Dancers From Local Ballet Make Finals In Prestigious Dance Competition

Scores of performers from the Brighton Ballet Theater are heading to the finals this year for the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) — the world’s largest student dance competition.

More than 1,000 dancers from 35 countries will compete in the finals Wednesday at the BAM Theater. Among them will be 21 of the Brighton Ballet Theater’s dancers (two soloists and 19 members of an ensemble) who came out victorious against 8,000 competitors at the regional contest in Boston last month, according to a press release from the theater.

“Our talented young dancers are on to the finals, taking the stage with the best of the best at the most important student competition in the world,” said Irina Roizin, the theater’s founder and executive director.

The Brighton Ballet Theater, founded in 1988, is located in the Kingsborough Community College campus at 2001 Oriental Boulevard. It’s dance instructor is Edouard Kushnarev, who studied at the Kiev State Ballet Academy and has performed as a soloist at the Ukrainian State Theatre of Classical Ballet. The theater also partners with local schools to provide instruction for arts curriculum, according to the press release.

For the theater’s staff, their students’ success in the YAGP competition is an enormous point of pride.

“We’re incredibly proud of everything our talented and dedicated students have accomplished,” said Roizin. “Watching them grow and mature into young artists is a confirmation of our mission as well as the power of dance and creative expression.”

Congratulations to the dancers!