NBC News: RAF is excited that NBC News has recognized the value of RAF’s NSLI-Y program and the accomplishments of all participants with a special segment. video

WORLD BLOG: By Yonatan Pomrenze, NBC News Producer
MOSCOW – For some teenagers, the idea of spending part of the summer indoors and in class would be a punishment. For 16 young American ballerinas, though, it is a privilege. Chosen to take part in a State Department funded six-week trip to Moscow, the group is spending their days in intensive ballet training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy while also learning Russian language and culture. read more

Betsey Johnson’s has partnered with the Russian American Foundation for an exciting launch of Betsey Johnson’s new fragrance, Too Too. The event presented Betsey Johnson’s latest fragrance and included a special appearance of the RAF BBA dancers. read more

abc2news: 15-year-old Miranda Wienecke of White Marsh has been dancing since she was 2-years-old.  She enjoys ballet. It’s a release from society.  Her years of hard work paid off. She is headed to Russia to the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. read more

COLUMBIA STAR: Anne Jackson’s summer reading list may be a little out of the ordinary for a tenth grader as it might include Anna Karenina instead of the usual Jane Eyre. The New York based Russian American Foundation has announced she is one of 16 American high school ballet dancers selected for the prestigious National Security
Language Initiative for Youth Program ( NSLI- Y ) in Moscow this summer. read more

EXAMINER: MILLSTONE — Isabella Cerri floats like a spirit on the stage. The ballerina tries to make each performance seem effortless to draw audiences into another world. read more

SIGN ON SAN DIEGO: Kyra Atchason gets bored if she stays in one place for too long, which is part of why she loves to travel. She also loves dancing and has been taking ballet since she was 2 years old. So, the full scholarship she won for the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program this summer was perfect. read more

THE SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE: Although Margo van den Helder has been taking ballet since she was 3 years old, she didn’t get serious about it until a few years ago when she began working with a new ballet teacher. That new work ethic contributed to Margo being selected as one of 16 recipients from across the country of a full scholarship for the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program this summer. read more

TULSAWORLD: Ballet dancer Hana Lethen’s passion brought her to Tulsa, but by the end of the summer, it will have taken her halfway around the world and back. read more

GAZETTE.NET: A passionate student of ballet, Taylor Fikes, 17, of Bowie said she has always wanted to visit the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where many great dancers have performed. This summer she will. read more

YOUR CYFAIR NEWS: Kyra Benesh, a student at Klein Collins High School, will spend six weeks in Moscow this summer to train with the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and study the Russian language, history, arts, and culture. read more

FAIRFAX TIMES: Georgina Greenleaf of Herndon will spend six weeks this summer studying at the renowned Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow on a full scholarship, according to the Russian American Foundation in New York. read more

JEAN VALENTIN PHOTOGRAPHY: All the preparations that you saw last week were for the unveiling of the fall jewelry collection from Erickson Beamon (Vicki Beamon and Karen Erickson). Normally you wouldn’t expect ballerinas, opera singers and violinists to a such event. read more

VOGUE.COM: An enchanting Degas moment on Sunday evening at Milk Studios courtesy of hostesses Vicki Beamon and Karen Erickson, who showcased their spectacular costume bijou (including an extraordinary necklace that was an homage to Alexander McQueen) and some sparkling crystal masks, on a bevy of cygnets from the Russian American Foundation’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy United States Youth Program. read more

HARPERSBAZAAR.COM: Dance fever: Moncler models boogied down at Grand Central, while Erickson Beamon’s event featured ballerinas in jewel-covered masks. read more

FASHION.ELLE.COM: One doesn’t really expect to find ballerinas, an opera singer and a famous violinist inside Milk Studios on a Sunday evening—such talents are usually reserved for the main stage at Lincoln Center. read more