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N E W S L E T T E R
2024 End-Of-Year Highlights ✨
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Dear Friends,
And just like that, 2024 has come to a close. As we usher in the New Year, we cannot help but feel a tremendous sense of gratitude for our global dance community - the friends, participants, parents, teachers, and supporters around the world who helped make YAGP’s 25th Anniversary Season a true celebration all year long.
YAGP’s 25th Anniversary gatherings at Lincoln Center were, of course, one of the most exciting highlights of the year - along with being designated by the U.S. Senate as America’s National Dance Competition, setting a new Guinness World Record for the most dancers en pointe simultaneously (353, to be exact!), and continuing to travel the world to find the most promising young dancers of all backgrounds.
Dance is a universal language that transcends borders, languages, and cultural differences. It is an artform that brings people together, which bears repeating as we look towards the future - and to the next 25 years of ensuring the future of dance. Thanks to people like you, YAGP is proud to serve as the world’s largest dance network, changing the lives of dancers around the world one performance, one master class, and one scholarship at a time.
As we reflect back on an incredible 2024, we invite you to join us in a virtual toast to the New Year - and to the young dancers who represent the future of dance and all its possibilities. Cheers to 2025 and beyond!
With gratitude,
Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev
Founders, Youth America Grand Prix
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YAGP was featured on the cover of the The New York Times as part of “The Year in Pictures 2024” with a photo from one of the most memorable moments this year: YAGP Finalists setting a new Guinness World Record for the most dancers en pointe simultaneously. 353 young dancers from around the world gathered at the iconic Plaza Hotel in Manhattan during the YAGP 25th Anniversary Finals for this exciting historical moment. Click here to see the magic and hear more from the dancers themselves. | | |
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U.S. Senate Resolution: YAGP named America's National Dance Competition
In recognition of YAGP’s contributions to the dance world globally and especially with the United States - offering more performance, scholarship, and educational opportunities than any other dance organization worldwide - YAGP was officially designated by the U.S. Senate as AMERICA’S NATIONAL YOUTH DANCE COMPETITION, just in time for the 25th Anniversary Celebrations in New York. To see the full Senate resolution, click here.
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Marcella Hymowitz Creative Fellowship for Choreography | |
Championing young choreographers has been at the forefront of YAGP’s mission to support and provide opportunities to artists since its founding 25 years ago. Through its Emerging Choreographer Series, YAGP has given the opportunity for upcoming choreographers to present their works to the international dance community - having featured and provided a platform to artists such as Justin Peck, Lauren Lovette, Juliano Nunes, Marcelo Gomes, and many others at the start of their choreographic careers.
This year at the YAGP 25th Anniversary Gala, an unprecedented new initiative was announced: the MARCELLA HYMOWITZ CREATIVE FELLOWSHIP for Choreography. Made possible by a generous $1M gift by Gregg Hymowitz, the Fellowship is the first and the most public-facing project of its kind in YAGP’s 25-year history. It will provide a creative lab for choreographers on the rise to create groundbreaking, innovative work that will push the art of dance info the future.
After a worldwide search this fall, YAGP announced the inaugural recipients of the Fellowship, each of whom will receive financial support for their creation, to be realized in a workshop version of the piece this spring. All new works will then be considered for inclusion in YAGP Galas around the world in the next season. Please join us once again in congratulating these talented choreographers who will help create dance history (click names for bios).
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YAGP 25th Anniversary Gala Creative Chair,
Marcella Hymowitz
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Boston, USA 🇺🇸
Brazil 🇧🇷 based in Munich 🇩🇪
USA 🇺🇸 based in Netherlands 🇳🇱
Brazil 🇧🇷 based in Kansas City 🇺🇸
Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 based in Chicago 🇺🇸
USA 🇺🇸 based in Sweden 🇸🇪
*YAGP Alumni
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YAGP 25th Anniversary Gala Celebrations | |
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This year, YAGP celebrated 25 years of ensuring the future of dance with a thrilling week-long gathering back in the city where it all began: New York. We were thrilled to conduct the 25th Anniversary Finals in NYC for the first time since the 20th Anniversary celebrations five years ago, culminating in the Final Round and two spectacular Gala productions back on the stage of YAGP's longtime Manhattan home, the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.
