By Arianna McKinney / Voice of Nosara
For the past three years, young ballerinas in Guanacaste have been studying dance in conjunction with the Royal Dance Academy of London, an international institution for dance, and for the past two years they have participated in the annual international ballet exam to receive recognition for having attained a certain level of proficiency such as pre-primary, primary, 1st grade or 2nd grade. The exam was held in San Jose this past October, and now the results are in.
This year nine young ballet dancers passed the exam, and 5-year-old Janina Guevara of Nicoya earned the maximum level of distinction at the primary level.
“I feel very proud and happy that Janina has obtained this achievement,” commented Jennifer Flores, mother of Janina Guevara. “Janina is very content, although for her tender age she takes it as something natural; she isn’t very aware of the importance that it has. She loves ballet and enjoys it very much. We started the ballet classes when she was three because she liked the Discover Kids program called Angelina Ballerina a lot.”
Accredited dance instructor Patricia Vargas explained that each level that the girls obtain is internationally recognized and prepares them to be future dance artists or even dance instructors.
Other young dancers in Guanacaste who passed their levels are Nadia Scheidbach and Sharik Hanson, both from Samara, Valentina Spendlingwimmer from Nosara, Isabella Garcia and Maria Jose Garcia of Nicoya, Tamara Guido and Adriela Cascante from Filadelfia and Yariela Acevedo from Palmira de Carrillo.
Vargas holds ballet classes on Saturdays in Nicoya and Sundays in Carrillo Beach. On March 7, classes will begin on Thursdays in Nosara. For more information, contact 8852-0942, 2230-3548 or 2656-0085.
