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Kamie Lightburn hosted
a luncheon in honor of Youth
America Grand Prix, on Monday April 18th in the
Ballroom at The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. Attendees
gathered for a group portrait with guests of honor, The
Royal Ballet (UK) Principal Dancer Mayara
Magri and La Scala Ballet Principal Dancer Jacopo
Tissi, in their Swan Lake costumes; a piece
they performed at YAGP's 2022 Gala in Tampa the following
evening.
Mayara and Jacopo shared behind-the-scenes stories from
their lives as professional dancers, including funny
unexpected moments that happen live on stage. Guests were
treated to a video of Jacopo’s exquisite performance with
Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, which he recently left for Italy's
La Scala, and Mayara rehearsing for her performance with
England's Royal Ballet.
Kamie thanked guests for coming to support the arts and
shared, "I'm inspired by these talented artists and by
YAGP's work to uplift these dancers, and dancers
everywhere".
YAGP’s Founding Director of External Affairs, Sergey
Gordeev, hosted a Q&A with the dancers and said,
"Dance has the power to uplift the human spirit, especially
in troubled times. To dancers, dance is their life, and for
23 years we have done everything we can to give dancers the
opportunity to do what they love. Currently, YAGP is working
on helping Ukrainian dance students - and we are pleased to
share that over 100 of them have now been brought to safety.
They are continuing their training on scholarship at the
world’s leading dance academies in Europe and the US."
Guests included Eleanora
Kennedy, Lauren Day Roberts, Janna Bullock, Yaz Hernandez,
Linda Adelson, Kameron Neth, Kim Renk, Brewer Schoeller,
Emily Leonard, Bettina Anderson, Carol Moran, and Eileen
Judell.
YAGP is the world's largest ballet scholarship organization;
a non-profit that scouts talented aspiring dancers all over
the globe, connects them with the world's top schools, and
facilitates their careers as professional dancers. In the 23
years since inception, over $4.5 million has been awarded in
scholarships to the world’s leading dance schools, with up
to $500,000 now awarded annually. Over 150,000 young dancers
– ages 9 to 19 – of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds
have participated in YAGP's international workshops,
auditions, classes, and dance awareness events. Today, more
than 12,000 young dancers audition annually worldwide. More
than 450 Youth America Grand Prix alumni are now dancing
with 80 professional companies around the world.
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