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July 29, 2010
In loving memory of Denise Jefferson
It is with great sadness and a sense of loss that Youth America Grand Prix would like to acknowledge the passing of the Director of the Ailey School, a longtime jury member and scholarship presenter at YAGP, and a beloved personal friend, Denise Jefferson. Denise has devoted her entire life to creating opportunities for young artists to develop themselves as dancers and as human beings, and her untimely passing is a great personal loss to the dance community. At YAGP, Denise has created countless opportunities for talented young artists to receive an education in dance at one of the world's top dance academies, The Ailey School. She will be greatly missed by all of us.
July 29, 2010
Congratulations to our YAGP Alumni for their success at CapeTown IBC
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| Junior Classical Gold Medalist | Nathan Chaney (USA) | Junior Classical Silver Medalist | Alys Shee (Canada) | Junior Contemporary Gold Medalist | Nathan Chaney (USA) | Senior Classical Bronze Medalist | Aaron Smythe (Australia) | Special Jury Prize for Excellent Artistic Delivery in Classical and Contemporary Genre | Andile Ndovu (South Africa) |
June 29, 2010
“ONLY WHEN I DANCE”
Youth America Grand Prix is pleased to announce the New York opening of “Only When I Dance,” a documentary film that follows YAGP participants from Brazil, Irlan Silva and Isabela Coracy – two teenagers from the violent favelas of Rio de Janeiro – as they pursue their dreams of becoming professional ballet dancers.
This inspiring story takes us from Rio - where their communities must raise the funds to support their ambitions - to their exhilarating experiences at the Youth America Grand Prix competition in New York and Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland.
Hailed by the critics as “inspirational” and an “unforgettable experience,” this is a film about young artists’ determination to dance, and the price one must pay for talent, ambition and success.
We encourage all aspiring young dancers to see this film, which opens on Friday, July 2, 2010 in its exclusive New York engagement at the Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street, between University Place and 5th Avenue).
For info, call: 212.924.3363 or visit
http://www.onlywhenidancemovie.blogspot.com/
June 26, 2010
YAGP warmly congratulates alumni who won medals at the USA/IBC - 2010
| Senior Men |
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| Bronze Medal | Kyohei Yoshida (Japan) | Senior Women |
| Bronze Medal | Maki Onuki (Japan) | Junior Men |
| Gold Medal | Marcelino Sambe (Portugal) | Silver Medal | Ki-Min Kim (Korea) | Bronze Medal | Derek Dunn (USA) | Junior Women |
| Silver Medal | Alys Shee (Canada) | Bronze Medal | Mariana Layun Prado (Mexico) | Special Judges Prize of Encouragement |
| Prize of Encouragement | Esteban Hernandez (Mexico) | One Season Contracts |
| Columbia City Ballet | Aynsley Inglis (USA) | Ballet San Jose | Miki Wakuta (Japan) |
June 23, 2010
YAGP warmly congratulates the USA/IBC - 2010 winners
| Senior Males |
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| Shimon Ito | (USA) | Andre Pisarev | (Ukraine) | Kyohei Yoshida | (Japan) | Senior Women |
| Eun Won Lee | (South Korea) | Maki Onuki | (Japan) | Junior Men |
| Constantine Allen | (USA) | Nathan Chaney | (USA) | Derek Dunn | (USA) | Esteban Hernandez | (Mexico) | Ki-Min Kim | (South Korea) | Marcelina Sambe | (Portugal) | Gabe Shayer | (USA) | Yukihiro Tamura | (Japan) | Joan Sebastian Zamora | (Columbia) | Junior Women |
| Ayaka Fujii | (Japan) | Mariana Layun | (Mexico) | Alys Shee | (Canada) | Patricia Zhou | (Canada) |
March 3, 2010
In loving memory of Ilona Copen
It is with great sense of sadness and personal loss that Youth America Grand Prix acknowledges the passing of our dear colleague and long-time friend, Ilona Copen, who has served for many years as the Director of the New York International Ballet Competition.
Decempber 9, 2009
Congratulations to winners of acceptances to New York YAGP finals in Italy
To see winners from this event please click here
November 29, 2009
Congratulations to YAGP winners in Italy
To see winners from this event please click here
September 29, 2009
In loving memory of Francis Mason
It is with deep sorrow that Youth America Grand Prix acknowledges the passing of our dear friend and colleague Francis Mason, who has been a lifelong supporter of dance and an important member of the New York dance community.
