The Lincoln Centre is set to be overrun by thousands of teenage dancers, and many in tutus, as the Youth America Grand Prix begins in April.
6,636 young ballet dancers – aged 9 to 19 – have danced around the globe in preparation for the YAGP. 1,204 finalists are now heading to New York in April for a finals week culminating on stage at the David H Koch Theatre at the Lincoln Centre, a huge showcase for youth dance in uncovering future professionals.
The Youth America Grand Prix is the world’s largest student ballet competition, inviting aspiring young dancers to go head to head in competing to excel their dance careers. Young dancers come from across Asia, Australia, Europe, America and Africa, as well as the best ballet schools in the USA, hoping for an eventual place in one of the world’s best ballet companies. Following the conclusion of the competition, dozens of past winners have gone on to join companies such as American Ballet Theatre, the Mariinsky Ballet, New York City Ballet, and many others.
The Youth America Grand Prix is also one of the world’s largest dance networking events. The final round will give audiences a unique chance to see some of the world’s best young dancers perform before they go on to study around the world as a result of the $300,000 in scholarships presented annually. Since its founding in 1999, the competition has seen over 70,000 young dancers participate.
The full week for 2015 will include the finals, the Youth America Grand Prix annual ‘Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow’ Gala and ‘David Hallberg Presents – Legacy’, all happening at the Lincoln Centre.