Author: NCDC

Home  /  Articles posted by NCDC

Recent Oak Ridge High School graduate Madeline Bertoy was accepted into The Juilliard School’s prestigious Dance Division and will leave to begin her studies in New York City later this month. Only 12 women and 12 men are accepted into Juilliard’s dance program annually. Madeline, 18, said she received a call during spring break that she’d been accepted into her No. 1 college choice. “I was really shocked,” she said. “I still can’t believe it.” She started dancing at Center Stage Dance Academy when she was in kindergarten, but

Nicole Smith was one of 21 dance finalists out of 11 thousand applicants to receive a coveted scholarship from the National YoungArts Foundation. Nicole Smith was flown to Miami for a week of life changing experiences with some of the best young dancers in the country.  Loomis resident, Nicole Smith (17), had the opportunity to participate in YoungArts programs “designed to support young artists at critical junctures in their careers and to encourage them to pursue a life in the arts.” National YoungArts Week was held in Miami

One Del Oro High School senior is following her dream and will be off to a prestigious dance school in London this fall. Carlene Raibley, 17, of Loomis, called attending the London Contemporary Dance School “the opportunity of a lifetime.” Carlene traveled to San Francisco and endured an 8-hour intensive audition to earn one of 40 coveted spots in the school’s freshman class. She will join an international group of dancers to study contemporary dance together with ballet, choreography and other supporting subjects for a three-year BA Honours degree

For Tessa Magda it would be her first dance competition. It would also be her first time in France. And it would also be barely two months after she broke her foot. But none of this seemed to phase the Auburn 15-year-old, as Tessa took home the gold in both the classical ballet and contemporary dance competitions. “I wasn’t expecting it,” she said. “They say my name funny, so I paused for a second to make sure it was me, but no one else was going up, so I

When the world spins, Liselle Yap stands strong on her toes in an artistic and focused realm of self-expression. “It’s part of our job as dancers to make it seem like what we do is effortless when in reality it takes years and years of dedication and practice. But that is part of the beauty and the art of it,” said the 18-year-old Rocklin High senior. Yap relishes the challenge of dancing and the process of creating something. She regards the experience of dancing as “freeing” –

A Granite Bay High School graduate has made it big time, dancing at Juilliard in New York City with her future sights set on Broadway. But that’s not all, folks. Molly Griffin, 20, is raising funds for a program called the Arusha Arts Initiative, which uses dance, drama and music to empower young people in Tanzania. Griffin is going to the east African country with nine other Juilliard students for one month this summer. This will be the group’s fourth time teaching performing arts in Tanzania, and Griffin’s first time participating. “I’m

A Granite Bay High School graduate has made it big time, dancing at Juilliard in New York City with her future sights set on Broadway. But that’s not all, folks. Molly Griffin, 20, is raising funds for a program called the Arusha Arts Initiative, which uses dance, drama and music to empower young people in Tanzania. Griffin is going to the east African country with nine other Juilliard students for one month this summer. This will be the group’s fourth time teaching performing arts in Tanzania, and Griffin’s first time participating. “I’m

Dacia Biletnikoff is fond of a particular catch phrase: “Training is the opposite of hoping.” The mantra drives the 18-year-old, who spends about 20 hours a week practicing dance. While at Granite Bay High School — she graduated in May — this meant four or five hours of training after school every day. She has lived this strenuous schedule for the past five years, attending rehearsals at the prestigious Northern California Dance Conservatory in Roseville. “I don’t really complain,” Biletnikoff says. “I love dance. I’m obsessed. I

From Granite Bay to Grand Central Station, Molly Griffin is a mere month away from having her childhood dreams realized. The Granite Bay High School alum was recently notified she is one of 10 girls from around the world headed to New York City to attend Juilliard as a freshman this fall. “We were told they normally accept 12 boys and 12 girls,” said Pam Griffin, Molly’s mother. “But with the economy the way it is they wanted to be able to provide scholarships to as many