This year’s 25th Anniversary Galas included a nearly all-YAGP alumni cast of 36 artists from 15 of the world’s most esteemed dance companies, now leading stars across the globe, demonstrating YAGP’s profound impact on the lives of young dancers throughout the last 25 years. It was a true celebration of these phenomenal artists and their journeys, complete with rare footage, multimedia projections, and dazzling live performances.
It was a truly memorable occasion - and a fashionable one at that - and a reunion of the world’s largest dance family. Enjoy this look back on the festivities below!
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YAGP 2024 Grand Prix Winner, GeonHee Park (Korea National University of Arts, SOUTH KOREA) | |
Peter Lyden, Carolina Herrera, Priya Shukla | |
Cynthia Rowley, Rebecca Hessel Cohen, Libby Klein | |
Candice Miller, Priya Shukla, Rebecca Hessel Cohen, Samantha Pariente, Colleen Crivello, Marcella Hymowitz, Aly Gradone, Lina Wallach, Molly Knauer, Alexandra Bonetti, Daniela Tisch, Lesley Thompson Vecsler | |
Elisa Badenes and Martí Paixa of The Stuttgart Ballet | |
Skylar Brandt and Daniel Camargo of ABT | |
Adji Cissoko of Alonzo King LINES Ballet in the World Premiere of Maria Konrad's "Dea," with music by Karen LeFrak | |
Bianca Scudamore of Paris Opera Ballet | |
Melissa Hamilton of The Royal Ballet and Vsevolod Maievskyi of English National Ballet in the World Premiere of Joshua Beamish's "Hungarian Dances" | | |
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Mackenzie Brown of The Stuttgart Ballet | |
Isabella Boylston, Catherine Hurlin, and Jake Roxander of ABT in the World Premiere of James Whiteside's "More Than Nothing" | | |
YAGP alumni and their stories are a powerful testament to the life-changing education and performance opportunities YAGP provides to young dancers worldwide. This year, once again, saw numerous YAGP alumni promotions at the world's leading dance companies - here are just a few of the highlights. | |
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AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
- Chloe Misseldine promoted to Principal Dancer
- Jake Roxander, Jarod Curley, Patrick Frenette, Fangqi Li promoted to Soloist
BAYERISCHES STAATSBALLETT
- Antonio Casalinho promoted to Principal Dancer
- Margarita Fernandes promoted to First Soloist
BOSTON BALLET
- Daniel Durrett promoted to Soloist
COLORADO BALLET
- Leah McFadden promoted to Principal Dancer
ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET
- Precious Adams and Ivana Bueno promoted to First Soloist
- Francesca Velicu and Rentaro Nakaaki promoted to Soloist
HOUSTON BALLET
- Angelo Greco joined the Company as a Principal Dancer
- Julian Lacey joined the Company as a First Soloist
NEW YORK CITY BALLET
- Emma Von Enck promoted to Principal Dancer
PHILADELPHIA BALLET
- Sydney Dolan promoted to Principal Dancer
- Pau Pujol promoted to First Soloist
- Jacqueline Callahan, Lucia Erickson, Isaac Hollis promoted to Soloist
ROYAL SWEDISH BALLET
- Maya Schonbrun promoted to First Soloist
- Darrion Sellman promoted to Second Soloist
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET
- Jasmine Jimison promoted to Principal Dancer
STUTTGART BALLET
- Gabriel Figueredo promoted to Principal Dancer
- Mizuki Amemiya promoted to Soloist
THE ROYAL BALLET
- Melissa Hamilton promoted to Principal Dancer
- Annette Buvoli, Leticia Dias, Joonhyuk Jun, Sae Maeda promoted to First Soloist
- Liam Boswell, Daichi Ikarashi, Francisco Serrano promoted to Soloist
- Viola Pantuso and Marianna Tsembenhoi promoted to First Artist
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Breakout Stars & Best Performances of 2024
YAGP alumna Chloe Misseldine, promoted to Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre onstage immediately following her magnificent Met Opera debut in Swan Lake this summer, was recognized by The New York Times as as a “Breakout Star of 2024” as well as in the lineup of “Best Dance Performances of 2024.”
