World’s Largest Student Ballet Competition Opens Semi-Finals in Paris, France

New York, NY (September 15, 2010) – World’s largest student ballet competition and festival -YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX – will open its Semi-Finals in Paris, France on November 12-14, 2010 at the Theatre du Vesinet. This will mark the first time YAGP conducts its semi-finals in France – after YAGP’s first three European Semi-Finals held in Italy in 2008, 2009, and 2010 – and will give hundreds of European dancers a chance to take master classes with and perform in front of the Directors of some of the world’s leading dance academies. Master classes will be held at the Paris Opera Ballet School and will be taught by Elisabeth Platel and leading faculty members of POBS. The YAGP 2011 European Semi-Finals jury panel includes:

Franco De Vita – Director, The ABT JKO School (USA) Marianne Kruuse – Principal, Hamburg Ballet School (Germany) Tadeusz Matacz – Director, John Cranko School of Stuttgart Ballet (Germany) Elizabeth Platel – Director,_The Paris Opera Ballet School) (France) Luca Masala – Artistic Director, Princess Grace Academy of Classical Ballet (Monaco) Gailene Stock – Director, The Royal Ballet School (United Kingdom)

The YAGP Semi-Finals in Paris will serve as the selection round for the YAGP 2011 NYC Finals, which will take place in New York City on March 17-22, 2011. At the NYC Finals, the students will have a chance to compete for over $250,000 in scholarships to 30 of the world’s leading dance schools, audition for professional job contracts with the world’s top international dance companies, and perform on the stage of New York’s historic NY City Center at YAGP’s annually sold-out Gala, “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow,” on March 22, 2011. The Gala will feature the finalists of the YAGP 2011 season alongside the stars of the world’s leading dance companies, including Stuttgart Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and New York City Ballet.

Some prizes and awards will be presented on the spot at the Theatre du Vesinet – including scholarships to each school represented by its Director on the jury panel and the Outstanding Artistry Award (€1,000) presented by Dance Europe magazine to a participant in the YAGP 2011 European Semi-Finals whose performance exhibits a special artistic quality.

YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX (YAGP) is America’s first and the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, founded in 1999 with a mission to provide extraordinary educational and performance opportunities for talented young dancers worldwide. Each year, over 5,000 talented young dance students audition at semi-final rounds conducted by YAGP around the globe. Conducted annually throughout the U.S. and abroad (Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Europe), YAGP is the “internet of the dance world,” a global network of opportunity connecting dancers, teachers, schools and companies all over the globe. YAGP participants do not only have a chance to audition for schools and companies worldwide, receive numerous prizes and, mostly importantly, invaluable educational and performance opportunities; they also receive the benefits of a lifetime membership in the YAGP global network – which includes career counseling, guidance and placement, personal recommendations for schools and companies, and access to choreographic, performance, and educational opportunities.

Since its inception, over 30,000 young dancers have participated in YAGP competitions and workshops worldwide, over $2 million dollars have been awarded in scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools, and over 250 YAGP Alumni are now dancing with some 50 companies around the globe, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, and many others. For more information about YAGP, visit www.yagp.org.

For registration and more information about YAGP Europe, visit www.yagp.it or contact YAGP European representative, Piero Ferlito, by e-mail at yagp.europe@hotmail.it.

YAGP 2011 Season is sponsored by Bloch, Capezio, Grishko, Discount Dance Supply, Dance Europe magazine, Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher magazine, Dance Spirit magazine, Pointe magazine, Russian Pointe and Sylvia Co.