Youth America Grand Prix Posted April 2, 2019 Share Posted April 2, 2019 YAGP 20th Anniversary Gala "Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow" David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center This annually sold-out, spectacular Gala performance features the top winners of the YAGP international student ballet competition alongside guest stars from the world’s leading dance companies. Proceeds from the Gala will go directly toward scholarships for gifted young dance students who wish to pursue a professional career in dance. For individual and group tickets to April 18 and 19 performances, Click Here. For Patron tickets including April 18th post-performance dinner with the artists, Click Here or contact YAGP Development Office at 646-791-9500 or development@yagp.org . FEATURING: (*Indicates YAGP Alumni) AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE Skylar Brandt*, Herman Cornejo (April 18), Thomas Forster, Sung Woo Han*, Catherine Hurlin*, Joaquin De Luz, Calvin Royal III*, Hee Seo*, Christine Shevchenko*, Cory Stearns*, Katherine Williams* BOLSHOI BALLET Olga Smirnova BOSTON BALLET Derek Dunn* FINNISH NATIONAL BALLET Rebecca King* HOUSTON BALLET Tyler Donatelli* JOFFREY BALLET Fabrice Calmels (April 18) MARIINSKY BALLET Kimin Kim*; Ekaterina Kondaurova; Konstantin Zverev NEW YORK CITY BALLET Taylor Stanley*, Daniel Ulbricht, Indiana Woodward* PARSONS DANCE Zoey Anderson VICTOR ULLATE BALLET Lucia Lacarra, Josue Ullate (April 19th) WORLD BALLROOM CHAMPION Denys Drozdyuk (April 18) ** Program subject to change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletforme Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 BUmping this. . . Did anyone go to the Final Round last night? Any standouts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abatt Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 (edited) I attended last night's gala. The biggest star of the evening was the utterly brilliant Kimin Kim. He defies gravity. He was absolutely thrilling in his Don Q and Black Swan variations. Olga Smirnova dumbed down her solo variation in the Black Swan pdd by doing pique turns around the stage instead of the traditional fouettes. Is she afraid to get injured? I expect that modification from certain dancers, but not a Bolshoi principal. I enjoyed Smirnova's Dying Swan, but they decided to turn it into pas, with Calvin Royal circling around her and stalking her. I wanted to swat him out of the way so I could focus on Smirnova. His presence added nothing and distracted the viewer from this beautiful solo. Kondaurova was sharp and authoritative in a pas from Forsythe's In the Middle. It was for me a highlight. Lucia Lacarra and Fabrice Calmels trotted out Arpino's Light Rain duet (subtitled I Am Gumby, Dammit.) Lucia's flexibility is marvelous, especially given that she is not so young. It was trashy but fun. The Manon pas with Stearns and Seo was deadly boring. I don't have high hopes for their upcoming ABT performances in the lead roles. The new Hamrick piece to boyfriend Mick Jagger's music was harmless but amateurish. The finale was a pastiche of excerpts from Don Q. Shevchenko killed it with a portion of Kitri's Act I variation, where she does the Plistetskaya kicks. There were film clips of youngsters talking about ballet after each piece. The first one or two clips were cute. But the repetition of the cute kids on film trying to articulate their love of ballet started to become grating and a complete waste of time. Edited April 19, 2019 by abatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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