National Ballet Academy new partner for Youth America Grand Prix

Published on

Since last October, the National Ballet Academy has been the partner school of the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the major international ballet competitions, for which auditions and preliminary rounds are held all over the world. NBA's artistic director Jean-Yves Esquerre was a member of the jury at the semi-finals, held in Paris at the end of October and beginning of November. He also taught classes at the École de Danse de l’Opéra National de Paris, which is hosting the competition.

The Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) collaborates with leading ballet academies around the world. Contestants can win a scholarship that enables them to study at one of these academies. For the academies, their partnership is a fantastic opportunity to discover new talent. Jean-Yves Esquerre: ‘The YAGP is the ideal hotbed for talent. Our new collaboration gives us the chance to interest some of the best young dancers in continuing their training at the National Ballet Academy. And that has a knock-on effect, as these talented youngsters encourage other students in turn’.

The YAGP was founded in 1999 by two former dancers of the Bolshoi Ballet: Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev, who are still the directors of the competition. The YAGP pays out over 30,000 dollars a year in scholarships. More than three hundred former contestants are currently dancing with around eighty internationally renowned ballet companies, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet de l’Opéra National de Paris, The Royal Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballet and Dutch National Ballet.




Share