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Princess Grace Awards 2024
This year, two YAGP alumni were among the artists recognized by the Princess Grace Foundation, which supports and elevates extraordinary artists emerging in their respective fields through grants and career support. Choreographer Roderick George, a previous Princess Grace Award winner for Dance in 2011, was recognized with this year’s Choreography award, and Jake Roxander, ABT Soloist, was named among the Dance Performance Honoraria artists. To see the full list, click here.
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Joseph Markey with SunMi Park | |
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Dance Magazine "25 to Watch in 2025"
Once again, several YAGP alumni were recognized in Dance Magazine's annual and highly-anticipated "25 to Watch" list honoring up-and-coming artists on the rise in their respective companies and genres. Read more and see the full list at the link here.
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Joseph Markey, American Ballet Theatre
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Melisa Guilliams, Pacific Northwest Ballet
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Brett Fukuda, Opéra National du Rhin
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Mayfield Myers, Philadelphia Ballet
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Kyle Sangil, Whim W’Him Seattle Contemporary Dance
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Pointe Magazine
"Standout Performances of 2024"
This year, 7 YAGP alumni were also recognized in Pointe's "Standout Performances of 2024," honoring some of the year's most memorable performances and premieres:
- Dylan Gutierrez, The Joffrey Ballet
- Zsilas Michael Hughes, Pacific Northwest Ballet
- Chloe Misseldine, American Ballet Theatre
- Brenna Mulligan-Olsen, San Antonio Ballet
- Katherine Ochoa, Cincinnati Ballet
- David Preciado, National Ballet of Canada
- Wei Wang, San Francisco Ballet
To see the full list and read more about these artists’ incredible performances, click here.
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Katherine Ochoa with Chandler Proctor in "Giselle" | |
Wei Wang in Aszure Barton's "Mere Mortals" | |
Dylan Gutierrez with Victoria Jaiani in Liam Scarlett's "Hummingbird" | |
YAGP alumni continued to grace the covers of numerous publications worldwide in 2024, including Pointe, Dance Magazine, Dance Magazine Japan, and Dance Europe. | |
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Chloe Misseldine & Aran Bell
American Ballet Theatre
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Jake Roxander
American Ballet Theatre
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Katlyn Addison
Ballet West
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Mackenzie Brown
The Stuttgart Ballet
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Leroy Mokgatle
Staatsballett Berlin
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Hannah O'Neill
Paris Opera Ballet
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Elisa Badenes
The Stuttgart Ballet
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May Nagahisa
Mariinsky Ballet
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Julian MacKay
Bayerisches Staatsballett
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YAGP Community Gatherings | |
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SWANS AT SUNSET
August 2024
Hosted by Janna Bullock and R. Couri Hay
The end of summer was marked by a beautiful sunset gathering in Southampton, hosted by Janna Bullock and R. Couri Hay, to celebrate YAGP alumna Chloe Misseldine’s promotion to Principal Dancer of American Ballet Theatre. The elegant evening also included performances by an all-YAGP alumni group of artists: Elisabeth Beyer and Joseph Markey of ABT and students from the Joffrey Ballet School in excerpts of Swan Lake, Melvin Lawovi of ABT in Maria Konrad’s Dea, with music by Karen LeFrak, and YAGP scholarship recipients Crystal Huang and Viktoria Papakaladouka of ABT JKO School, Mackenzie and Skylar Chu-Robin, along with singer/songwriter Paloma Dineli Chesky.
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Chloe Misseldine and Joseph Markey | |
Melvin Lawovi in Maria Konrad's "Dea," with music by Karen LeFrak | |
Janna Bullock & Eugenia Bullock | |
R. Couri Hay & Karen LeFrak | |
Jean Shafiroff & Candace Bushnell | |
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25th ANNIVERSARY KICK-OFF LUNCHEON IN PALM BEACH
April 2024
Hosted by YAGP Trustee Kamie Lighturn
YAGP Trustee Kamie Lightburn (pictured with Brady Farrar, Nayara Lopes, and YAGP Founding Director of External Affairs, Sergey Gordeev), hosted a chic luncheon at the iconic Colony Hotel in Palm Beach in April to kick off the YAGP 25th Anniversary festivities.
