Youth America Grand Prix

A week ago 7 GSD dancers and owner, Matt Gasper traveled to Kansas City, MO for Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) ballet competition. We are so proud of these dancers dedication and hard work prepping for this competition and going on the Folly Theatre stage and sharing their passion with the judges and the audience.

YAGP is different than other competitions. There are only 2 categories: Variations and Contemporary. There are 3 age groupings: Pre-Competitive, Junior and Senior. And only the top 12 are recognized at the awards ceremony, which takes place the last day of the competition. This is a difficult competition with amazing dancers from all over the country. The dancers just getting to that stage and performing at their best is all we can ask.

This season Sofia Astolfi made top 12 for her Variation (as well as recognized for her 2nd variation in the top 24. 24 were recognized due to the mass amount of variations in the Junior age group). We are delighted for her recognization!

Mateo Leslie made the top 6 for male dancers in variations. He really commanded the stage this season and we are excited for his accomplishments.

But just because our other competitors were not recognized, doesn't mean they didn't give it their all. We are proud of each and every one of them, whether they were recognized or not. So Congratulation dancers, you work this season doesn't go unrecognized and each and every one of you have improved and continue to improve on and off stage. Your confidence level this season is also something we have been striving for and it is a pleasure to see how you feel about your abilities, and performances.

Below is a slideshow of images from the weekend. Enjoy!