The American Ballet Competition is pleased to announce that Raymond Van Mason, Founder and Artistic Director of Imagine Ballet Theatre in Ogden, Utah, has been appointed the Director of the American Ballet Competition (ABC) as of July 12, 2018.
Imagine Ballet Theatre gladly hosts the annual American Ballet Competition.
The ballet competition is an annual celebration of the exquisite artistry and talent within the ballet community. Dancers from various backgrounds and skill levels come together to showcase their abilities and passion for this timeless art form.
Division 1 will have the opportunity to perform a classical and a contemporary variation. Divisions 2 and 3, dancers have the opportunity to perform two classical variations as well as a contemporary variation. This allows them to demonstrate their broad technical skills and artistic expression in front of a discerning panel of judges.
In these divisions, participants will perform their first variation in a black leotard. This presentation focuses solely on the dancers’ technical abilities, allowing the judges to assess their form, precision, and control. It’s an opportunity for dancers to showcase their technical prowess and attention to detail.
For the second variation, dancers have the chance to wear captivating costumes that bring their performances to life. The second variation can differ from the first, enabling dancers to explore different characters and emotions. However, it is important to note that the variations must be chosen from a provided list to ensure fairness and standardization.
The list of classical variations we provide encompasses a wide range of styles, allowing dancers to choose the ones that resonate with them. Each variation presents its own unique artistic and technical challenges, providing a platform for dancers to showcase their versatility and artistry.
Our competition fosters an environment of inspiration and camaraderie among participants. It is a chance for dancers to learn from each other, exchange ideas, and grow as artists. Additionally, the event serves as an incredible platform to witness the incredible talent and dedication within the ballet community.
Whether you are a participant or an attendee, our ballet competition promises an enchanting experience filled with grace, beauty, and the magic of dance. We invite you to immerse yourself in the world of ballet, witness the exceptional performances, and be part of this captivating event.
If you have any further inquiries or would like more information about our ballet competition, please visit our website at americanballetcompetition.org
Imagine Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive is designed for students and company members of IBT to stay close to home, be with their families and still receive top notch ballet training.
Summer Intensive 2025 dates will be June 23rd through July 19th, excluding July 4th. We hope to perform at the Ogden Arts Festival on July 29th as our final performance.
Audience members will get the pleasure of seeing works of art that were staged by guest teachers, as well as pieces that will be built upon all four weeks, as well as choreography by the students.
We have 3-4 guest teachers every year. They come for one week and stage a piece of work that is either classical or new choreography.
The dancers not only have to come to class and learn different pieces, but they also are educated in the ballet history and choreography areas as well.
Each dancer has to write a report based on randomly chosen dancers by the director. Each dancer is also required to write a poem to express their thoughts about dance.
Along with reports and poems, the dancers will be assigned a choreography project. This can either be in groups or individual choreography, assigned by the director with different constraints such as a music constraint, a style constraint, or a topic constraint.
The price for all the full summer intensive 4 weeks is $1500.00, with a $500.00 deposit due on May 1st. Please email ibtmason@comcast.net to register.
We will also be offering a partial summer intensive, where dancers can opt to participate in just the morning ballet class from 10:00 – 12:00, Monday – Friday, June 23rd – July 19th. This program is $600.00, with a $100.00 deposit due on May 1st. Please email ibtmason@comcast.net to register.
For our younger dancers, we will be having three dance camps July 1st, July 8th, and July 15th from 9:00 – 12:00. $75 for all three classes, or $30.00 for one. Please email ibtmason@comcast.net to register.
Our Guest Teachers this year will be: Christina Stockdale, Fiona Katrine, Elijah Hatch, Gina Artese and Christie Freebairn-Perry.
Christina Stockdale (Winner of the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival 2022)
Christina Stockdale started dancing at age 5, she received her training from The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Academy of International Ballet in Philadelphia where she trained under many renowned teachers including: Anastasia Babayeva, Natasha Bar, Jeffrey Gribler, Denis Gronostayskiy, Christopher Fleming, Benjamin Millepied, Bojan and Stephanie Spassoff, Violette Verdy and Maria Yousekevitch. After graduating high school Ms. Stockdale was offered a position as a company dancer in Manassas Ballet Theatre in Virginia.
After two years with the company Ms. Stockdale decided to move across the country to Seattle to dance for Ballet Bellevue. While living in the Pacific Northwest she guested with many companies including Northwest Ballet, Katy Hagelin Dance Project and Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann Presents.
In 2011, Ms. Stockdale was offered a job with Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas so she packed up and moved to Vegas! After dancing with NBT she then decided to explore other dancing opportunities.
Currently Ms. Stockdale is Dance Captain at the longest running show on the Las Vegas Strip: Tournament of Kings where she dances ten performances per week. She continues to guest perform with companies all over the country including: Ballet Bellevue in Seattle, the Dance in the Desert Festival in Las Vegas, Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann Presents in Seattle as well as Imagine Ballet Theatre, and has been able to dance with Cirque du Soleil, perform in the Paul Mitchell The Gathering show, the Redken Symposium and many other great opportunities in Las Vegas.
