2024 YAGP Winners Announced, Capping 25th Anniversary Celebration

New York City’s midtown streets were abuzz with bunheads last week—it seemed everywhere you looked, you’d see large groups of young dancers, hair slicked and garment bags in tow, rushing to a studio or to Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater for Youth America Grand Prix. It was a nostalgic moment; for much of its 25-year history, YAGP, the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, held its Final Round in New York City. It relocated its finals to Tampa during the pandemic—it’s logistically easier and more affordable for dancers and their families, said Larissa Saveliev, YAGP’s founder and artistic director. But with this being the competition’s 25th-anniversary season, coming back to New York City was top priority.

“For us it’s really meaningful,” Saveliev said earlier this month during a phone interview. “It’s where we started.” (Finals will alternate between New York City and Tampa going forward, announced annually.)

To further celebrate the anniversary, this year’s festivities included a symposium for more than 20 company directors, co-hosted by Dutch National Ballet artistic director Ted Brandsen and American Ballet Theatre’s incoming executive director Barry Hughson. And on April 17, 353 YAGP competitors came together at New York’s Plaza Hotel to break the Guinness World Record for the most dancers to balance simultaneously on pointe for one minute. 

The week also included two star-studded galas, including a Best of 25 Years gala featuring 36 artists from 15 companies around the world. Each piece included YAGP alumni, such as ABT’s Chloe Misseldine, Paris Opéra Ballet’s Bianca Scudamore, Dutch National Ballet’s Constantine Allen, Stuttgart Ballet’s Mackenzie Brown, Bavarian State Ballet’s António Casalinho, and many more. “There are so many dancers we wanted to feature that we couldn’t do it in one night,” said Saveliev. “Most of them are young principals and soloists, because we wanted to feature the next generation of superstars.”

Originally, the cast also included Maria Khoreva and Kimin Kim of Russia’s state-run Mariinsky Ballet, which drew objections from local leaders and the Ukrainian consulate due to the war in Ukraine. After being informed about possible protests on Thursday, YAGP leaders consulted with New York City Ballet, which manages Lincoln Center’s Koch Theater, and decided to cancel the dancers’ performances shortly before the show. (Protests by pro-Ukrainian activists went on as planned.) “It is a decision that gives us great pain,” YAGP said in a statement. “Art should unite us, not divide us.”

“We are very sorry that our reunion did not take place,” Khoreva wrote in an Instagram post, “but art will always find a way to human soul.”

The Awards

Over the course of the competition, 120 finalists—out of 2,000 dancers—were selected to participate in Wednesday night’s Final Round. The winners were announced at Saturday’s awards ceremony, along with many other dancers who received summer intensive scholarships, invitations to pre-professional training programs, and company contracts.

Going forward, Saveliev said, YAGP plans to create more opportunities for dancers outside of competition, as well as expand its Nervi Festival Summer Workshop (a one-week “company experience” program held each summer in Italy) to more cities in Europe. “We want to give young dancers opportunities to perform, not just compete,” she says.

If you missed the livestreamed awards ceremony, you’re in luck—we’ve compiled a list below. Congratulations to all of those who participated in this year’s Final Round, and a special shout-out to all of the hard-working teachers and parents who made these dancers’ dreams possible.

Senior Division

Grand Prix 

GeonHee Park, 18, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea

Senior Women

1st place: Ivana Radan, 15, Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, USA

2nd place: Crystal Huang, 15, Bayer Ballet Academy & The Rock Center for Dance, USA

3rd place:  MinJi Son, 18, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea

Senior Men

1st place: Martinho Lima Santos, 18, Princess Grace Academy, Monaco/Portugal

2nd place: Joao Pedro Silva, 15, Balé do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil

3rd place (tie): Hang Li, 20, Beijing Dance Academy, China 

3rd place (tie): Carson Willey, 17, The Rock School for Dance, USA

Junior Division

Junior Women

1st place:  Tamison Soppet, 13, Convergence Dance Studios, New Zealand

2nd place: Annie Webb, 13, Moga Conservatory of Dance, USA

3rd place: Jolie Lavaux, 13, Boca Ballet Theatre, USA

Junior Men

1st place: Keenan Mentzos, 14, Ballet Bloch Canada, Canada

2nd place: Eric Poor, 14, Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA

3rd place: Eita Akita, 14, Wakui Ballet School, Japan

Pre-Competitive Division

Hope Award

Owen Simmons, 11, The School of Cadence Ballet, Canada

Women, Classical

1st place: Yuna Yamada, 11, Kinue Kobayashi Ballet Studio, Japan

2nd place: SaRang Jang, 11, Maeen Ballet, South Korea

3rd place: Anne Takahashi, 11, Flora Ballet, Japan

Men, Classical

1st place:  Spencer Collins, 10, Westside School of Ballet, USA

2nd place:  Victor Rega Mas, 11, Synopsis Danse, France

3rd place: Yuto Teranishi, 10, Panda Ballet School (Takako Mori Ballet School), Japan

Women, Contemporary

1st place: Lior Wieder, 11, DanceWorks, Israel

2nd place: Ellary Day Szyndlar, 11, Master Ballet Academy, USA

3rd place: Anne Takahashi, 11, Flora Ballet, Japan

Men, Contemporary

1st place: Spencer Collins, 10, Westside School of Ballet, USA

2nd place: Kohaku Kihara, 11, Skhole Ballet Art, Japan

3rd place: Bogdan Eduard, 10, Dance Planet, Romania

Ensemble Division

Classical Pas de Deux

1st place: Minji Son, 18, and Seungmin Lee, 19, Korea National University of the Arts, South Korea

2nd place (tie): Núria Fernandes, 16, and Darius-Oriol Tamosi, 17, Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez, Portugal 

2nd place (tie): Yasmin Sabag, 15, and Joao Pedro Silva, 15, Bale do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil

3rd place: Sophia Jones, 17, and Colton Heath, 16, Feijóo Ballet School, USA

Contemporary Pas de Deux

1st place: Núria Fernandes, 16, and Darius-Oriol Tamosi, 17, Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez, Portugal

2nd place: Sachi Oza, 13, and Eric Poor, 14, Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA

3rd place: Yasmin Sabag, 15, and Marcus Rufino, 15, Bale do teatro Basileu Franca, Brazil

Classical Ensembles

1st place: Bayer Ballet Academy, USA

2nd place: The Rock School for Dance, USA

3rd place: Colorado Ballet Academy, USA

Contemporary Ensembles

1st place: Professione Danza Pescara, Italy

2nd place: Cary Ballet Conservatory, USA

3rd place (tie): Jun Lu Performing Arts, USA

3rd place (tie): The School of Cadence Ballet, Canada

Character Ensembles

1st place: OAEC, USA

2nd place: Ellison Ballet Professional Training Program, USA

3rd place: Jun Lu Performing Arts, USA

Duet/Trio

1st place:  DanceWorks, Israel

2nd place: Amirian Ballet Academy, USA

3rd place: The Rock School West, USA

Special Awards

Makarova Award for Artistry: Viktoria Papakalodouka

Shelly King Award for Excellence: Chloe Helimets

Outstanding Choreographer Award: Krista King-Doherty; Andrea Astuto

Outstanding School: Korean National University of the Arts, South Korea