Youth America Grand Prix

Washington, DC

General

Reviewer:

Parent with Dancer Input

Competition experience:

More than 10

Event Details

Round:

Regional

Season:

2024-25

Location:

Washington, DC

Traveled to compete:

Regionals attended:

Who encouraged multiple regionals:

Entry affiliation:

School

Rules Easy to Access?

Yes

Did Dancer Miss School?

Yes

Days of school missed:

Attended master classes:

Yes

Master Classes

Master Class Types:

Technique, Contemporary

Master class teachers:

Ethan Brown, John Selya, Rinat Imaev

Distance from venue:

At the same venue

Received corrections:

Yes

How corrections were given:

Corrections were generally given to the entire class however some students received personal critiques.

What corrections were about:

Corrections were about dancing and generally the same that her teachers give. No coded language

Anatomical language:

Yes

Correction tone:

Positive

Teacher engagement:

The teachers were engaged, walked around the room, seemed bright and happy. It was very crowded however but my dancer wasn't bothered by the amount of people in the studio. She knew to expect it.

Crowding:


Really Crowded	Plenty of Room to Move

Master Class Feedback

Technique:

Contemporary:

Additional master class comments:

Ballet class was not overwhelmingly difficult and leveled towards the "middle technical level". My dancer thought it was a good warm up for her ensemble competition.

Performance Details

Venue name:

Hylton Performing Arts Center

Venue description:

Absolutely gorgeous professional theatre.

Stage description:

Great Marley, no issues

Off-stage warm-up space:

There were dancers warming up in the lobby as well as in the scene shop backstage

Dressing rooms:

Fully professional with lighted mirrors, plenty of seating, a lot of counter space

Parents in dressing rooms:

Male dressing room:

Yes

Parents backstage:

Onstage warm-up:

Crowded as usual.

Schedule adherence:

Tended to mostly run on time

Staff communication:

IG and email

Parent seminar offered:

Judging

Judging rubric clarity:

Yes

Judges' attentiveness:

Yes, all judges were actively watching

Feedback turnaround:

A few days after the competition

Type of Feedback:

Numerical scores, Brief written feedback

Feedback helpfulness:


Not Helpful At All	Extremely Helpful

Main takeaway:

My dancer had feedback that was pretty on par with her teachers regular corrections.

Scoring felt fair:

Yes

Awards & Scholarships

Awards ceremony:

About one hour, organized.

Won an award or training offer:

Yes

Festival offer:

Gala offer:

Invited to finals:

Yes

Award or Training Offer Description:

2nd Place Junior Classical Scholarships to six summer intensives

Final Comments

Best aspect:

My dancer enjoys the opportunity to perform onstage in front of a critical audience. She also loves the camaraderie of her fellow students and reconnecting with friends she's made at YAGP the years.

Worst aspect:

Crowded master classes

Competition culture:

Positive

Attendee culture:

Positive. We didn't see any drama.

Suggested changes:

A little more use of the app for communicating schedule changes/adjustments rather than just IG stories.

Cost vs. expectation:


Significantly More	Significantly Less

Time worth it:


Not Worth It	Worth Every Minute

Overall rating:

Anything else?

Parents and dancers should go into this competition with the mindset that it is a learning and growing experience rather than focusing only on winning. Regionals are essentially an audition/prescreen for Finals but gives everyone a chance to experience performing onstage in front of a professional jury. Results are also not an indicator of a dancers future; many professionals did not compete as students or did not receive ''recognition" at Yagp.