Youth America Grand Prix 2025 is the world’s largest student ballet scholarship audition. Every year, over 15,000 young dancers, ages 9-19 from across the Americas, compete for scholarships to the world’s leading ballet companies. The audience is filled with ballet stars from around the world. Some young dancers already have big fan bases.
The full event includes Junior and Senior Finals, a Winner’s performance, and Gala performance of winners dancing with today’s stars. The combination of great dancers with an incredible audience connection makes this our favorite ballet in New York City.
Lately the Finals have moved to Florida, but the Stars of Today and Tomorrow Gala remains at Lincoln Center.
26th Youth America Grand Prix 2025
This year’s finals are in Florida.
Lincoln Center
The 26th Youth America Grand Prix 2025 Stars of Today and Tomorrow Gala features talented young dancers from around the world and international guest artists dancing an Isaiah Day (Alvin Ailey) world premiere, and more; at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Manhattan; on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 7pm. From $95. lincolncenter.org 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇫🇷 🇪🇸
Featured Latin dancers include:
- Isaiah Day (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre) 🇺🇸
- Germain Louvet (Paris Opera Ballet) 🇫🇷
- Lucia Lacarra (International Guest Artist) 🇪🇸
- Paloma Livellara, 2024 Prix de Lausanne winner (ABT Studio Company) 🇦🇷
25th Youth America Grand Prix 2024
The 25th Youth America Grand Prix 2024 is at the David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center with: Junior Finals (ages 12-14) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 4pm, from $50; Senior Finals (ages 15-19) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 8pm, from $50; 25th Anniversary Gala and Dancing with the Stars on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 7pm, from $95; and the “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow: Best of 25 Years” Gala on Friday, April 19, 2024 at 7pm, from $95.
Stars dancing in the performances include:
American Ballet Theatre
- Brady Farrar @bradyfarrar
- Chloe Misseldine @chloemisseldine
- Isabella Boylston @isabellaboylston
- James Whiteside @jamesbwhiteside
- Skylar Brandt @skylarbrandt
Mariinsky Ballet
- Maria Khoreva @marachok
- Kimin Kim @kimin_kim1028
- May Nagahisa @may__nagahisa
New York City Ballet
- Isabella LaFreniere @ilafreniere
Paris Opera Ballet
- Germain Louvet @germainlouvet
- Bianca Scudamore @bianca.scudamore
Royal Ballet
- Melissa Hamilton @__melissahamilton
Stuttgart Ballet
- Elisa Badenes @elisa.badenes 🇪🇸
- Mackenzie Brown @dancin_mac7
- Gabriel Figueredo @biel_figueredo 🇧🇷
Youth America Grand Prix
In over 25 years, the Youth America Grand Prix has distributed over $5 million dollars in scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools. Almost 500 young dancers have gone on to careers at over 80 of the world’s top ballet companies.
The Finals are attended by ballet royalty from across the United States and around the world. If you are a ballet fan, you’ll find yourself thinking, “I can’t believe I’m standing next to – fill in the blank.”
It’s our favorite ballet in New York City because the audition performances are set pieces from famous ballets. Many people in the audience know the choreography and the dancers. The connection between dancers and audience is unusual for ballet. The room is electric and the audience is not shy about shouting its approval. Watching the performances, you share the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It’s really fun and the dancing is great. It makes you wonder how such young people could be so talented.
The closing night Gala “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” puts the most promising students on stage with ballet stars from many of your favorite ballet companies. Many of the stars are themselves Youth America Grand Prix alumni. The entire Grand Prix is a gathering in support of the future of ballet.
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