Welcome aboard!
As it has become a tradition, on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, the current forty brilliant international students of the Princess Grace Academy of Monaco, invited Director Luca Masala, teachers, staff, their parents and loyal supporters to their artistic spectacle in the grand studio of Casa Mia, to celebrate a successful year’s work.
The show entitled “On the Way to our Dreams”, fittingly featuring the students boarding a flight, was a great opportunity for the young dancers to showcase their talents and skills as well as their choreographic prowess, while entertaining the audience. The young dancers thought of every detail as the program was in the form of a boarding pass, listing the different pieces choreographed by themselves:
On the Way to our Dreams
- First Dance – Safety Demonstrations by Anaïs
- Second Dance – Flashback by Amanda Shuai
- Acting Piece – Plane Struggles by Anais and Amanda
- Third Dance – Turbulence by Sofie
- Fourth Dance – Audition Time by Katrin and Wictor
- Final by all the students
Saying thank you through an eloquent video
When the show was over the audience was clapping and cheering effusively, but that was not the end of it, as the air-hostesses/dancers announced there was a surprise waiting for us, and guided us to the lower floor to watch a film produced by Katrin Schrader and her brother with the participation of all the students and teachers, with scenes captured throughout the year inside the Academy and around the Principality. A very moving souvenir done as a way of thanking everybody at the Academy for bringing the students closer to their dreams, that made us laugh, but also brought tears to our eyes. The afternoon culminated with a drinks and canapés, and everybody had the chance to mingle and enjoy the time together on the terrace overlooking the port of Monaco.
Academy graduates hired by renowned companies
The Princess Grace Dance Academy, under the direction of Luca Masala who was appointed in 2009 by HRH Princess of Hanover, is a top level multidisciplinary dance school in the Principality and a hub for talent. But most of all it is a school of life where students learn the importance of responsibility and are encouraged to build their own careers. This institution has gained prestige and international recognition for its training excellence by accomplished teachers, who also care for the wellbeing of the students in a loving atmosphere where the young dancers blossom to become not only expert dancers but at the same time versatile individuals, with the proved certainty that its graduates are being hired by important ballet companies all over the world.
During the show, recent graduates from the academy, who had received contracts from companies in European ballet companies, were acclaimed and cheered by all. They are:
- Anaïs TOURET, French – Norway National Ballet
- Shuai LI, Chinese – Munich State Opera
- Sofie VERVAECKE, Belgian – Nurnberg State Opera
- Wictor Hugo PEDROSO SILVA, Brazilian – Béjart Ballet Lausanne
- Amanda GOULART DE PAULA LANA, Brazilian – Royal Swedish Ballet
- Katrin SCHRADER, Belgian – Ballets of Monte-Carlo
- Melanie LAMBROU, Cyprus, Hannover State Opera
Today’s Quote
“We welcome all young artists full of hope, who cannot imagine a life off-stage and outside of the rehearsal studios. We hope the Princess Grace Academy and the Ballets de Monte-Carlo serve as a space in which they can share, exchange and weave memories of a happy youth dedicated to dance and training.” Luca Masala
Monaco Reporter 