Honoring YAGP’s 25 years of providing unique educational and scholarship opportunities to young dancers, the event featured performances by YAGP alumni Nayara Lopes of Philadelphia Ballet and Brady Farrar of American Ballet Theatre.
Guests were offered an up-close preview of the extraordinary talent YAGP has nurtured in its 25 years in an intimate and elegant setting: the perfect way to kick off the anniversary celebrations.
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Aleksandra Efimova, Jan Savarick, Erica Kasel, Milton Townsend, Aurora Chinchilla, Andrea Virgin | |
Eleanora Kennedy, Jocelyn Javits, Kara Ross | |
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A CELEBRATION OF BEAUTY AND DANCE IN SARASOTA
March 2024
Hosted by Laura Lobdell and Darrel Flanel
A celebration of beauty and dance was held in support of YAGP's 25th Anniversary Season at the elegant home of Darrel Flanel and longtime YAGP supporter and friend Laura Lobdell this spring.
The intimate gathering featured a moving sunset performance of The Dying Swan by YAGP alumna Elisabeth Beyer of American Ballet Theatre (pictured), along with a performance by YAGP scholarship recipient Macie Miersch of The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory, demonstrating YAGP’s impact on a young artist’s journey from student to professional dancer.
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Laura Lobdell & Darrel Flanel | |
Albert Bellas & Kay Mazzo Bellas | |
Conrad Kenley & Melonie Favorite | |
YAGP Galas Around the World | |
As part of its mission to educate the next generation of dancers and audiences, YAGP partners with Galas and Festivals around the world to give its participants invaluable performance opportunities – and international audiences an unforgettable dance experience. Here are some of the exciting YAGP Gala highlights of 2024. | |
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YAGP GALAS AT NERVI FESTIVAL
July 2024 | Genoa, ITALY
YAGP was thrilled to present its fourth annual program at the Nervi Festival, one of the most prestigious events of the Italian dance scene. This year’s program welcomed 200 dancers from 5 continents and more than 30 countries around the world, who attended six days of master classes taught by directors and artists from some of the world’s leading dance institutions.
The week culminated in two spectacular Gala performances on the famed Nervi stage overlooking the Ligurian Sea, where numerous ballet legends have performed, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, beloved Italian prima ballerina Carla Fracci, and many others.
This year’s closing Gala featured some of ballet’s most exciting stars performing today, including Maria Khoreva (Mariinsky Theatre), YAGP alumnus Shale Wagman and Bleuenn Battistoni (Paris Opera Ballet), and YAGP alumni Chloe Misseldine (American Ballet Theatre, Constantine Allen (Dutch National Ballet), Vsevolod Maievskyi (English National Ballet), and more esteemed artists.
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Chloe Misseldine & Constantine Allen | |
Maria Khoreva & Vsevolod Maievskyi | | |
Shale Wagman in Marco Goecke's "Hungarian Dances" | |
Brady Farrar in George Balanchine's "Stars and Stripes" © The George Balanchine Trust | |
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YAGP GALA IN SICILY
August 2024 | Catania, Sicily
YAGP continued its tradition of providing unique, world-class performance opportunities for young dancers by presenting a Gala at the 2000-seat outdoor Anfiteatro Falcone e Borsellino in Zafferana Etnea, Catania.
For the first time in Sicily, YAGP’s signature piece d’occasion, the Grand Defilé, was presented alongside a robust program of classical and contemporary works, including performances by the YAGP International Contemporary Ensemble (YAGP ICE).
A star-studded lineup of guest artists included YAGP alumni Antonio Casalinho and Margarita Fernandes (Bayerisches Staatsballett), Liudmila Konovalova (Vienna State Ballet), Maria Khoreva (Mariinsky Ballet), YAGP alumni Elisabeth Beyer and Brady Farrar (American Ballet Theatre), and YAGP alumnus Nnamdi Nwagwu with singer/songwriter Paloma Dineli Chesky, among other artists from the world’s leading dance companies and YAGP scholarship recipients and winners from around the world.
