition in Orlando, Florida - an event which the community should embrace. Such a high quality event include lots of costs in monetary funds, time, and energy and we cannot continue this event in Orlando without the support of our local government and our community! Most of you witnessed the greatness of the World Ballet Competition and embraced it with a final standing ovation. Therefore we are now asking for your support in pleading with our government in Florida. This competition is recognized as one of the top competitions internationally and is praised by dance critics as well as company directors across the world. Therefore, please share your appreciation for what you saw with the Mayor of Orlando and Mayor of Orange County. Ask to keep the WBC here in Orlando and explain the talent you saw throughout the week is unlike anything you have seen in Orlando! Otherwise, the WBC will be moving to a new city or country!
Thank you to all of the 2011 participants and audience members for sharing your compliments, comments & thoughts with us! Many of you enjoyed our newest addition - the Judge/Coach/Competitor Session - where you received feedback from the judges.
We are half way through the 5th World Ballet Competition! Lots of exciting & thrilling moments. Lots of twists and turns - no pun intended. Finals for the Preparatory Category are tonight along with the Introductory Category - which has only one round! Tomorrow the ensembles and pas de deux categories will make their long anticipated debut.
