among elite dancers Byron-Bergen junior Noelle Cotler has been accepted into the Jacob's Pillow dance program in jazz in Lee, Massachusetts. For three weeks this summer, she will participate in professional-level instruction for dancers ages 16 and up. Only 25 participants are selected worldwide for this advanced program from auditions held in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Columbus (Ohio), Miami, Buenos Aires, Paris, Athens and New York City. Ballet superstar Mikhail Baryshnikov has referred to Jacob's Pillow as "one of America's most precious cultural assets." Its Ted Shawn Theatre is the first in the United State designed specifically for dance and has been in existence since 1942. Sixty years later, the federal government named Jacob's Pillow a National Historic Landmark for its importance in American culture and history. According to Cotler's school counselor, Teri Henick, a group from Byron-Bergen hopes to make the trip to Massachusetts in August to watch one of Noelle's performances. May 21, 2006 |
