| 
Evelyn Koop
has promoted this form of gymnastics, now called Aesthetic Group
Gymnastics (AGG), since she began to develop the sport in Toronto
and Canada in the 1950's. The media has named her "godmother
of Canadian rhythmic gymnastics". For more background information,
see the Kalev
website.
In 1995, Evelyn Koop realized
an old dream: to create a company that could lift her beloved
rhythmic gymnastics to levels where it would be recognized as
one of the performing arts. It would also mean returning to
the roots of what has become an Olympic sport of the highest
caliber: the rhythmic group performance.
For this new team, she selected
12 girls most of whom were former RG competitors, some who came
from a background of dance performance. Since the sport of AGG
was recognized, most team members are former RG competitors.
This is now the Rhythmic
Expressions, Kalev's AGG team, which she still coaches with
the assistance of other well-known coaches and choreographers,
including well-known Canadian dance choreographer Brian Foley, the choreographer
for the Russian national team, Dmitri Begak, Finnish choreographer
and AGG expert Antton Laine, etc.
Since 1996, Kalev has hosted
its annual "Kalev Cup", an invitational gymnastics
group competition (Canadian version of AGG), initiated by Kalev
coach Triinu KimmelKalev was first in Canada
with AGG and remains the leader with several international teams
as well as teams on Inter-Club and Provincial levels. Together
with Ritmika, they hosted the 2008 AGG World Championships
in Toronto.
Evelyn Koop was one of the
funding members of IFAGG, when she signed the agreement to start
an international AGG federation. She was also one of the four founding members of CAGG, the Canadian Aesthetic Group Gymnastics federation. Evelyn Koop has taken four
judging courses in AGG and is currently a successful member of the Promotion
Committee of IFAGG, due to her extensive and long-standing contacts
within the international RG community.
|
