Congratulations to the 2022 YAGP Winners!

Tampa’s David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts was buzzing with anticipation on Tuesday, as approximately 1,700 young dancers awaited results from the 2022 Youth America Grand Prix’s Final Round. After a week of performances and master classes, the students cheered enthusiastically for each other as their names were called—a welcome release after two years of pandemic-related disruptions and social distancing. The annual competition, which held auditions in 29 U.S. cities and nine international locations, awarded up to $500,000 in scholarships to leading dance academies all over the world.

Later that night, YAGP’s Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala featured select performances of 2022 finalists alongside internationally renowned professional dancers. YAGP dedicated this year’s gala to its Ukrainian Relief Effort, which has placed over 100 Ukrainian dancers at ballet schools in Europe and the U.S. A special guest at Tuesday night’s performance included Ukrainian dancer Vsevolod Maievskyi, a former soloist with the Mariinsky Ballet and a YAGP alum. He performed an electrifying Le Corsaire pas de trois with American Ballet Theatre’s Chloe Misseldine and Ballett am Rhein’s Gustavo Carvalho. The young audience went wild for the guest stars, which also included La Scala principal Jacopo Tissi, Royal Ballet principal Mayara Magri and New York City Ballet principal Daniel Ulbricht, among others.

And now, without further ado, here are this year’s YAGP winners. Congratulations to all!

Senior Division

Women:

First: Maya Schonbrun, 17, Master Ballet Academy, AZ

Second: Natalie Steele, 15, Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy, CA

Third: Lexi McCloud, 17, Moga Conservatory of Dance, UT

Men:

First: Arthur Wille, 20, ATM Centro Cultural de Dança, Brazil

Second: Zander Magolnick, 16, Elite Classical Coaching, TX

Third: Hoyeon Kim, 15, Sunhwa Arts High School, South Korea

Junior Division

Youth Grand Prix:

Alexei Orohovsky, 14, Elite Classical Coaching, TX

Women:

First: Nao Nakajima, 14, Symphony Ballet Studio, Japan

Second: Yerin Ok, 14, Yewon School, South Korea

Third: Crystal Huang, 13, Nevada School of Dance, NV

Third: Sophia Koo, 14, Southland Ballet Academy, CA

Men:

First: Denis Watanabe, 14, Watanabe-Buber Ballet Academy, Japan

Second: João Pedro Dos Santos Silva, 13, Balé do Teatro Escola Basileu França, Brazil

Third: Suhyeok Bang, 14, Sunhwa Arts Middle School, South Korea

Third: Clovis Couillard, 14, École du Ballet de Paris Stanlowa, France

Pre-Competitive Division

Hope Award:

Asuka Hara, 10, Ballet Le Coeur, Japan

Women, Classical Dance Category:

First: Yuna Yamada, 9, Kinue Kobayashi Ballet Studio, Japan

Second: Mikaela Cameron, 11, A&A Ballet, IL

Third: Maria Qixin Tian, 11, MorningStar Dance Academy, GA

Third: Shaqueena Yefta Hutasoit, 11, Marlupi Dance Academy, Indonesia

Men, Classical Dance Category:

First: Ruan Santiago, 11, Ballet Monica Luiza, Brazil

Second: Leon Yusei Sai, 10, Southland Ballet Academy, CA

Third: Michael Savio, 10, Stars Dance Studio, FL

Women, Contemporary Dance Category:

First: Kiera Sun, 11, Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy, CA

Second: Morgan Ligon, 10, Elite Classical Coaching, TX

Third: Phoebe Ingram, 11, Indiana Ballet Conservatory, IN

Men, Contemporary Dance Category:

First: Michael Savio, 10, Stars Dance Studio, FL

Second: Ruan Santiago, 11, Ballet Monica Luiza, Brazil

Third: Dylan Custodio, 10, Fort Lauderdale Youth Ballet, FL

Ensemble Division

Classical Pas de Deux:

First: Maya Schonbrun and Cruz Vining, Master Ballet Academy, AZ

Second: Kyra Orozco-Davey and Samuel Morris, City Ballet San Francisco, CA

Third: Nina Miró Verger and Asier Bautista, Jove Ballet de Catalunya, Spain

Contemporary Pas de Deux:

First: Nali Dobrin and Gramada Dragos, Choreography High School “Floria Capsali”/Dance Planet, Romania

Second: Kailin Kratz and Kyawzwa Lwin, City Ballet–San Francisco, CA

Third: Michael Savio and Kya Massimino, Stars Dance Studio, FL

Small Ensembles:

First: Eureka!, Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts, MD

Second: Melliflous, Ballet de Galicia, Diego Landín, Spain

Third: Raymonda, Cavaliers, UNCSA, NC

Large Ensembles:

First: Coppélia, Friends, Act 1, The Art of Classical Ballet, FL

Second: Tang Dynasty, OAEC, TX

Third: Virus,Ballet de Galicia, Diego Landín, Spain

Special Awards

Shelly King Award: Minori De Silva, 12, MorningStar Dance Academy, GA

Makarova Award: Charlize Hardwick, 14, Bayer Ballet Academy, CA

Outstanding Choreographer Award: Maria Konrad