Youth America Grand Prix

Dallas, TX

General

Reviewer:

Parent

Dancer Age:

Competition experience:

More than 10

Event Details

Round:

Regional

Season:

2024-25

Location:

Dallas, TX

Traveled to compete:

Yes

Regional was the closest:

Why this location:

Our director chose this location because it is a larger city than our closest regional. She said there are more opportunities for visibility and scholarships at larger events.

Regionals attended:

Who encouraged multiple regionals:

Entry affiliation:

School

Rules Easy to Access?

Yes

Did Dancer Miss School?

Attended master classes:

Yes

Master Classes

Master Class Types:

Contemporary, Technique

Master class teachers:

I don't recall who taught the classes. My daughter always loves the master classes, although she said some girls in them are not serious and goof around which is distracting.

Distance from venue:

At the same venue

Received corrections:

Yes

How corrections were given:

I do not remember the corrections, but she did feel seen while in the room.

What corrections were about:

I don't recall, but she did not receive any coded corrections or anything that was out of the ordinary/harmful.

Anatomical language:

Correction tone:

Positive, Neutral

Teacher engagement:

My daughter felt the master classes were fine. The teacher moved around the room.

Crowding:


Really Crowded	Plenty of Room to Move

Master Class Feedback

Technique:

Contemporary:

Additional master class comments:

My daughter likes the master classes!

Performance Details

Venue name:

Irving Arts Center

Venue description:

Plenty of parking, lobby was spacious. Bathrooms large and plentiful, theater was fine.

Stage description:

Marley. It was slippery and my daughter was terrified of falling.

Off-stage warm-up space:

She did not complain about anything with regards to warm up.

Dressing rooms:

I have a girl so I did not pay attention to the boys.

Parents in dressing rooms:

Male dressing room:

Yes

Parents backstage:

Onstage warm-up:

My daughter likes to warm up independently.

Schedule adherence:

Tended to run ahead

Other schedule comments:

It was fine, no complaints!

Staff communication:

No issues

Parent seminar offered:

Judging

Judging rubric clarity:

Judges' attentiveness:

Yes, all judges were actively watching

Feedback turnaround:

More than a week after the competition

Type of Feedback:

Numerical scores, Brief written feedback

Feedback helpfulness:


Not Helpful At All	Extremely Helpful

Main takeaway:

The scoring was really high from most judges and then really low from one single other judge. This happens each year with YAGP. The same judge scores her low each time while the others score much higher.

Scoring felt fair:

Why Scoring Unfair?

It didn't feel fair, but to be honest we don't know what the other scores were for other dancers!

Awards & Scholarships

Awards ceremony:

My dancer placed in the top 12

Won an award or training offer:

Festival offer:

Yes

Gala offer:

Invited to finals:

Festival offer details:

Legacy Master in Italy Gala De Danza in London I don't recall the cost, but the event itself wasn't too expensive, the travel was more costly.

Final Comments

Best aspect:

Performance experience

Worst aspect:

All YAGP competitions my daughter has been invited to have felt rigged in one way or another. She consistently places in the top 12 at all regionals, but it feels predictable who will be placed in the top 3 and get invited to finals. Despite amazing performances, she has never been invited to finals, usually because one judge always scores her a full 4-6 points lower than everyone else, lowering her score. That makes it feel rigged, intentionally lowering scores to make those he likes win. The competition blatantly has favorites, and it's clear who those dancers are before the competition even happens. It feels preplanned. And all the favorites are from large schools which is no surprise. The fact my dancer places from a very small, no name school is great, because she is talented! But, her or her classmates talent has never been acknowledged by YAGP. Our first year doing YAGP, I remember a young girl being followed by an entourage of people, taking photos, making a huge scene. I thought that was weird b/c it was like she won the competition before the girls even danced! Fast forward to awards, guess who won!! It's not the young girls fault, she was lovely. But it was very surprising as a new parent to witness this scene. That has persisted through the years.

Competition culture:

YAGP always feels stressful and high pressure.

Attendee culture:

Cut throat and stressful.

Suggested changes:

Let every dancer have a chance! Acknowledge more than a few select favorites. Acknowledge other dancers that aren't extremely hypermobile, painfully thin or suuuuper tall with long limbs. There are so many amazing dancers that YAGP ignores to focus on a few of their favorites. Ballet is evolving to be more inclusive and YAGP should be supporting that. They should be encouraging healthy dancers.

Cost vs. expectation:


Significantly More	Significantly Less

Time worth it:


Not Worth It	Worth Every Minute

Overall rating:

Anything else?

YAGP is a huge business that hand picks favorites before the competition takes place. Go in knowing that. It will not be fair and it will be perfectly clear the type of dancer they are looking for. Despite that, people from outside YAGP are watching and those folks do give offers, invites to events, etc. So it's not totally worthless.