NEWS FROM YAGP - SUMMER 2022

N E W S L E T T E R

Summer 2022

Dear Friends,

The registration for the YAGP 2023 Season is now well underway – and we can’t wait to see all our talented participants across the United States and around the world. In the meantime, we invite you to join us in taking a journey through some of the most memorable highlights of the season that passed.

More than 15,000 dance students from all over the world took part in YAGP auditions in the U.S. and internationally, culminating in the YAGP 2022 Finals held in Tampa, FL in April. This was the first time in three years that we could finally gather again as an international, global family – and what a heartwarming reunion it was! Directors and representatives of the world’s leading dance academies were once again able to see — in person — some of the world’s most promising young dance talent. As a result, more than half a million dollars were awarded in scholarships to talented young dancers from all over the United States and 30 countries worldwide.

The impact of YAGP as the largest pipeline of talent for the world’s dance schools and companies is now more noticeable than ever before. As companies around the world are finishing their summer seasons and recognizing the achievements of their artists with well-deserved debuts and promotions, we are thrilled to see so many YAGP alumni among them. Hundreds of them are now filling the ranks of every major ballet company in the world.

This is in large part thanks to you — our participants, parents, teachers, schools, supporters, and friends worldwide — who have continued to believe in and support YAGP’s mission of giving education and performance opportunities to dancers around the world for more than two decades.

We look forward to the new season of nurturing the next generation of talented young artists – who are the future of dance.

With great appreciation and excitement for the season ahead,

Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev

Founders, Youth America Grand Prix

The YAGP 2022 Season Finals welcomed over 1,700 talented young dancers from all over the world to Tampa, FL. This year’s Finals, hosted by the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, marked the first time since 2019 that international participants — as well as the international YAGP scholarship presenters and jury members — were able to attend the event in person.

It was a momentous occasion celebrated with inspiring LIVE performances, master classes taught by directors of the world’s leading dance academies, scholarship auditions to the leading dance institutions worldwide, and even job offers for talented young artists ready to start their professional careers.

Arthur Wille (ATM Centro Cultural de Dança, BRAZIL)

Senior Men Gold Medalist

Maya Schonbrun (Master Ballet Academy, AZ)

Senior Women Gold Medalist

Mikaela Cameron (A&A Ballet, IL) with Luca Masala, Artistic Director of Princess Grace Academy (MONACO)

Pre-Competitive participants in scholarship class

David Consuegra (Next Generation Ballet at the Straz Center, FL) with Christopher Powney, Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet School (UK)

Minori De Silva (MorningStar Dance Academy, GA)

Shelley King Award

Alexei Orohovsky (Elite Classical Coaching, TX)

Youth Grand Prix Award

YAGP’s signature, annual Gala – “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” – served as a thrilling culmination of the YAGP 2022 Season Finals in Tampa.

With a stellar cast led by YAGP Alumna Mayara Magri (Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet); Jacopo Tissi (Principal Dancer of La Scala Ballet); and Ukrainian YAGP Alumnus and International Guest Artist Vsevelod Maievskyi, the evening featured performances by dancers from leading companies around the world:

Mayara Magri and Jacopo Tissi

Gustavo Carvalho* - Ballett am Rhein (GERMANY)
Zachary Catazaro* - International Guest Artist (UNITED STATES)
Mayara Magri* - The Royal Ballet (UNITED KINGDOM)
Vsevelod Maievskyi* - International Guest Artist (UKRAINE)
Chloe Misseldine* - American Ballet Theatre (UNITED STATES)
Kathryn Morgan - International Guest Artist (UNITED STATES)
Chase O’Connell - Ballet West (UNITED STATES)
Beckanne Sisk* - Ballet West (UNITED STATES)
Jacopo Tissi - La Scala Ballet (ITALY)
Daniel Ulbricht - New York City Ballet (UNITED STATES)
Kotomi Yamada* - American Ballet Theatre (UNITED STATES)
Elisabeth Beyer* - ABT Studio Company (UNITED STATES)
Yuma Matsuura* - ABT Studio Company (UNITED STATES)
Jake Roxander* - ABT Studio Company (UNITED STATES)

*YAGP Alumni

10 of the 14 Gala guest artists were YAGP alumni – which served as a powerful testament to YAGP’s mission to help talented young dancers reach their dream of a professional career in dance.

