Youth America Grand Prix

Final

General

Reviewer

Dancer Age

Competition experience

Event Details

Round

Final

Season

Location

Did Dancer Miss School?

Master Classes

Master Class Types

Master class teachers

"We don't remember his name."

Distance from venue

Teacher engagement

"The teacher was not engaged and sat slumped in a chair the entire class scrolling on his phone."
"Mixed"

Crowding

Really Crowded


Plenty of Room to Move

Master Class Feedback

Technique

Additional master class comments

"The teacher did not want to be in the Master Class and clearly showed it."
"Master classes are pretty basic"

Performance Details

Venue name

"Houston Ballet Academy"
"Straz Center"

Venue description

"Beautiful facilities"
"Nice but under construction"

Stage description

"Plenty of space"
"Marley, tends towards slippery, space was fine"

Off-stage warm-up space

"They practiced on a carpeted space inside the convention center."
"Studio space available"

Dressing rooms

"N/A"
"Plenty of space"

Parents in dressing rooms

Parents backstage

Onstage warm-up

"It was a standard warm-up for a competition. Overcrowded and limited time on stage."
"Always way too crowded"

Other schedule comments

"none"

Staff communication

"The final schedule was only released a week prior to the competition. This made travel arrangements very difficult and more expensive due to the last minute bookings."
"Fine"

Judging

Judges' attentiveness

Feedback turnaround

Type of Feedback

Main takeaway

"The feedback was general and minimal."
"Just scores"

Scoring felt fair

Why Scoring Unfair?

"n/a"
"One judge, a director of a major European school, clearly hated this dancer and gave them the lowest possible scores, more than 10 points below every other judge, in both the preliminary and the final rounds"

Awards & Scholarships

Awards ceremony

"My dancer did not stay for final awards."
"Way too long and crowded"

Won an award or training offer

Festival offer

Gala offer

Award or Training Offer Description

"Prefer not to answer"

Festival offer details

"Prefer not to answer"

Gala offer details

"Stars of Today Meet Stars of Tomorrow - no cost"

Final Comments

Best aspect

"The extra coaching in preparation and performance experience."
"Seeing people from around the world"

Worst aspect

"Certain dancers from our home studio were contacted prior to the competition dates and ask to have private lessons with the director of the competition at our studio. The lessons were given at an extremely high price. Several of these dancers would place in the top 12 during the competitions."
"The clearly biased judge who absolutely skewed the results. He knew the dancer from elsewhere and clearly had a grudge against them, maybe because of how the dancer was received in contrast to one of his own students. He gave the dancer the lowest scores permitted by YAGP despite every other judge giving nearly perfect scores."

Competition culture

"During one of my daughter's solo dances, the director of the competition talked very loudly on the phone while judging my daughter. My daughter was distracted the entire performance and left the stage feeling very discourage and unseen."
"Fine"

Attendee culture

"The dancers were supportive of each and friendships were sometimes formed."
"Fine"

Suggested changes

"The entire competition needs to have more transparency."
"None"

Cost vs. expectation

Significantly More


Significantly Less

Time worth it

Not Worth It


Worth Every Minute

Overall rating

Anything else?

"While there is value in the performance opportunities and exposure, the business aspect of the competition needs to be evaluated and more transparent."
"No"