YAGP alumni in "Billy Elliot" worldwide, September 16, 2009
YAGP alumni performing as "Billies" around the world
YAGP wishes to warmly congratulate its talented young participants performing the title role in "Billy Elliot: the musical" in productions around the world:
David Alvarez - Broadway production
Tommy Bachelor - Broadway production
Keean Johnson - Broadway production
Kiril Kulish - Broadway production
Guiseppe Bausillio - Chicago production
Tanner Pfluger - London production
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Photo by Nina Alovert.
August 6, 2009
Dance in Higher Education
YAGP LAUNCHES A NEW DANCE EDUCATION INITIATIVE: “DANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION”
In an effort to further expand the educational opportunities YAGP provides to its participants, YAGP introduced its newest dance education initiative, “Dance in Higher Education,” at its 10th Anniversary New York City Finals. As part of the program, representatives of the country's leading colleges and universities' dance programs met and auditioned YAGP participants, accepting some into their programs on the spot. The program was led by its administrator, Professor Regina Zarhina of University of Utah’s Ballet Department, and proved to be an immediate success with participants, parents, and colleges.
One mother wrote to YAGP, “At a time when dance companies and other opportunities to dance professionally are shrinking, combining one’s dance training with academic education seems to be an excellent idea. My daughter is just now at a point in her life where she is considering pursuing ballet in college, and your new program, ‘Dance in Higher Education,’ could not have come at a better time.”
Speaking from the colleges and universities’ perspective, Professor Peter Merz of the Point Park University, said, “I think this opportunity for us as university level professors to have contact with such a wealth of talented dancers will be good, not simply for our institutions, but for our art form in general.”
The inaugural year of “Dance in Higher Education” program featured the following participating institutions:
- The Juilliard School Dance Division
- Marymount Manhattan College Dance Department
- Mercyhurst College Dance Department
- NYU Dance
- Indiana University Ballet Department
- Point Park University Department of Dance
- Shenandoah University Dance Department
- University of Oklahoma School of Dance
- University of South Carolina Department of Theatre and Dance
- University of Utah Department of Ballet
July 21, 2009
Congratulations to the DDS Model Search Winner
YAGP wishes to congratulate its participant, Lindsey Blick, with receiving the most votes in the Discount Dance Supply Model Search. Lindsey will have her photo shoot for DDS in August in Anaheim, CA.
June 28, 2009
Updates for YAGP Alumni Success Stories
Dear YAGP Alumni!
As you can see from the "Alumni Success Stories" section of our website, many YAGP alumni have gone on to join professional dance companies around the world. As the list of YAGP alumni keeps growing, we want to continue following the successes of our participants. If you are a former YAGP participant and have joined a professional dance company, please let us know and we will add your name to the Alumni Success Stories list. Please send your updates to yagp.pr.office@gmail.com with the subject line "For Alumni Success Stories."
We look forward to hearing from you!
June 16, 2009
YAGP warmly congratulates its alumni who were among the winners at Moscow IBC.
| Senior Men |
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| Gold Medal | Andrey Pisarev | Junior Men |
| Silver Medal | Marcelino Sambe | Junior Women |
| Silver Medal (tie) | Alys She | Silver Medal (tie) | Hannah Schiller | Bronze Medal | Emily Kadow |
June 11, 2009
YAGP warmly congratulates its alumni who were among the winners at Helsinki IBC.
| Senior Men |
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| Silver Medal | Brooklyn Mack, USA | Junior Men |
| Gold Medal | Jeffrey Cirio, USA | Silver Medal | Lonnie Wieks, USA | Bronze Medal | Junxiong Zhao, China | Junior Women |
| Silver Medal | Camile Bracher, South Africa | Bronze Medal | Meaghan Hinkus, USA |
June 8, 2009
YAGP wishes to congratulate its alumni, Kiril Kulish and David Alvarez, on their unprecedented win at the 63rd Annual Tony Awards this year: the young dancers shared the award for "Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical".
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Kiril Kulish performing at YAGP 2006 NYC Finals. Photo by Gene Schiavone.
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David Alvarez performing at YAGP 2006 NYC Finals. Photo by Segoul.
April 3, 2009
Eva Evdokimova
It is with deep sorrow that Youth America Grand Prix mourns the passing of our dear friend and collaborator Eva Evdokimova.
