New York City’s midtown streets were abuzz with bunheads last week—it seemed everywhere you looked, you’d see large groups of young dancers, hair slicked and garment bags in tow, rushing to a studio or to Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater for Youth America Grand Prix. It was a nostalgic moment; for much of its 25-year history, YAGP, the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, held its Final Round in New York City. It relocated its finals to Tampa during the pandemic—it’s logistically easier and more affordable for dancers and their families, said Larissa Saveliev, YAGP’s founder and artistic director. But with this being the competition’s 25th-anniversary season, coming back to New York City was top priority.
“For us it’s really meaningful,” Saveliev said earlier this month during a phone interview. “It’s where we started.” (Finals will alternate between New York City and Tampa going forward, announced annually.)
To further celebrate the anniversary, this year’s festivities included a symposium for more than 20 company directors, co-hosted by Dutch National Ballet artistic director Ted Brandsen and American Ballet Theatre’s incoming executive director Barry Hughson. And on April 17, 353 YAGP competitors came together at New York’s Plaza Hotel to break the Guinness World Record for the most dancers to balance simultaneously on pointe for one minute.
The week also included two star-studded galas, including a Best of 25 Years gala featuring 36 artists from 15 companies around the world. Each piece included YAGP alumni, such as ABT’s Chloe Misseldine, Paris Opéra Ballet’s Bianca Scudamore, Dutch National Ballet’s Constantine Allen, Stuttgart Ballet’s Mackenzie Brown, Bavarian State Ballet’s António Casalinho, and many more. “There are so many dancers we wanted to feature that we couldn’t do it in one night,” said Saveliev. “Most of them are young principals and soloists, because we wanted to feature the next generation of superstars.”
Originally, the cast also included Maria Khoreva and Kimin Kim of Russia’s state-run Mariinsky Ballet, which drew objections from local leaders and the Ukrainian consulate due to the war in Ukraine. After being informed about possible protests on Thursday, YAGP leaders consulted with New York City Ballet, which manages Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater, and decided to cancel the dancers’ performances shortly before the show. (Protests by pro-Ukrainian activists went on as planned.) “It is a decision that gives us great pain,” YAGP said in a statement. “Art should unite us, not divide us.”
“We are very sorry that our reunion did not take place,” Khoreva wrote in an Instagram post, “but art will always find a way to human soul.”
The Awards
Over the course of the competition, 120 finalists—out of 2,000 dancers—were selected to participate in Wednesday night’s Final Round. The winners were announced at Saturday’s awards ceremony, along with many other dancers who received summer intensive scholarships, invitations to pre-professional training programs, and company contracts.
Going forward, Saveliev said, YAGP plans to create more opportunities for dancers outside of competition, as well as expand its Nervi Festival Summer Workshop (a one-week “company experience” program held each summer in Italy) to more cities in Europe. “We want to give young dancers opportunities to perform, not just compete,” she says.
If you missed the livestreamed awards ceremony, you’re in luck—we’ve compiled a list below. Congratulations to all of those who participated in this year’s Final Round, and a special shout-out to all of the hard-working teachers and parents who made these dancers’ dreams possible.
Senior Division
Grand Prix
GeonHee Park, 18, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea
Senior Women
1st place: Ivana Radan, 15, Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, USA
2nd place: Crystal Huang, 15, Bayer Ballet Academy & The Rock Center for Dance, USA
3rd place: MinJi Son, 18, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea
Senior Men
1st place: Martinho Lima Santos, 18, Princess Grace Academy, Monaco/Portugal
2nd place: Joao Pedro Silva, 15, Balé do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil
3rd place (tie): Hang Li, 20, Beijing Dance Academy, China
3rd place (tie): Carson Willey, 17, The Rock School for Dance, USA
Junior Division
Junior Women
1st place: Tamison Soppet, 13, Convergence Dance Studios, New Zealand
2nd place: Annie Webb, 13, Moga Conservatory of Dance, USA
3rd place: Jolie Lavaux, 13, Boca Ballet Theatre, USA
Junior Men
1st place: Keenan Mentzos, 14, Ballet Bloch Canada, Canada
2nd place: Eric Poor, 14, Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA
3rd place: Eita Akita, 14, Wakui Ballet School, Japan
Pre-Competitive Division
Hope Award
Owen Simmons, 11, The School of Cadence Ballet, Canada
Women, Classical
1st place: Yuna Yamada, 11, Kinue Kobayashi Ballet Studio, Japan
2nd place: SaRang Jang, 11, Maeen Ballet, South Korea
3rd place: Anne Takahashi, 11, Flora Ballet, Japan
Men, Classical
1st place: Spencer Collins, 10, Westside School of Ballet, USA
2nd place: Victor Rega Mas, 11, Synopsis Danse, France
3rd place: Yuto Teranishi, 10, Panda Ballet School (Takako Mori Ballet School), Japan
Women, Contemporary
1st place: Lior Wieder, 11, DanceWorks, Israel
2nd place: Ellary Day Szyndlar, 11, Master Ballet Academy, USA
3rd place: Anne Takahashi, 11, Flora Ballet, Japan
Men, Contemporary
1st place: Spencer Collins, 10, Westside School of Ballet, USA
2nd place: Kohaku Kihara, 11, Skhole Ballet Art, Japan
3rd place: Bogdan Eduard, 10, Dance Planet, Romania
Ensemble Division
Classical Pas de Deux
1st place: Minji Son, 18, and Seungmin Lee, 19, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea
2nd place (tie): Núria Fernandes, 16, and Darius-Oriol Tamosi, 17, Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez, Portugal
2nd place (tie): Yasmin Sabag, 15, and Joao Pedro Silva, 15, Bale do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil
3rd place: Sophia Jones, 17, and Colton Heath, 16, Feijóo Ballet School, USA
Contemporary Pas de Deux
1st place: Núria Fernandes, 16, and Darius-Oriol Tamosi, 17, Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez, Portugal
2nd place: Sachi Oza, 13, and Eric Poor, 14, Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA
3rd place: Yasmin Sabag, 15, and Marcus Rufino, 15, Bale do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil
Classical Ensembles
1st place: Bayer Ballet Academy, USA
2nd place: The Rock School for Dance, USA
3rd place: Colorado Ballet Academy, USA
Contemporary Ensembles
1st place: Professione Danza Pescara, Italy
2nd place: Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA
3rd place (tie): Jun Lu Performing Arts, USA
3rd place (tie): The School of Cadence Ballet, Canada
Character Ensembles
1st place: OAEC, USA
2nd place: Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, USA
3rd place: Jun Lu Performing Arts, USA
Duet/Trio
1st place: DanceWorks, Israel
2nd place: Amirian Ballet Academy, USA
3rd place: The Rock School West, USA
Special Awards
Makarova Award for Artistry: Viktoria Papakalodouka
Shelly King Award for Excellence: Chloe Helimets
Outstanding Choreographer Award: Krista King-Doherty; Andrea Astuto
Outstanding School: Korean National University of the Arts, South Korea
