One could say that it is the equivalent of “American Idol” for ballet dance.
There were over 400 hundred young ballet dancers from the Northeast who gathered in Massachusetts for the auditions for the Youth America Grand Prix in the hopes of being awarded a prestigious scholarship.
The competition, which takes place over the course of four days and takes place at a historic theater in Worcester, Massachusetts, is also one of the sites where aspiring ballet stars are discovered and eventually went on to perform at the American Ballet Theater, the Paris Opera Ballet, and the New York City Ballet.
Karli Wilkinson, a 15-year-old girl from Dighton, Massachusetts, was warming up as her mother, Ashley Wilkinson, was keeping a close check on her.
“I love performing for people and becoming like a character when I dance,” said Karli Wilkinson.
Due to the fact that her performance would be set to the soundtrack from the film “Dune,” her makeup and brown clothing were intended to conjure up an image of a desert atmosphere from another planet.
“I don’t really think about how many people are in the audience,” she continued. “I don’t get too nervous. I mostly get excited.”
As they waited to take the stage, the dancers, who ranged in age from nine to nineteen, mingled with one another while wearing brightly colored clothes and frequently wearing their hair in buns.
They were called out by their number in rapid succession, one after the other, and each of them played solos that lasted for many minutes.
“It’s amazing to see all the hard work that these kids do. Dance is often thought of as a sport that maybe is light. But these kids work so, so hard each and every day, putting in 20, 30 hours a week,” Ana Canelos, of North Falmouth stated.
She referred to the opportunity to watch her daughters, who are 16 and 10 years old respectively, perform among other people as a “magnificent” adventure.
“To compete with just the caliber of individuals who are here, it’s amazing,” she continued.
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Approximately 1,200 dancers will be selected to compete in the finals, which will take place in Tampa, Florida, in April. These dancers will be selected from the 32 auditions that were held in the United States and the 14 abroad.
During the auditions as well as the finals, thousands of scholarships will be made available to the winners. The scholarships include possibilities to study at prestigious dance schools and programs all around the world for a short period of time, during the summer, or throughout the entire year.
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“It’s an incredible opportunity for these dancers to be seen by the directors of schools and companies in the U.S and abroad,” Racheal Nye, the director of school and studio company at the Oklahoma City Ballet stated.
The Youth America Grand Prix has provided scholarships totaling $5 million to the most prestigious dance schools throughout the world over the course of the previous quarter of a century, with around $450,000 being awarded annually.
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