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Sarasota News Leader August 30, 2013 Page 79 Julie Kent in a pleasant waltz to the familiar Strauss melody of The Merry Widow did add a touch of international glamour to the evening. However, the chance to spot the "stars of tomorrow" was uppermost in the minds of the audience members. was obvious in the solos and duets in the first half of the program and in the excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty Suite — which filled the second part of the program — that one or another of the young dancers has a quality of movement that transforms the steps of the choreography into moments of inspired Not surprisingly, there were more than 50 dancing. girls in the program but fewer boys. Kudos, nonetheless, to Dos Santos for using their Of the six soloists from the mentoring proyouthful energy in a pseudo-gymnastic ballet gram, Adriana Baez Hitchcock impressed me set to a pulsating score by David Goldstein. with her strength and acrobatic flexibility; Dressed in their own shorts and barefoot, the Gabriella Stilo charmed, both in her solo and student dancers moved like waves off and on later as Florine in the Blue Bird pas de deux the stage, creating a fierce world of promises with Aran Bell; and Francisco Serrano, all long to come. legs and intensity, will dazzle in the future as he grows stronger and older. There is that something called "charisma" that often sets apart one dancer from another, As the program lacked details of casting in and that was clear as the evening unfolded. It that section, I assume that Sasha Alvarez was Shelby Elsbree (right) was a guest performer in the Rose Adagio. Photo courtesy of Rod Millington