DIANA & THE SWAN LAKE SUITE

YAGP Alumni Hee Seo (Principal Dancer), American Ballet Theatre, and Alejandro Virelles (Principal Dancer), Berlin State Ballet.

PHOTO BY VAM PRODUCTIONS.

YAGP Founder and Artistic Director, Larissa Saveliev; YAGP Founding Director of PR and External Affairs, Sergey Gordeev; and YAGP judge, Tony Award-nominated Actress and former dancer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Karine Plantadit; with participants from the Youth Grand Prix 2020 Japan Semi-Final.

PHOTO BY STAFF TES.

YAGP Alumni Nayara Lopes (First Soloist) and Sterling Baca (Principal Dancer), Philadelphia Ballet.

PHOTO BY NYC DANCE PROJECT.

YAGP Alumnus Julian MacKay (Principal Dancer), San Francisco Ballet.

PHOTO BY NYC

DANCE PROJECT.

YAGP Alumnus James Whiteside (Principal Dancer), American Ballet Theatre. YAGP Alumna Indiana Woodward (Principal Dancer), New York City Ballet.

The Fairy Godmother Of The Dance World

It was the magic of dance that got Larissa through the next 8 years at Moscow’s world-famous Bolshoi Ballet Academy until she joined the preeminent Bolshoi Ballet – one of the world’s top ballet companies. It also led her to the next stop in her life journey: the United States of America. She fell in love with America while dancing on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet – and knew immediately that this would be her new home.

Her husband, fellow Bolshoi Ballet dancer, Gennadi Saveliev, joined American Ballet Theatre. Larissa, eager to share the magic, started to teach. Except there was one problem: she could not find a place where she could compare her teaching methods with that of the other ballet teachers in the area.After some research, she realized that in America there has never been a ballet competition for students like those she remembered from their childhood at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. So, she decided to start one.

Youth America Grand Prix

When Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev launched Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in 1999, they had no idea that in 2021 it would become the world’s largest student ballet competition with an operating budget of over $4 million, affiliated offices in 8 countries outside the U.S., and $500,000 in annual scholarships to virtually every major dance academy in the world. The idea was simple: there are talented students all over the world looking for dance schools to develop their talent. And there are the world’s best dance schools looking all over the world for talented students. Yet, there was no network or organization to connect the two groups – until Youth America Grand Prix.

“We are now the world’s largest dance network, a pipeline of talent for dance schools and companies all over the globe,” says Larissa. More than $4.5 million has been awarded to talented dance students in scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools, and 450 YAGP alumni now dance in 80 of the world’s most recognized dance companies.

ABT’s Skylar Brandt

YAGP alumni are perhaps the biggest testament to the organization’s role in ensuring the future of dance. In 23 years of operation, more than 50 dancers came from Youth America Grand Prix to New York City Ballet – and more than 100 YAGP alumni have joined American Ballet Theatre (ABT), including one of its newest Principal Dancers, Skylar Brandt. “My career would not have been where it is today without Larissa’s thoughtful guidance. The YAGP family has supported me every step of the way,” says Skylar, who is now a regular guest artist at the now-iconic YAGP Galas. Another frequent YAGP Gala guest artist is Wan Ting Zhao – a dancer who came to America through YAGP auditions in China and is now a Principal Dancer at San Francisco Ballet.

Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow

YAGP is a non-profit dance education organization, and its legendary “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” Gala is

YAGP Alumni Sasha De Sola (Principal Dancer) and Angelo Greco (Principal Dancer), San Francisco Ballet.

PHOTO BY NYC DANCE PROJECT.

a key part of the company’s mission to educate the next generation of dance artists and audiences. For more than a decade, the YAGP Gala – featuring the world’s most promising young dancers and the stars of the world’s preeminent dance companies – has taken place at Lincoln Center in New York. It has since been exported to other parts of the United States and abroad. Attended by dance luminaries from around the world, it attracts the Artistic Directors of New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Mariinsky Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and many others. Dance critics annually fly in from Japan, Europe, Latin America, and Canada just to get a glimpse of the future of ballet.

International Festival Of Dance

The YAGP Galas have seen debuts and farewell performances of the world’s brightest stars, celebrations of legends and explosions of supernovas, started the careers of so many young dancers, and have given a platform to so many established and budding choreographers. But no matter how different the programs, they all have one thing in common: they inspire both those who are dancing and those in the audience.

And this, perhaps, is the ultimate goal of everyone at Youth America Grand Prix: to inspire not just its young participants, but everyone involved. “YAGP is so much more than a competition,” says YAGP Board Chair, Jeanene Perry. “It is an international festival of dance, a living and breathing organism, a global network of opportunity that connects dancers, students, companies and schools worldwide. It gives me inspiration every day to be a part of the mission to keep dance alive for generations to come.”

As for the 8-year-old Larissa’s dream to look like a princess… it may have ultimately come true: “Larissa is like the fairy godmother of the dance world, helping so many young artists make their dreams come true,” says Skylar with a smile that confirms: the magic is real. P

Sergey Gordeev is a New York-based journalist and an Emmy-winning TV host.