Gifted local ballerina selected for spring performance
A young ballerina from Virginia is part of an elite cast who will perform in an exciting quadruple bill as part of the Irish National Youth Ballet’s (INYB) Spring programme, it has been announced.
Twelve-year-old Sofia Giusti is part of an all-island troupe of 45 dancers, ranging in age from 10 to 18, who will recreate excerpts of Paquita and Les Patineurs on the stage of The Helix’s Theatre alongside two newer pieces.
The professionally trained young dancers, including Sofia, were handpicked out of 142 who auditioned for the INYB’s 2022/2023 season from across Ireland.
Sofia was accepted into INYB when she was just nine years old, which is a year younger than most. She has already auditioned for full-time vocational ballet schools in the UK and made it through to the semi-finals of the Royal Ballet School. Sofia will play a skater in Les Patineurs the INYB’s quadruple bill.
This season will also include Schubert Impromptu, originally choreographed by Charles Czarny for the Irish National Ballet in the 1970’s, now handed on to the Irish National Youth Ballet to keep the repertoire alive in the absence its originator. An exciting new commission by Hamburg based choreographer Nathan Cornwell will finish the show this season. The piece entitled An Choill has been inspired by the Oscar Wilde poem The Forest and promises to be a spectacle of its own.
Announcing the Spring season performances, Artistic Director of Irish National Youth Ballet Lindsay Ashe-Browne, said: “To dance with Irish National Youth Ballet, you really do need to be among the best dancing talent on the whole island. The performance level is akin to elite athletics. The audition process is strict and competitive, and our dancers are highly trained. For those who know nothing about ballet this company is the ballet equivalent to the under 20’s Irish rugby team! With less funding but the same level of commitment, talent and dedication.
“They each have an unrelenting passion, commitment, and gift for ballet, including young talent Sofia Giusti, whose progress we are watching very closely!”