Some of Ms. Stockdale’s featured roles include: Mina in Dracula, Myrtha in Giselle, The Butterfly in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lilac Fairy and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and various roles in Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Paquita and Balanchine’s Serenade, and contemporary works by James Canfield, Stacy Lowenberg, Kabby Mitchell III, Jennifer Porter, Angela Sterling, Ronn Tice and many others.
Fiona Katrine
Fiona Katrine has a BFA from The Juilliard School, and training from Oregon Ballet Theater, Northwest Dance Project and SALT Contemporary Dance. She has performed across the country with companies like The Metropolitan Opera House, Jessie Jennae and Dancers, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, SALT Contemporary Dance, Oquirrh West Project, and has done much freelancing in multiple artistic disciplines. Fiona has also taught dance techniques and creative processes to students of all ages across the country for over a decade. Currently she is overjoyed to return to Oquirrh West Dance Project as Assistant Director, creator, and performer.
Elijah Hatch (Winner of the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival 2025)
Elijah Hatch found his love for dance at the age of nine years old when he began ballroom dance. During that time, he won multiple awards, but it wasn’t until he was almost 15 years old that he was guided to his true passion- ballet.
His training began at Ballet West Academy under the direction of Jennie Creer-King. From there, he trained in the Professional Training Division in Salt Lake City.
Elijah has had the opportunity to play multiple roles, some highlights have been James Ruben, from the Bournonville ballet, La Sylphide; the Nutcracker and Arabian Prince, Snow King, as well as the Cavalier. He also found a love for contemporary ballet and creating his own works.
Elijah trained for three years with Ballet West Academy. Following that, his training was put on hold for a service mission in England. After returning home, Elijah resumed his training under the direction of Jennie Creer-King and her company “Chrysalis” for a time. Since then, Elijah seeks out new ways to express his artistry, and with presenting more of his own self-created work.
Gina Artese
Gina Artese is a SAG-AFTRA actress, ballet dancer and singer who most recently booked the role of “Miss Clara” in Run The World, a tv show on Starz directed by Millicent Shelton and written by Leigh Davenport. Before that she played the “Seatless Woman” in Nicholas Stoller’s Netflix comedy series Friends From College , then a dancing/singing cat in the final season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. She was seen on NBC’s The Blacklist as a ballerina and on TruTV’s Impractical Jokers as herself—the girl who got pranked with a hotdog. Gina later went on to do a follow up show to Impractical Jokers called the “Punishment Special” where she was interviewed about being a fan favorite. She was the face of WE TV’s Bridezillas and was seen competing on FOX’s celebrity reality dating show The Choice in 2012. Gina was a featured ballerina in Darren Aronofsky’s award winning Black Swan (2010). You can see her on the dance floor in Something Borrowed and as a ballerina in Our Idiot Brother.
In the winter of 2009 she had a national Old Navy commercial airing on television. Gina has played “Tina” in the off-Broadway show Tony and Tina’s Wedding and was also seen in the Macy’s campaign commercial with renowned rap singer Diddy in 2007-2008. She has been a lead dancer in such feature films as Summer of Sam by Spike Lee and Nicholas Hytner’s Center Stage. In 2019, Gina performed in the chorus/ensemble dancers of My Princess Diana, a musical theatre show created by Kirk and Scott Pfeiffer for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Gina has been a professional ballet dancer since she was 17 years old. She has danced professionally with Kansas City Ballet, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Morphoses Company and Twyla Tharp. In 2014 she performed in Charleston, South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival where she performed in Kirk Sprinkles’ musical theater production The Charleston. Gina also guest starred as a dancer on The Kennedy Center Honors which aired on CBS and also danced Don Quixote with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Edinburgh Festival of Scotland in 2006.
Ms. Artese has modeled in editorial features for Dance Magazine, Nylon and W Magazine. Gina has also modeled in runway shows at New York Fashion Week for Ms. Cheesecake, Indashio Batori, Solerra, Malene Grotrian and Lynn Park. She danced in Kate Spade’s fragrance campaign/video “Twirl” and was featured modeling clothes for designer Susan Beischel on the Martha Stewart Show.
Christie Freebairn-Perry
Christie Freebairn-Perry is from Sandy, Utah and began her ballet training with Karen Chatterton at Academy of Ballet Arts, where she also danced with Mountain West Ballet. As a recipient of the Willam F. Christiensen scholarship, she continued her training at the University of Utah, graduating with a BFA in ballet while dancing with Utah Ballet. Upon graduation she joined Ballet West where she danced for eight years under the direction of John Hart. While with Ballet West she danced in many classical and contemporary works and danced soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and Gershwin by George. She danced for a season with City Ballet of San Diego, under the direction of Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich, where she was featured in Wistrich’s Strawfeet, Balanchine’s Who Cares? and the role of Titania in A Mid-Summer Nights Dream.
Christie has made guest appearances with Utah Opera, Imagine Ballet Theatre, Clytie Adams School of Ballet and Mountain West Ballet. Christie has thirty years of teaching experience and is currently teaching for Clytie Adams School of Ballet in Kaysville Utah. She enjoys directing, choreographing and sharing her knowledge of ballet with her students.
