Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive is a perennial event for Gabriella Yudenich.
Since 2018, the former soloist with the Pennsylvania (now Philadelphia) Ballet has shared her talent and experience with the young dancers in Next Generation Ballet’s Summer Intensive.
The culmination of the Summer Intensive is its showcase, Friday, July 18, in Ferguson Hall. The first act begins with a jazz ensemble choreographed by Samantha Wilhelm, the resident choreographer for Radio City Christmas Spectacular, followed by a flamenco piece by Irene Rodriguez, who created Iberia, performed as part of NGB’s Ballroom, Broadway and Ballet in May.
Act 2 features excerpts from Raymonda, adapted by our Principal Rehearsal Director Ivonne Lemus and NGB’s summer staff.
The performance will feature 150 young dancers and the results of five weeks of, well, intense work.
“They’re just wonderful students. They’re always hungry and ready to learn,” Gabriella said. “They’re also such sweet kids.”
Gabriella spent 13 years with the Pennsylvania Ballet, which for her was a family tradition. Her mother and father, Barbara Sandonato and Alexei Yudenich, were principals in the Pennsylvania Ballet as well as the National Ballet of Canada.
After retiring from the company and relocating to Florida, she contacted one of her childhood ballet teachers, Laurie Jones, who was principal of Patel Conservatory’s Youth Ballet at the time.
“I asked if they needed summer faculty and it turns out they did,” said Gabriella.
Laurie put Gabriella in contact with Patel’s Dance Department, and she began her Patel summers in 2018.
Laurie taught Gabriella at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Laurie had been a student there as well, and her instructors included Gabriella’s mother and father.
Gabriella began taking ballet lessons at 6 but at first wasn’t sure she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
Eventually, though, Gabriella “got bitten by the ballet bug around 11 or 12,” she said.
That’s when she “made the decision that I wanted to be a professional ballerina.”
She brought that same enthusiasm to the Summer Intensive.
“You really get to know the kids more,” Gabriella said. “You actually have them for rehearsal, for choreography and you get to know them. And that to me is always a special thing.”
Preparing for the showcase, Gabriella worked with a group of 20 dancers, who will perform excerpts from the Russian grand opera Raymonda.
“It’s great for them because they have to learn how to work as one,” Gabriella said. “The corps de ballet is the body of the ballet. You move like one. They learn how to be very aware and cognizant of your fellow dancers and that you’re all part of a grand team.”
Having a performance to work toward makes the Intensive experience even better for the students, Gabriella said.
“In general, summer programs that end in a performance, that makes it quite exciting for the kids,” Gabriella said, “especially on a beautiful stage at Straz.”
Gabriella is excited her students will be dancing to composer Alexander Glazunov’s Raymonda score.
“The music is beautiful,” Gabriella said. “That’s what made me want to be a dancer in the first place – the music.”