#b#On His Toes#/b#
Max Azaro of West Windsor secured several scholarship offers during Youth America Grand Prix Finals, the ballet competition featured in the movie, “First Position.”
Last week, Azaro, 15, a freshman at High School South, competed with more than 1,000 participants at the finals in New York City. He has decided to accept a year-round scholarship to American Ballet Theater’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School for the 2014-’15 school year.
A conservatory program student at Princeton Dance and Theater Studio (PDT), he dances more than 20 hours per week. At the competition, he presented “James Variation” from the ballet “La Sylphide” coached by Risa Kaplowitz of West Windsor and “Take Me Home” choreographed by Tom McKie. Azaro had come in second place in the Junior Classical Division during the YAGP Philadelphia semi-finals in January, which qualified him for the NYC Finals.
“Getting noticed by world renowned judges and companies is truly something special,” says Azaro. “YAGP has really opened the doors for me and given me this great opportunity that I probably would not have gotten otherwise.”
Kaplowitz, founder and director of PDT and Max’s main teacher since he started dancing five years ago, is thrilled for Max. Says Kaplowitz: “Max’s success at YAGP was a process, not just in getting him ready for the competition but also by previously exposing him to major decision-makers in the ballet world.
“JKO directors have seen Max over the years when PDT students have taken the American Ballet Theater National Curriculum exams. He was also recently noticed by the associate director of the ABT Studio Company at a master class held at Rutgers University, which I encouraged my students to attend. My goal is to not only provide PDT students with excellent training but also to guide them and offer opportunities to be seen by the major players in the ballet world.”
Azaro can be seen in leading roles during DanceVision’s upcoming performances of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” choreographed by Kaplowitz. Visit www.dancevisionnj.org for information.
#b#Dancers Earn Top Scores at Headliners #/b#
More than 80 dancers from the Dance Corner of West Windsor competed at Headliners, a regional dance competition at Notre Dame High School, in late March.
Jeanette Smith, 11, of West Windsor scored a gold award and eighth place overall for her jazz routine, “Wash That Man.” Debbie Wince choreographed the dance. Smith, Carly Kowalski of Plainsboro, and Julia Patella of Cranbury joined forces for a lyrical trio choreographed by Wince, titled “Gone,” which scored gold and placed third among all duets and trios in the junior age division.
The duet of Kowalski and Lindsay Rubin placed fourth with a gold award for a routine, “Why Don’t You Do Right,” also choreographed by Wince.
The Dance Corner will hold auditions on Sunday, April 27, for teams in ballet, lyrical, tap, jazz, musical theater, and hip hop. Visit www.thedancecorner.org.
Engagement
Kate DeProspo and William Charles Marych III are planning an October, 2015, wedding.
The bride to be is a 2004 graduate of High School North and earned a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Maryland. She is a nurse in the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of John DeProspo and Ms. Marilyn DeProspo, former West Windsor residents.
The prospective bridegroom graduated from Loyola University with a bachelor of science degree in communications. He is employed with Morgan Stanley in Baltimore. He is the son of Christine and Charles Marych of Philadelphia.
