Frequently Asked Questions

In order to register for the YAGP 2027 Semi-Final, please reference the 2027 YAGP Rules & Regulations — Click Here!

Yes. Please mail your check or money order to the YAGP address listed below.
Youth America Grand Prix
P.O. Box 6
Feasterville, PA 19053
***Please clearly print the full name of the student(s) and school name on the check/money order whom the payment is for.

YAGP’s no refund policy aligns with industry’s standard practices. For additional information regarding the policies and procedures in effect this season, please refer to the 2027 YAGP Rules & Regulations — Click Here!

The registration fee is due upon registration and the remaining balance in full is due no later than 45 days prior to the event per the YAGP Payment Schedule – 2027 YAGP Rules & Regulations — Click Here!

Participants ages for the entire YAGP 2027 season can be found following the link to our 2027 YAGP Rules & Regulations — Click Here!

Dancers should be 8 years old as of January 1, 2027.

To find the average, add the age of all dancers and divide it by the number of the dancers in the entry. The final number should be between 9 and 20 years.

No.

Classical/Contemporary Pas De Deux is when the performing students are female and male. In a Duet, both students are the same gender (e.g. boy and boy or girl and girl).

The recommended time limit for all Contemporary/Open Solos this season is a maximum of 2:00. This time limit was adopted based on requests from multiple YAGP judges over the years, out of a desire to serve the best interests of all YAGP participants.
While YAGP strongly recommends that all dancers adhere to this time limit recommendation, those who choose to perform Contemporary solos up to a maximum length of 2:30 may do so, subject to additional $20 per entry over 2:00.
When registering online, you will be prompted to select one of two options for Contemporary solos:
– Option 1: recommended time limit of 2:00 — standard registration fees apply
– Option 2: extended time limit of 2:30 — an additional $20 per entry will be added if selecting this option
**Please be aware that once the longer entry music length is selected and paid for, the $20 extended time fee is non refundable.

For detailed information on the policies regarding dancers performing en pointe, please refer to the official 2027 YAGP Rules & Regulations — Click Here!

Scholarships may be awarded to dancers at any time throughout the season. Selections can be made by our on-site judges, YAGP Artistic Director’s recommendations, or by our partner schools around the world who follow the live streams.

Yes, dancers are welcome to register their entries as TBD and update this information before the deadline (30 days prior to the first competition day).

It is possible to affiliate your Guardian Account with a school by typing the exact school name in the Dancer’s Profile.

The registration can be confirmed by logging into the platform and making sure all routines and registration of the dancer shows as complete.

No, unless there is a religious reason or a request for a specific order of the variations, specific schedule requests will not be accepted.

Yes.

Open Stage is a very important part of the competition where the YAGP Stage Manager will record notes from each dancer on when the music will start, which side of the stage the dancer will enter, etc. Dancers will also have the opportunity to check the stage, practice, and get last minute corrections from their teacher.

Dancers must place higher than the previous competition to be eligible for recognition.

Yes, dancers are welcome to register as Workshop Only attendees.

If the participant is competing/performing, the workshop classes are complimentary. If the dancer would like to participate in the workshop classes only, they may register by selecting “Workshop Only” as the ‘entry type’ in the registration under the selected location and pay the registration fee.

Attendance in the workshop classes is highly encouraged/recommended but not required.

No, dancers are welcome to wear whatever leotard they please.

If the venue is full, a wait list will be offered.

In order to transfer, you would need to re-register for the new Semi-Final if it is still open for registration.
– Please Note: Fees will not be transferred to the new Semi-Final. All YAGP fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable.

An email notification will be sent as soon as space becomes available.

Payment is not accepted for the Waitlist registrations.

Yes, cash prizes are awarded to select winners at the YAGP 2027 US Canada Semi-Finals.

Cash prizes are awarded across all age categories, including individual competitors and ensembles in all divisions.

Yes, each venue has a YAGP-curated hotel suggestion with a special group discount and a deadline to book. To find our special code, please follow the link to our website and review the Venue Guide.

Yes, only if registered through the YAGP platform.
– Please note: schools with 1-3 participants and Independent dancers may request 1 teacher badge, and schools with 4+ participants may request 2 teacher badges.