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Gala Cast: Alexei Orohovsky, Brady Farrar, Yana Peneva, Nnamdi Nwagwu, Liudmila Konovalova, Shale Wagman, Vsevolod Maievskyi, Antonio Casalinho, Paloma Dineli Chesky
Seated - Elisabeth Beyer, Maria Khoreva, Margarita Fernandes
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YAGP ICE - International Contemporary Ensemble 2024-2025 | |
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Coinciding with the YAGP 25th Anniversary Season, 2024 marked the second generation of the YAGP International Contemporary Ensemble (YAGP ICE), comprised of talented young dancers hand-selected from around the globe to take part in a “company life” experience - from auditioning for the company to working with professional rehearsal directors and ballet masters, casting for certain roles, rehearsing, travel and performances.
The ICE dancers then had the opportunity to perform in the YAGP 25th Anniversary Galas in works by Ohad Naharin and Shahar Binyamini - as well as in YAGP Galas in Nervi and Sicily this summer.
This fall, “Gen 3” of the YAGP ICE commenced with a repertoire workshop in New York, where the latest cohort learned works by Ohad Naharin, Marco Goecke, and Sofia Nappi.
The YAGP ICE will continue this February with a workshop in Bucharest, Romania, where they will continue to refine these works and learn choreography by Andonis Foniadakis. The international group of dancers will be eligible for casting in performances for YAGP Galas around the world in 2025.
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Rosario Guerra (Marco Goecke rep) | |
YAGP ICE dancers in Ohad Naharin's "Echad Mi Yodea" for the YAGP Gala at Nervi Festival | | |
YAGP ICE dancers in Shahar Binyamini's "Bolero" for the YAGP 25th Anniversary Gala | |
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YAGP Dancers
Ring in the Holidays at
Radio City Music Hall
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YAGP has also enjoyed a longstanding history with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, recommending talented young dancers from around the country each year for the role of Clara - many of whom have gone on to successful careers as leading dancers in the world’s most prestigious dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, and many others.
This year was no exception, with all three Claras cast in the 2024 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes being YAGP participants! We share our warmest congratulations to Lilly Anderson, Savannah Jackson, and Elsa Peng as they complete their final shows this winter, following in the footsteps of numerous other YAGP alumni before them in this beloved NYC holiday tradition.
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Savannah Jackson
Larkin Dance Studio, MN
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Elsa Peng
Florida School for Dance Education, FL
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Lilly Anderson
Larkin Dance Studio, MN
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YAGP 2025 Season Semi-Finals | |
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As the year 2024 comes to a close, we also look back on the final semi-final events of the year after completing 13 international and 4 U.S. semi-final auditions this fall.
YAGP’s international tour continues to expand, reaching dancers from all over the globe on 4 continents this season:
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- 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea
- 🇵🇭 Manila, Philippines
- 🇦🇺 Sydney, Australia
- 🇸🇬 Singapore
- 🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia
- 🇯🇵 Osaka, Japan
- 🇨🇳 Shanghai, China
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- 🇧🇷 Barueri, Brazil
- 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 🇲🇽 Cordoba, Mexico
- 🇫🇷 Paris, France
- 🇮🇹 Vicenza, Italy
- 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain
- 🇵🇹 Faro, Portugal
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Valentina Mascini Lescay
Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez (PORTUGAL)
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The final international stop on the 2024 tour was held in Barcelona in December, which welcomed dancers from all over Spain and across Europe - and beyond - with a record number of 32 countries represented.
We now look forward to the first-ever semi-final in Faro, Portugal in January - and to continuing the North American auditions this winter, which will offer young dancers in 28 locations across the U.S. and Canada a chance to experience the magic of YAGP.
For a full schedule of North American events, click here, and stay tuned for live-streaming of every YAGP semi-final across the country on the YAGP YouTube channel.
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✨ SAVE THE DATE ✨
YAGP 2025 Galas
Season Finals Gala
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Straz Center for the Performing Arts | Tampa, FL
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YAGP 2025 New York Gala
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center | NYC
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Photography Credits: LK Studio, Jennifer Curry Wingrove, Staff TES, Darian Volkova, Darian DiCianno, Roman Novitsky, Taylor Brandt, Erin Baiano, Emma Zordan, Beau Pearson, Carlos Quezada, Michael Jackson Jr., Hiromi Platt, Chris Hardy, Cheryl Mann, Annie Watt, Sandra Bencicova, Hannah Mayfield | | | | |
