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RCB News – Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ROCHESTER CITY BALLET’S JIM NOWAKOWSKI NAMED TOP AWARD
WINNER ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Rochester City Ballet (RCB) company member Jim Nowakowski recently received a Gold Award, the highest honor given this year in the dance category, at the 2007 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA)’s Recognition and Talent Search® (ARTS). As a recipient of a Gold Award, Nowakowski will receive a top prize of $10,000. He has also been named a 2007 NFAA ARTS finalist and a 2007 NFAA Presidential Scholar in the Arts nominee. If he selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Nowakowski will perform for President Bush at the Kennedy Center. “We are absolutely thrilled for Jim,” said RCB artistic director Jamey Leverett. “We’ve always known he had star quality and to receive this honor from the NFAA ARTS program is a testament to his dedication to his craft and sensational raw talent.” Nowakowski received the Gold Award as a result of his participation in NFAA’s ARTS Week, which was held January 8 – 14, 2007 in Miami, Florida. He was one of 141 young artists with specialties in dance, music, writing, theater, photography, film and the visual arts selected from 7,300 applicants. ARTS Week consists of live performances, master classes, exhibitions, and workshops. Finalists are judged against a standard of excellence within their chosen discipline. As part of the application process, Nowakowski submitted an audition video that included footage of him performing a ballet variation [specific name?] and participating in ballet class. Nowakowski was also required to hold a GPA higher than 2.5. A senior at Webster Thomas High School, Nowakowski began dancing at the age of 2 ½, due to the influence of his older sister. He began his training at the Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education at the age of 11 and joined the Rochester City Ballet, Rochester’s professional dance company, in 2002. Nowakowski’s solo roles with RCB include “Fritz,” “Lead Chinese,” “Russian Trepak” and “Mouse King” in The Nutcracker, a lead solo in Jamey Leverett’s Push and Pull, “Court Jester” in Cinderella and “Matador” in Edward Ellison’s Carmen. Nowakowski was the Junior Grand Prix winner in 2002 and a Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP) gold medal winner in 2004. He has received scholarship offers from the Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theater summer intensives, and he attended the Julliard summer intensive in 2006. He recently received an invitation to perform at the Jazz Festival at the University of Arizona, where he has also received a tuition scholarship for fall of 2007. The Rochester City Ballet (RCB), founded in 1987, is a non-profit, educational corporation. The company presents a full season of quality dance to diverse audiences and helps keep the arts alive by presenting performances to educate and entertain adults and children at community events and special RCB performances. The RCB has created at least 20 new ballets including Firebird, Don Quixote, Cinderella and the annual Nutcracker. FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: ###
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