Ballet Nouveau Colorado announced Ma Cong as the winner of its ambitious, months- long 21st Century Choreographer Competition today.
Cong’s “Inner Voices” beat original pieces from Heather Maloy and Alex Ketley to win $1,000 and a contract to create an original work for BNC’s 2008-09 season. Ketley’s second-place prize nets $750, with Maloy’s third-place and an audience favorite each getting $500.
Broomfield-based Ballet Nouveau, the state’s second-largest ballet company, kicked off the contest Sept. 1 and invited a national swath of choreographers to post five-minute videos to YouTube. The public and several company members whittled down the 29 eventual entries to the three finalists. Audiences and slate of high-profile arts world judges then voted on the pieces at BNC’s year-end performances in Northglenn and Lakewood over the past two weekends.
The contest’s intent was to engage new audiences in the world of modern dance using such “American Idol”-style tactics as YouTube clips, podcasts and cellphone voting. The competition attracted over 32,000 hits to its YouTube channel and drew national dance world attention to the relatively modest BNC, which just finished its first year under a new artistic team.
“When you look at the comments on YouTube, it’s amazing how wildly different people’s tastes are,” BNC’s artistic director Garrett Ammon recently told the Denver Post. “That’s great for us as artists. We can easily get involved in our own little worlds, and it’s important to always be trying to connect with the people coming to see the art.”
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642
