Tag: youth america grand prix

Eye on the Prize

Makensie dancing “Liebesleid,” her contemporary piece, at the YAGP finals in NYC. Photo by Hideaki Tanioka. This past spring, ballet dancer Makensie Howe traveled to NYC for the Youth America Grand Prix finals, where she and other dancers competed for medals and scholarships. Makensie, who was 17 at the time and training at the Alexandra […]

Mentors Who Matter

The first thing that jumps out about Gabe Stone Shayer, who begins a year-long contract with American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company in September, is how easily he commands attention. Tall and sinewy, he has an ever-ready smile that wows, and a carefree confidence that makes him a natural prince. When Gabe was six years old, […]

Hannah Bettes

That impossibly elastic back. That up-to-there extension. Those out-of-this-world feet. It’s a no-brainer: 14-year-old Hannah Bettes was made to be a ballerina. And yet Hannah is shockingly new to the world of ballet. The Dallas, TX, native first began studying jazz and contemporary at The Dance P.A.D. (then known as Deltona Academy of Dance) in […]

Ballet Competitions 101

Sarah Lane and Joseph Phillips performing at the YAGP 2008 Gala. Photo by Gene Schiavone Picture this: It’s 1990, and Jose Manuel Carreño, a young, relatively unknown Cuban ballet student, has just wowed the judges at the USA International Ballet Competition with his ultra-powerful jumps and incredibly controlled pirouettes. At the end of the competition, […]