This depends on how the dancer is registered. Below are the instructions based on the account.
– School Accounts
– Schools manage their teachers through the MY SCHOOL tab, then navigate to TEACHERS.
– Add your teachers.
– Next, navigate to the EVENTS page, select your event, and open its TEACHERS tab.
IMPORTANT: Once your teachers have been saved on the TEACHERS tab under My School, this does not register the teacher for a badge. You must select them on the event’s TEACHERS tab.
– Select the teacher(s) you want to receive badge(s), up to your allowance, and click Save. This registers them for a badge for the event.
– Dancer/Guardian Accounts: Entries Registered Under a School
– If an entry’s School shows a school name, the school manages the teachers and selects the teacher badge for that entry. You do not need to do anything for those entries. Make sure the school has added the appropriate teachers to its account.
– If all of your entries at an event are registered under a school, the event’s Teachers tab shows 0 dancers and 0 badges for you, with a note explaining why. This is expected.
– Dancer/Guardian Accounts: Independent Entries
– From the left-hand menu, select Teachers. You can add up to 4 teachers.
– To add a teacher, enter: First name, Last name, School affiliation.
– Next, navigate to the EVENTS page, select your event, and open its TEACHERS tab.
IMPORTANT: Once your teachers have been saved on the TEACHERS PAGE, this does not register the teacher for a badge. You must select them on the event’s TEACHERS tab.
– Select the teacher you want to receive your badge and click Save. This registers them for a badge for the event.

No.

Parents/Guardians will need to visit the registration table at the event for additional assistance.

Yes, the general timeline is posted to the YAGP website – click here.

The detailed timeline will be released approximately one month prior to the competition.

The detailed timeline will be released on the YAGP website – click here.

The full schedule will be released approximately one week prior to the competition.

The full schedule will be released on the YAGP website – click here and a detailed email will be sent to the email address on the registration account.

All admission tickets will be available for purchase at the welcome table at the event.

The classical solo category of the competition will be livestreamed complimentary on our YouTube channel.

No.

The Hope Award is presented to the soloist in the Pre-Competitive age category that receives the highest score in both classical and contemporary categories.

The Youth Grand Prix Award is presented to the soloist in the Junior age category that receives the highest score in both classical and contemporary categories.

The Grand Prix Award is presented to the soloist in the Senior age category that receives the highest score in both classical and contemporary categories.

A classical solo must be performed.

Pre-Competitive dancers may pass with either a classical or contemporary solo.

A score 96 or above in the classical solo, or invitation at the judge’s discretion.

A score 96 or above in either a classical or contemporary solo, or invitation at the judge’s discretion.

Ensembles must receive a score of 96 or above, or invitation at the judge’s discretion.

A participant’s score should reflect the evaluation made by the judge for that performance.

If an administrative, technical, or other error requires a correction, that correction should be documented and authorized through an appropriate procedure.

YAGP is working to make the process for documenting and communicating any such corrections as clear and transparent as possible.

The integrity of competition results is fundamental to our organization.

Judging should be based on the participant’s performance and the established judging criteria — not on personal relationships, nationality, appearance, school affiliation, or other personal circumstances.

YAGP recognizes that professional relationships within the dance community can sometimes create a potential conflict of interest. This is why clear procedures for disclosure and, where appropriate, recusal are an important part of our transparency initiative.

A professional relationship with a participant, teacher, or school may create a potential conflict of interest.

YAGP is developing clearer procedures for:

identifying potential conflicts;

requiring appropriate disclosure;

determining when recusal is appropriate;

protecting the independence of the judging process.

Our goal is to ensure that participants and families can understand not only who is judging, but also how potential conflicts are handled.

No. YAGP does not require participants to lose weight in order to participate or succeed in the competition.

We recognize that discussions about weight and body image can be particularly sensitive for young dancers.

Professional development should focus on technique, strength, coordination, musicality, artistry, and health — not on achieving a particular body weight or a single “ideal” body type.

Any report of inappropriate comments about a participant’s body or weight should be taken seriously and can be submitted confidentially to YAGP.

Height and weight information is not collected as a criterion for judging a dancer’s artistic or technical performance.

This information is collected in connection with dancers who are being considered for scholarship opportunities and placement at professional ballet schools.

YAGP works with leading ballet schools and professional training institutions around the world. These institutions may have their own requirements and considerations when evaluating a dancer for admission to a professional training program. Such requirements can reflect the specific physical demands, training environment and partnering practices of professional ballet education.

