The stage at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater was ablaze with the next generation of ballet superstars, as the dance world simultaneously looked back fondly on the last 25 years of the Youth America Grand Prix.
In the last quarter century, YAGP has shaped the dance scene by paving the way for talented hopefuls from diverse backgrounds all over the world by recruiting them, making career-defining connections, and offering scholarship opportunities. Many of those diamond finds, who are now titular stars at pre-eminent dance companies, returned to perform in all their sparkling glory for the celebration, alongside up-and-comers to pay close attention to.
Following almost two hours of mind-blowing displays of movement—which ran the gamut from YAGP’s traditional Grand Défilé pièce d’occasion, featuring hundreds of young ballerinas clad in white tutus, to rousing solo performances and two World Premieres (one by James Whiteside with ABT’s Isabella Boylston, Catherine Hurlin, and Jake Roxander with live music by pianist and composer Matthew Whitaker; the other by Maria Konrad, with San Francisco-based Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Adji Cissoko and English National Ballet’s Vsevolod Maievskyi, with music by Karen LeFrak.) Afterward, guests headed upstairs for dinner and dancing on the promenade to continue the fun at the annual Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala.
For those enamored with ballet-core as of late, the event included a particularly enticing element. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the non-profit organization, longtime Creative Chair Marcella Hymowitz and members of the Board tapped leading names in fashion and beyond to put their spin on 25 pairs of pointe shoes for a buzzy auction, The Pointe Project, now live through Monday.
Hymowitz, dressed in a diaphanous ballet slipper pink gown by Carolina Herrera, told Vogue that the assignment had been sprung on the willing creatives with a mere six-week deadline (during Fashion Month, no less!), but designers and artists took the brief and ran with it. The challenge resulted in everything from shoes transformed by gold chains (Michael Kors), daisies (Rosie Assoulin), pearls (LoveShackFancy), sequins (Aquazzura), crystals (Giuseppe Zanotti), and feathers with ombré ribbons (Cynthia Rowley), to Khaite’s embellished barre-ready version of its viral Marcy flat. Meanwhile, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row, longtime supporters of YAGP, reinvented the rules, supplying a covetable and chic blush-toned bag to house slippers in. Notably, only Brian Atwood thought to add heels to his take, balancing his Black Swan and Firebird-inspired creations on gem-encrusted stilettos. High as they may be, who better to take on the challenge than a ballerina, Atwood said.
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