Over 1,700 Dancers Compete For Scholarships in Tampa / Gala to Benefit Ukrainian Dancers

Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) - the world's largest ballet scholarship competition - is hosting its 2022 Season Finals and Benefit Gala in Tampa, FL through April 19th, 2022. Following live auditions in 29 U.S. cities and 9 international locations, the most promising 1,700 dancers (ages 9 - 19) will fly to Tampa, FL to compete in Finals Week (April 11th - 18th) and the Final Round (April 15th at 8pm and April 18th at 8pm) for a chance to win $500,000 in scholarships to leading dance institutions around the world. Leaders of these institutions will be on-site, as well as ballet company directors to recruit dancers and offer job contracts. YAGP is where the next generation of ballet stars are scouted!

April 19th at 7pm, top talent from the competition will share the stage with the world's most famous beloved dancers from ABT, Royal Ballet, NYC Ballet, and Boston Ballet at the annual Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow YAGP Gala. The evening is dedicated to YAGP's Ukraine Relief Effort; through their international network of dance schools and companies YAGP has placed more than 100 Ukrainian ballet students on scholarship at dance institutions around the world for safe haven. "For these young dancers displaced by war, dance is their life. By saving their ability to pursue their art, YAGP is also saving their lives," says Founder and Artistic Director of YAGP, Larissa Saveliev. "This demonstrates the power of the arts to literally save lives."

About YAGP 2022 Gala, Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow

Youth America Grand Prix presents Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 (7pm) at Morsani Hall inside the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. Headliners include Ukrainian ballet star and YAGP alum, Vsevolod Maievskyi (formerly with the Mariinsky Ballet), La Scala Ballet's newest principal dancer Jacopo Tissi and principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, YAGP alumna Mayara Magri.

Tickets for the live Gala performances are $75, $100 and $150 - and will be available at the Straz Center Box Office.

Program includes:

Chloe Misseldine* - American Ballet Theatre

Kotomi Yamada* - American Ballet Theatre

Elisabeth Beyer* - ABT Studio Company

Yuma Matsuura* - ABT Studio Company

Jake Roxander* - ABT Studio Company

Gustavo Carvalho - Ballett am Rhein

Derek Dunn* - Boston Ballet

Chisako Oga* - Boston Ballet

Vsevelod Maievskyi* - International Guest Artist (formerly with Mariinsky Ballet)

Daniel Ulbricht - New York City Ballet

Kathryn Morgan - Principal Guest Artist

Seth Orza - Principal Guest Artist

Jacopo Tissi - Principal Dancer, La Scala Ballet (formerly with Bolshoi Ballet)

Mayara Magri* - The Royal Ballet

*YAGP Alumni

About YAGP 2022 Season Finals

Youth America Grand Prix's 2022 season culminates in Tampa, FL, April 11th through 19th, 2022, following a full season of LIVE competitions and auditions conducted in 29 U.S. cities and 9 international locations from November 2020 through March 2022.

April 11th through 14th, over 1,700 of the world's most promising young dancers, who have been hand-selected, will audition at the state-of-the-art David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. On April 15th (8pm) and April 18th (8pm) is the Final Round, where they will dance for up to $500,000 in scholarships to the world's leading dance Directors of some of the world's most esteemed dance institutions will arrive from all over the world to select scholarship candidates. Others who are not able to travel to the U.S. at this time, will observe the Finals and select scholarship candidates via YAGP's online streaming services.

YAGP was the only major dance competition that continued giving dancers a chance to dance live on stage throughout the pandemic. This season, more than 10,000 dancers were seen, taught and professionally evaluated by the world's leading dance professionals at each venue. Strict health and safety measures implemented in each city to make this a reality. For those dancers who were not quite ready to take part in live audition events, Virtual Semi-finals were conducted for dancers in North America, Canada, and the Asia Pacific region.

Scholarship Presenting Institutions and Jury Panel at YAGP 2022 Season Finals:

Alysson da Rocha Alves - First Ballet Master, Ballett Dortmund / NRW Juniorballett (GERMANY)

Phillip Broomhead - Director, Orlando Ballet School (USA)

Dierdre Miles Burger - Assistant Education Director & Head of Curriculum, Sarasota Ballet (USA)

Erica Fischbach - Academy Director, Colorado Ballet (USA)

Rachel Hamrick - Former dancer at Hungarian National Ballet, Strength/Flexibility coach (USA)

Devon Carney - Artistic Director, Kansas City Ballet (USA)

Yan Chen - Ballet Master, Orlando Ballet; Rehearsal Director, ABT Studio Company (USA)

Evelyn Cisneros-Legate - Director, Ballet West Academy (USA)

Jean Yves Esquerre - Founder/ Director, European School of Ballet (NETHERLANDS)

Daria Klimentova - Faculty Member, The Royal Ballet School (UK)

Aram Manukyan - Director of Trainee Program, Alberta Ballet School (CANADA)

Luca Masala - Artistic Director, Princess Grace Academy (MONACO)

Tadeusz Matacz - Director, John Cranko School of The Stuttgart Ballet (GERMANY)

Pascal Molat - Trainee Program Assistant, San Francisco Ballet School (USA)

Kathryn Morgan - Former Soloist, New York City Ballet and Miami City Ballet (USA)

Alexei Moskalenko - Assistant Artistic Director, YAGP (USA)

Nick Mullikin - Associate Artistic Director, Nashville Ballet (USA)

Claudio Muñoz - Houston Ballet II Ballet Master, The Houston Ballet Academy (USA)

Racheal Nye - School Director, Oklahoma City Ballet (USA)

Madeleine Onne - Artistic Director, The Finnish National Ballet (FINLAND)

Arantxa Ochoa - Director, Miami City Ballet School (USA)

Robert Parker - Artistic Director, Elmhurst Ballet School (UK)

Karine Plantadit - Tony-nominated Actress; formerly Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (USA)

Christopher Powney - Artistic Director, The Royal Ballet School (UK)

Sascha Radetsky - Artistic Director, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company (USA)

Stella Abrera Radetsky - Artistic Director, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (USA)

Raymond Rodriguez - Abbott Academy Director, Joffrey Academy of Dance (USA)

Marek Rozycki - Acting Artistic Director, Berlin State Ballet School (GERMANY)

Carlos dos Santos - International Master Teacher and Choreographer (USA)

Gennadi Saveliev - Ballet Master, ABT Studio Company (USA)

John Selya - Former Dancer, Twyla Tharp Dance (USA)

Hee Seo - Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre (USA)

Adam Sklute - Artistic Director, Ballet West (USA)

Peter Stark - President & Director, The Rock School for Dance Education (USA)

Mikhail Tchoupakov - Faculty Member, University of North Carolina School of the Arts (USA)

Stanton Welch - Artistic Director, Houston Ballet (USA)

About Youth America Grand Prix

Youth America Grand Prix is the largest global network of dance. YAGP fulfills its mission of dance education through international scholarship auditions, master classes, alumni services, performances, and a wide range of education programs.

In the 23 years since inception, over $4.5 million has been awarded in scholarships to the world's leading dance schools, with up to $500,000 now awarded annually. Over 150,000 young dancers - ages 9 to 19 - of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds have participated in YAGP's international workshops, auditions, classes, and dance awareness events. Today, more than 12,000 young dancers audition annually worldwide. More than 450 Youth America Grand Prix alumni are now dancing with 80 professional companies around the world, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and many others. Over 100 of these alumni are soloists and principal dancers.

YAGP was founded in 1999 by Larissa Saveliev, a former ballerina who emigrated to the United States from Russia after touring worldwide with the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet.

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