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Hope soars: ballet auditions that could change their lives
Ballet

Ballet dancers wait backstage to perform during the 2017 Youth America Grand Prix regional semi-finals, where hundreds of young ballet dancers audition for scholarships, in Toronto.

Hundreds of dancers, from the ages of nine to 19, travelled from all over the country to audition for a chance to compete at the Youth America Grand Prix

MARTHA SCHABAS

This article was published more than 7 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

Hope soared as high as the grands jetés at Toronto's Metro Convention Centre this weekend. Hundreds of dancers, from the ages of nine to 19, travelled from all over the country to audition for a chance to compete at the Youth America Grand Prix, which takes place in New York in April. For 18 years, the YAGP has been the gateway to many young dancers' dreams, offering more than $250,000 a year in scholarships to the best dance schools, and contracts with leading companies around the world. The competition has already completed its international regional semi-final, landing in Europe, Asia and South America, before it made its only stop in Canada this weekend.

Donning pointe shoes and tutus, the dancers hailed from little-known mom-and-pop schools and prestigious academies to perform solo and group variations for a panel of judges that included noted Canadian choreographer Peter Quanz and YAGP founder Larissa Saveliev. The competition became a known quantity beyond the ballet world with the acclaimed 2011 documentary First Position, which tracked several aspiring ballet dancers from around the globe as they prepared for their big day in New York. The top prize awarded in April is the Grand Prix – the winner just might have been pirouetting in Toronto on Saturday.

Dancers warm up back stage.

A dancer watches another performer on stage.

The dancers hailed from little-known mom-and-pop schools and prestigious academies to perform solo and group variations.

Donning tutus, the dancers had some colourful and dynamic routines.

The stakes are high but the dancers stayed calm and loose in the dressing room.

These teenaged dancers performed a beautiful duet.

The competition has already completed its international regional semi-final, landing in Europe, Asia and South America, before it made its only stop in Canada this weekend.

This duet was still warming up before their audition.

The top prize awarded in April is the Grand Prix – the winner just might have been pirouetting in Toronto on Saturday.