YAGP Hosts 2016 Finals Week and Gala, Featuring Bolshoi, ABT, Mariinsky, NYC Ballet, Paris Opera and More

World's largest student ballet scholarship audition ­YOUTH AMERICA GRAND PRIX - will hold its annual Finals Week in New York City, with the Final Round performances by the top finalists today, April 27, 2016, and the critically­ acclaimed "Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow" Gala tomorrow, April 28, 2016. After a several ­year residency at Lincoln Center, the Final Round and the Gala will, for the first time, be held in Brooklyn at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House.

THE FINAL ROUND (April 27, 2016 at 7pm) -- over 8,000 talented young dance students auditioned this season at semi­-final rounds conducted by YAGP around the globe; and more than 1,000 finalists from 35 countries will gather in New York in April to audition for scholarships and contracts with the world's leading international dance schools and companies. The most promising Junior (12­14 y.o.) and Senior (15­19 y.o.) dancers will perform in the FINAL ROUND before the winners are chosen.

Tickets: $55­$75, available at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House box office, at BAM.org/YAGP, or by phone at (718) 636­4100.

YAGP 2016 GALA, "STARS OF TODAY MEET THE STARS OF TOMORROW" (April 28, 2016 at 7pm) -- The annually sold­ out YAGP Gala features talented young finalists of YAGP 2016 season performing alongside international ballet stars. This year's all­star cast will feature a new generation of stars from many major ballet company, including many YAGP alumni. Michaela DePrince and Edo Wijnen of Dutch National Ballet, both YAGP alumni, will make their NYC Professional Debut. Newly promoted Paris Opera Ballet Premier Dancer and YAGP Alumna, Hannah O'Neill, will also make her New York Professional Debut, performing a Pas de Deux from "La Esmeralda" with Hugo Marchand. Stuttgart Ballet Principal Dancer and YAGP alum Daniel Camargo will make his New York Professional Debut with Pas de Deux "Diana and Acteon," performing with Gillian Murphy from American Ballet Theatre. Camargo will also perform a US Premiere "Fire Breather" by YAGP 2016 Emerging Choreographer Katarzyna Kozielska (Stuttgart Ballet) . The rising stars of Mariinsky Ballet, Kristina Shapran and Xander Parish, will perform a duet from "Romeo and Juliet" by Leonid Lavrovsky - the original Soviet choreography rarely seen in the United States. Bolshoi Ballet stars Ekaterina Krysanova and Artem Ovcharenko, who recently portrayed Rudolph Nureyev in a BBC documentary "Leap to Freedom" to high critical acclaim, will perform a duet from "Marco Spada." and a performance from Christopher Wheeldon's "Carousel" by Tiler Peck and Robbie Fairchild from the New York City Ballet. American Ballet Theatre Principal, Stella Abrera, will perform in a World Premiere multidisciplinary piece, "Invocation" with freestyle parkour artists, choreographed by Josie Walsh. The evening will also feature a multimedia performance by dance group "Blue Journey." Program is subject to change.

Tickets: $55­$150, available at the BAM ­ Howard Gilman Opera House box office, at BAM.org/YAGP, or by phone, (718) 636­4100. Patron Tickets and Tables include prime performance seats at $1,000, $1,500, $2,500 and the post­ performance dinner reception with the artists; Corporate and Artistic Sponsorship packages are available. For more information, call 646.465.5933 or visit www.yagp.org.