Youth America
Grand Prix’s (YAGP) 2014 Gala
Chairs Stephanie
Foster, Heather
Georges, and Kamie
Lightburn held
a cocktail reception and conversation on November 4,
2013 to announce their plans for the Youth America
Grand Prix 2014 Gala. The reception was held at a
private residence on Park Avenue.
All three returning chairs of the 2013 YAGP Gala,
introduced an additional chair to this year’s Gala, Christina
Lyon, who
lives in California. Christina has a wonderful
understanding of dance and she is a former ABT
dancer.
The guests of honor were current ABT dancers Misty
Copeland and Marcelo Gomes. Who spoke to the guests
about how they came to dance, their biggest
challenges, and their experiences with YAGP.
The Fifteenth Anniversary YAGP Gala will be held on
April 10, 2014 at Lincoln Center. It will be a very special
evening featuring amazing performances
by world class dancers, including the premier of a
piece choreographed by Gemma Bond with an original
score by Karen LeFrak and costumes by Ralph Rucci.
In addition, Dancing with the Stars superstar and
Emmy award-winning choreographer, Derek Hough has
choreographed a ballroom piece for Misty Copeland.
As always, the top students from the YAGP season
will perform onstage alongside these dance
superstars.
Over 90 guests attend, they included: Mr.
and Mrs. Jonathan Adelson, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher
D. Allen, Ms. Peter E. Bacanovic, Ms. Paige Betz,
Matthew Bledsoe, Mrs. Barbara Brandt, Mr. Troy and
Perry Brown, Ms. Alyson Cafiero, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan
Carey, Ms. Misty Copeland, Mr. and Mrs. Steven
Curley, Mr. John Dalsheim, Mr. Franco De Vita, Mr.
David Dean, Ms. Linda Fell, Ms. Stephanie Foster,
Ms. Sarah Frank, Mr. Tom Gates, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew
Georges, Mr. and Mrs. Justin Gibbons, Mr. Mark
Gilbertson, Marcelo Gomes, Marjorie Reed Gordon, Dr.
Penny Grant, Sheila and Jodi Grant, Ms. Diane
Hipkins, Ms. Amy Hoadley, Ms. Judith M. Hoffman, Mr.
and Mrs. Christopher Hojlo, Mr. and Mrs. Michael
Kempner, Ms. Karen Klopp, Ms. Ali Schley Landegger,
Serena Lese, Mr. and Mrs. Laurent Levasseur, Ms.
Joey Lico, Ms. Kamie Lightburn, Ms. Stephanie
Loeffler, Mr. and Mrs. Ludwick, Mr. Jack Lynch, Ms.
Paige Boller Malik, Ms. Kelly Mallon, Mr. and Mrs.
Alberto Mariaca, Mr. William Georgis and Mr. Richard
Marshall, Ms. Linda K. Morse, Ms. Kathleen Murtha,
Mr. Ian Ng, Mr. Richard Osterweil, Ms. Elizabeth
Papadopoulus, Mr. and Mrs. Brad Peck, Mr. Eoin
Robinson, Mr. Cavin Royal III (ABT), Mr. and Mrs.
Eric Rudin, Ms. Katie Ryser, Nancy Sambuco, Yolanda
Santos, Mr. Larisa Saveliev, Mr. Scott Schlexer, Mr.
and Mrs. Martin Shafiroff, Mr. John L. Sills, Esq.,
Kari and Carl Tiedemann, and Ms. Evelyn Tompkins.
YAGP is
the world’s largest student ballet scholarship
competition, awarding over $250,000 annually to
leading dance schools worldwide. Since being founded
in 1999 by two former Bolshoi Ballet dancers,
Larissa and Gennadi Saveliev, YAGP has
awarded over $2 million in scholarships to the
leading dance schools worldwide. The competition is
conducted annually throughout the U.S. and abroad
(Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Italy). YAGP is
the internet of the dance world, a global network of
opportunity connecting dancers, teachers, schools
and companies all over the globe. Over 25,000
dancers worldwide have participated in YAGP’s
international workshops, competitions, and audition
classes. Over 300 YAGP alumni
are now dancing with 50 companies around the world,
including American Ballet Theatre, New York City
Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and San Francisco Ballet,
among others.