Beckanne Sisk and Chase O'Connell

Chloe Misseldine

Brady Farrar

Elisabeth Beyer & Yuma Matsuura

In the 2022 season, YAGP live-streamed every single scholarship audition and semi-final event around the world. As a result, the season ended with a record number of scholarships offered in a single season at YAGP.

Traditionally, most of the scholarships at YAGP are offered at the Season Finals. However, because YAGP’s live-streaming service allowed teachers and scholarship presenters to tune in to every single audition from every corner of the globe, hundreds of scholarships were offered to young dancers at YAGP before the Finals even took place!

The YAGP 2022 Season Finals culminated in a live awards ceremony, where more than $500,000 USD in scholarships was presented to some of the most promising young dancers from all over the world. The scholarships were presented by such preeminent YAGP partner schools as the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School (USA), European School of Ballet (NETHERLANDS), John Cranko School of the Stuttgart Ballet (GERMANY), Princess Grace Academy (MONACO), The Royal Ballet School (UNITED KINGDOM), and many other YAGP scholarship-presenting schools.

To see the full list of scholarships offered at YAGP, enjoy the video below.

In June 2022, YAGP returned to Genoa, Italy for the second YAGP Intensive Program at Nervi Festival. 150 talented young dancers from 13 countries, hand-picked at YAGP events all around the globe, gathered at Nervi to experience the life of a professional dancer in a magical setting: the state-of-the-art Teatro Carlo Felice in the historic center of Genoa and the open-air, 2,000-seat auditorium at Nervi Park, the main stage of the Festival located on the Ligurian Sea coast.

The program included 6 days of master classes with some of the world’s leading dance professionals, including Jean-Yves Esquerre, Director of the European School of Ballet (NETHERLANDS); Luca Masala, Artistic Director of Princess Grace Academy (MONACO); Aram Manukyan, Director of the Trainee Program of Alberta Ballet School (CANADA); Tadeusz Matacz, Director of the John Cranko School of Stuttgart Ballet (GERMANY); and many other esteemed dance professionals.

Highlights of the week included casting and rehearsals for several pieces performed in the two Gala performances, including the signature YAGP piece d’occasion, the Grand Defilé, and works by renowned Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, former director of Batsheva Dance Company, and acclaimed Spanish choreographer Goyo Montero.

The YAGP 2022 Intensive at Nervi offered participants a unique chance to experience the daily life of a dancer in a professional ballet company – and immerse themselves in their art in one of the most beautiful regions of Europe.

Ohad Naharin

Goyo Montero

Denis Watanabe (Watanabe-Buber Ballet Academy, JAPAN)

Nali Dobrin and Gramada Dragos (Choreography High School "Floria Capsali"/Dance Planet, ROMANIA)

Alexandra Hoffmann (The Ballet Clinic, AZ / Ballet Dortmund Junior Company, GERMANY)

YAGP also offered Italian audiences a rare chance to see two spectacular YAGP Gala performances as part of the famed Nervi Festival.

The Nervi Festival is one of the oldest and the most prestigious cultural events in Italy, having welcomed some of the most celebrated artists of all time, including Margot Fonteyn, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, the beloved late Italian prima ballerina, Carla Fracci, and companies like Paris Opera Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Mariinsky Ballet and New York City Ballet.

YAGP was thrilled to join this formidable legacy by presenting the next generation of extraordinary dance artists for the second year in a row.

