Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest ballet scholarship competition, will Facebook livestream its 2019 Final Round on Friday, April 17 at 7pm EST and Saturday, April 18 at 7am EST for European and South-Pacific audiences.
Annually, over 12,000 aspiring dancers – ages 9 to 19 – audition at YAGP semi-finals around the globe; 34 cities in 14 countries. Over 1,200 finalists from 36 countries qualify for the New York City Finals – and only the very best earn a spot in the Final Round at Lincoln Center. With COVID-19 closing venues and large gatherings, YAGP’s 2020 Finals were cancelled.
“This week the international world of dance would have gathered to watch the YAGP Final Round and Gala,” said YAGP Founder and Artistic Director Larissa Saveliev, “and we wanted to celebrate our talented young dancers by showcasing them online to audiences around the world”. YAGP will Facebook livestream video footage of 85 dancers (Junior and Senior categories of both men and women), from its 20th Anniversary 2019 Final Round. Variations include Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty, Harlequinade, Giselle, La Esmeralda, Paquita, and Swan Lake. The expected runtime is 2 hours and 45 minutes. YAGP’s Facebook page is www.facebook.com/YouthAmericaGrandPrix
Many participants in the livestreamed Final Round won scholarships to top schools and companies worldwide; others were scouted for job offers and apprenticeships. They include:
- Grace Carroll (15) and Summer Duyvestyn (12) are training at Paris Opera Ballet School.
- Julia Shugart (16) and Elise Cho (12) are training at The Royal Ballet School.
- Arthur Erlanson (16) received a contract to ABT Studio Company.
- Soana Madsen (17) is now dancing with Boston Ballet II.
- Eri Shibata (17) is now dancing with English National Ballet.
- Nao Harada (19) received a contract to Finnish National Ballet.
- Francisco Schilereff (19) received an apprenticeship to Miami City Ballet.
- Gabriel Figueredo (18) and Bridget Lee (18) are dancing with The Stuttgart Ballet.
- Joaquin Gaubeca (16), Arianna Crosato Neumann (16), Aoi Sawano (15), Ruth Schultz (15), Ava Arbuckle (14), Stephanie McQuire (13), and Ayako Tsukada (12) are training at John Cranko School of The Stuttgart Ballet.
- Isaac Mueller (17), Juan Valdez Ramerez (16), Sophia Zonni (14), Abra Geiger (14), and Minchul Jeon (14) are training at Dutch National Ballet Academy.
- Harold Mendez (17), Basia Rhoden (16), Emma Spillane (15), and Nana Oda (13) are training at San Francisco Ballet School.
- Brooke Noska (15), Darrion Sellman (14), Ella Kolpakov (13), Bianca Andreea Badea (12), and Hector Jain (12) are training at Princess Grace Academy in Monaco.
Gabriel Figueredo, the 2019 YAGP Grand Prix Winner now dances with the Stuttgart Ballet.
Figueredo is from Novo Hamburgo, (near Porto Alegre), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was trained at Pavilhão D in São Paulo. After many Grand Prix wins since 2013, un 2019, Figueredo won at both the Youth America Grand Prix and Prix de Lausanne.
