Florida Youth Dance Gala to Feature 18 Dance Academies, 2/13

Mauricio Cañete, Founder and director of MC Dance Productions, today announced that more than 100 talented dancers from 18 different dance academies would perform in the 3rd annual FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA. The dance-packed event will be held at the Duncan Theatre, located on the Lake Worth campus of Palm Beach State College, on Saturday, February 13, at 7:30 p.m. The upcoming Gala is being sponsored by Só Dança USA, a leading provider of quality dance supplies.

Following in the dance steps of the first two sold out productions, the third annual FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA will feature extraordinarily talented dancers from leading dance academies from all over the state.

The 11 returning schools that previously danced in a FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA include:

+ Boca Raton - Boca Ballet Theater

+ Boca Raton - HARID Conservatory

+ Fort Myers - GulfShore Ballet

+ Jupiter - Paris Ballet & Dance

+ Lake Worth - The Arts of Classical Ballet

+ North Miami Beach - Vladimir Issaev School of Classical Ballet

+ Orlando - Orlando Ballet School

+ Palm Beach Gardens - Florida School for Dance Education

+ Port Saint Lucie - St. Lucie Ballet

+ Tampa - America's Ballet School

+ West Palm Beach - Ballet East

The seven new participating dance schools for FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA 2016 will be:

+ Boynton Beach - Southern Dance Theatre

+ Brandon - Brandon Ballet

+ Jacksonville - Debbie's Dance Company

+ Lake Worth - School of Ballet Arts

+ Miami - Stars Dance Company

+ Oakland Park - Magda Auñon School of Classical Ballet

+ Sarasota - The Sarasota Ballet's Margaret Barbieri Conservatory

FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA 2016, a romantic high-stepping sale to St. Valentine's Day, will be hosted by the highly acclaimed Lauren Anderson, the first African American to be promoted to principal dancer at Houston Ballet.

Dedicated to "celebrating and gathering talented dancers" from all over the state, the FLORIDA YOUTH DANCE GALA will "showcase new choreography, finalists from major dance competitions and some electrifying young dancers, resulting in one of the most memorable dance event of the coming season," says Cañete, a former dancer with Houston Ballet, Ballet Florida and Ballet Eloelle, who has wowed audiences in England, Russia, Hong Kong, Canada, Austria, Germany, Japan, China and all over the Far East. "My goal is to give the next generation of dancers the opportunity to perform in a professional environment."