Polina Semionova & Vsevelod Maievskyi

The YAGP Gala performances included the Future of Dance Gala, featuring some of the most promising young dance students from around the globe, and YAGP’s signature Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala, where young dancers shared the stage with international guest stars from the world’s leading dance companies:

Polina Semionova - Berlin State Ballet (GERMANY)
Marcelo Gomes - Semperoper Ballet Dresden (GERMANY)
Jacopo Tissi - La Scala Ballet (ITALY)
Luca Acri - The Royal Ballet (UNITED KINGDOM)
Cesar Corrales* - The Royal Ballet (UNITED KINGDOM)
Benjamin Freemantle - San Francisco Ballet (UNITED STATES)
Meaghan Grace Hinkis* - The Royal Ballet (UNITED KINGDOM)
Vsevelod Maievskyi* - International Guest Artist (UKRAINE)
Alejandro Martínez - Semperoper Ballet Dresden (GERMANY)
Elisabeth Beyer* - ABT Studio Company (UNITED STATES)
Yuma Matsuura* - ABT Studio Company (UNITED STATES)

*YAGP Alumni

Marcelo Gomes in FAUN(E) by David Dawson

Jacopo Tissi in The Ninth Wave by Bryan Arias

Cesar Corrales in Le Corsaire

Meaghan Grace Hinkis and Luca Acri in Tarantella

Choreography by George Balanchine

INTERNATIONAL SEMI-FINALS

KOREA | July 29-30, 2022
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA | August 27-28, 2022
Sydney, AUSTRALIA | August 31-September 1, 2022
Manila, PHILIPPINES | September 30-October 2, 2022
BRAZIL | October 10-16, 2022
INDONESIA | October 13-15, 2022
Osaka, JAPAN | October 17-23, 2022
Cordoba, MEXICO | October 28-November 1, 2022
Paris, FRANCE | November 3-6, 2022
ARGENTINA | November 4-6, 2022
Barcelona, SPAIN | December 6-10, 2022
Riccione, ITALY | December 15-18, 2022

U.S. and CANADA SEMI-FINALS

Chicago, IL (October) -- Oct 14-16, 2022
Los Angeles, CA (October) -- Oct 22-23, 2022
Austin, TX -- Oct 28-30, 2022
Miami/Boca Raton, FL -- Nov 4-6, 2022
San Diego, CA (November) -- Nov 10-13, 2022
Philadelphia, PA (November) -- Nov 18-20, 2022
Tampa, FL -- Jan 5-8, 2023
Seattle, WA -- Jan 5-8, 2023
Philadelphia, PA (January) -- Jan 13-15, 2023
Phoenix, AZ -- Jan 13-15, 2023
Salt Lake City, UT -- Jan 15-17, 2023
Winston-Salem, NC -- Jan 19-22, 2023
Chicago, IL (January) -- Jan 20-22, 2023
Las Vegas, NV -- Jan 27-29, 2021
Atlanta, GA -- Jan 26-29, 2023
Los Angeles, CA (February 1) -- Feb 3-5, 2023
Dallas, TX -- Feb 2-5, 2023
Boston-Worcester, MA -- Feb 9-12, 2023
Los Angeles, CA (February 2) -- Feb 9-12, 2023
Houston, TX -- Feb 16-19, 2023
Kansas City, MO -- Feb 23-26, 2023
Denver, CO -- Feb 24-26, 2023
New York, NY -- March 3-5, 2023
San Francisco, CA (March) -- March 9-12, 2023
Pittsburgh, PA -- March 9-12, 2023
Toronto, CANADA -- March 10-12, 2023
Indianapolis, IN -- Mar 16-19, 2023

EVENTS WITH PENDING DATES

San Francisco, CA (January) -- pending
San Diego, CA (February) -- pending
Chicago, IL (February) -- pending
Orlando, FL -- pending

Click here for more information

From our sponsors

Dance has the power to inspire, uplift and transform – but when it comes to young minds, its power to elevate goes far beyond the stage.

Sharing the stage at YAGP with fellow dancers from around the globe creates an environment where diversity and inclusion are not just aspirational goals, but a shared reality – helping students become not only better artists, but better global citizens.

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Photography Credits: LK Studio, Star Action Shots, Carlos Quezada, April Wexelman