Mia
Dancer: Mia Tsyganova
Choreography: Galina Petrova
Tarantella
Dancer: Stephan Timmins
Choreography: Daria Ostrovskaya
Music: Louis Gottschalk
YAGP AND JHON CRANKO SCHOOL
Yana Peneva in
Nekhbet
Choreography by Maria Konrad
Alexei Orohovsky in
The Shadow
Choreography by Brian Stevens
YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX (YAGP) is the world’s largest dance scholarship competition and a global dance network for dance education – as well as the #1 source of young dance talent for the world’s dance schools and companies – connecting students, teachers, schools, companies, dancers, choreographers and audiences worldwide.
YAGP fulfills its mission of ensuring the future of dance by traveling the world (30+ cities in the U.S. and 15 cities internationally) and auditioning the most talented young dancers for scholarships, performance opportunities, and other awards.
For the past 25 years, over $4.5 million has been awarded in scholarships to the world’s leading dance institutions, with up to $500,000 now awarded annually. Since YAGP’s founding in 1999, over 200,000 young dancers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds have participated in YAGP’s international workshops, audition classes, and dance education events.
More than 450 Youth America Grand Prix alumni are now dancing with 80 of the leading professional companies around the world, including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet (UK), Mariinsky Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, and many others. Over 100 of these alumni are soloists and principal dancers. This year marks YAGP’s 25th season of ensuring the future of dance – and will culminate in the YAGP 25th Anniversary Celebration at Lincoln Center in April 2024.
For more information, visit https://yagp.org/.
The JOHN CRANKO SCHOOL, the official school of Stuttgart Ballet, is one of the most renowned ballet schools worldwide. Founded by John Cranko in 1971 and currently under the direction of Tadeusz Matacz for the past 25 years, the School is one of the most important training centers for ballet around the world, whose graduates can be found in impressive numbers as dancers, choreographers, directors, and teachers in leading international ballet companies.
Almost two-thirds of today’s Stuttgart Ballet dancers are former students of the John Cranko School. Among the most prominent graduates in the company are Principal Dancers Alicia Amatriain, Anna Osadcenko, Rocio Aleman, Adhonay Soares da Silva, and Martí Fernández Paixà. The School carries on the legacy of the transformative choreographer John Cranko, whose ballets are performed by leading professional companies throughout the United States and Europe.
For the past 25 years, YAGP and the John Cranko School have enjoyed a lasting relationship, having seen countless YAGP alumni graduate and join The Stuttgart Ballet and other prestigious dance companies worldwide.
For more information, visit https://www.john-cranko-schule.de/en/.
YANA PENEVA and ALEXEI OROHOVSKY (dancers of the John Cranko Schule of Stuttgart Ballet, winners of the Youth American Grand Prix International Ballet Competition)
Destiny
CHOREOGRAPHER: MAMDOUH HASSAN
DANCERS: GIULIA ANDREOLI, MAMDOUH HASSAN
Mamdouh Hassan, an Egyptian choreographer and principal dancer, with his work entitled “Destiny,” aims to interpret through dance the eternal quest for the soulmate and its intertwining with destiny despite different cultures.
In the intricate maze of fate, soulmates discover each other, defying time and space through an almost mystical dance. Like interwoven threads, diverse cultures form a cosmic fabric that intertwines and unveils over time, enriching the path of human connections with their distinct narratives.
Within this intricate design, love emerges as a dominant force, becoming the central focal point that binds the plot, with deep emotions and bonds, becoming a guiding light illuminating the path of life, romantic entanglements, shared experiences, and mutual understandings, thus forming the rich tapestry of interconnected existences.
Through the fluid movements of the ballerina and the stronger, more incisive moments of the male dancer, Mamdouh Hassan brings onto the stage the tension between free will and preordained destiny, exploring the transformative power of love in overcoming temporal and cultural barriers.
His choreography embodies the mystical dance of souls who find each other against all odds and get lost in the labyrinth of life, offering a spectacle that celebrates the beauty and complexity of human connections.
Sequoia
Author and choreographer: Matteo Mascolo
Dancers: Gabriella Argirò, Chiara Esposito.
Time: 12 min.
Music: Bartholomäus Traubeck
Supported By: Sala Nera, Tempio del Futuro Perduto.
When we enter a forest we can easily sense that something is hidden from our ability to observe and understand. We feel that it exists but we cannot grasp it. Sequoia wants to investigate this “something”: a space that humans discover in themselves and the universe through trees, woods, and forests. It is an unknown space, or maybe forgotten, illegible by the mind and human rationality. In fact, it is possible to access it only through the state of no mind, accepting not to know and abandoning the need to define. Inspired by the millennial presence of the Sequoias, I let the dancers become trees to impersonate the primordial secrets of nature, without the aim of revealing anything, but to contemplate with the spectator the mysteries hidden in the forest’s silence. Curbing deforestation, planting, or taking care of trees, has a significant impact on our planet and the reforestation of human sensitivity.
ITALIAN DANCE AWARD
We are delighted to announce the winner of the Italian Dance Award 2024. Under the guidance of our Artistic Director, Alessandro Rende, the meticulous selection process ensured that only the highest standards of talent and artistry were recognized. DAP Festival Artistic Director, Adria Ferrali, played a crucial role in the nomination process, highlighting Mathias Castellano and the choreography of Francesco Annarumma. Mathias studies at the Ballet Studio Centro Professionale Danza di Napoli Artistic Director Massimo De Santis.
The Italian Dance Award took place in the city of Todi in May 2024, providing an extraordinary platform for dancers and choreographers to showcase their unparalleled talent on a grand scale.
Il Canto Del Cigno
Dancer: Mathias Castellano
Choreography Francesco Annarumma
“Dancers with a pure spirit are the rightful guardians of the Swan’s ethereal Dance, for who else can truly bring its essence to life?”
Ofek
Duet by Yoram Karmi
Dancers: Liya Mor and Admony Ofek
“OFEK” translates to “Horizon” in Hebrew. This duet draws inspiration from the forces of life and
human hope. OFEK offers a personal perspective on overcoming obstacles and pushing personal
boundaries, reflecting the aspiration to control or alter our destiny. It provides a glimpse into moments
of beauty.
Credits:
Choreography: Yoram Karmi
Sound Sending & Original Music: Noam Halper
Costumes: Maor Zabar
Rehearsal Director: Inbar Nemirovsky
Supported by: Ministry of Culture and Sport in Israel, Tel Aviv Municipality, The Fresco Dance Hub