In this context, YAGP may be asked to provide basic physical-development information to the schools concerned.

This is fundamentally different from using height or weight to determine a dancer’s competition score.

A dancer’s height or weight is not a measure of artistic talent, technical achievement or competitive worth.

At the same time, because these are young dancers, YAGP recognizes that physical-development information is sensitive and must be handled responsibly. Such information should never be interpreted as establishing an “ideal” body weight for ballet or as a recommendation that a young dancer should lose weight.

Our goal is to ensure that the transition from competition to professional training is handled with the same principle that guides our work with young dancers generally:

health, appropriate development and long-term wellbeing must come before performance.

NO.

YAGP welcomes dancers from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds.

Judging is based on the quality of the individual performance and the established judging criteria, not on race, ethnicity, or nationality.

At the same time, any specific report of discriminatory behavior should be taken seriously and reviewed individually, based on the available evidence and circumstances.

A competition score and a qualification or invitation to Finals are not necessarily the same thing.

Under YAGP’s published rules, a score below the usual Finals threshold does not necessarily prevent a dancer from being invited at the judges’ discretion, while a high contemporary score does not automatically guarantee a Finals invitation.

This means that participants should distinguish between:

score → placement → qualification/invitation.

YAGP believes that explaining this distinction clearly is essential to understanding competition results.

Yes.

YAGP’s published rules provide for judges’ discretion in certain circumstances. A dancer who does not reach the usual score threshold may still be invited based on the judges’ recommendation.

Conversely, achieving a particular score in contemporary does not automatically guarantee a Finals invitation.

These provisions are part of the published competition rules and are intended to give the judging panel appropriate professional discretion.

No.

Master classes are an educational component of the YAGP experience. Participation in a master class does not itself determine a dancer’s competition score.

YAGP considers these to be two distinct functions:

Education is education.
Judging is judging.

Personal or professional familiarity should not provide a participant with an advantage in judging.

Because the international dance community is relatively interconnected, YAGP recognizes the importance of having clear conflict-of-interest procedures rather than relying solely on individual judgment.

The goal is to ensure that professional relationships do not compromise the independence or perceived integrity of the evaluation process.

Yes.

YAGP has established a confidential channel through which participants, parents and teachers can raise concerns.

Reports may relate to:

judging procedures;

potential conflicts of interest;

discrimination;

inappropriate treatment of minors;

inappropriate comments about appearance or weight;

other serious concerns involving participant welfare.

Whenever possible, reports should include specific information that can help an objective review.

YAGP has developed an independent mechanism for reviewing serious complaints, separate from ordinary event administration.

This distinction is important.

A disagreement with a competition result is not necessarily the same as a report alleging that a rule, judging procedure, safeguarding principle, or conflict-of-interest policy was violated.

Different concerns require different forms of review.

Yes.

One of the key elements of the YAGP transparency initiative is independent professional review of judging-related processes.

The purpose is not simply to confirm that YAGP is right.

The purpose is to identify weaknesses, improve procedures, and make the system more reliable and transparent.

We believe that a strong organization should be willing to examine its own processes independently.

YAGP considers participant safety and wellbeing a fundamental responsibility.

This includes respectful communication and responsible treatment of sensitive issues such as appearance, body image, and weight.

YAGP has developed a Wellbeing & Safeguarding Charter and training for judges and staff addressing:

working with minors;

professional ethics;

cultural differences;

body image;

appropriate communication;

conflicts of interest.

Because social media arguments rarely provide a reliable way to establish facts.

Our preferred approach is:

Listen → Document → Review → Respond.

YAGP does not believe that people should be attacked or silenced simply because they express criticism.

At the same time, there is an important difference between a person’s experience, an allegation, an interpretation, and an independently established fact.

We believe serious claims deserve serious review rather than an immediate social-media argument.

Not simply through statements.

YAGP intends to increase public access to information including:

participant statistics;

countries and schools represented;

scholarships;

competition results;

Finals information;

judging panels;

aggregate feedback and survey results;

information about improvements made to policies and procedures.

Yes.

If someone believes they experienced discrimination, inappropriate treatment, a conflict of interest, or a procedural problem, they should be able to provide information confidentially.

Specific details are particularly helpful, including:

event and date;

category;

relevant circumstances;

names or roles of people involved, where appropriate;

documents or other supporting material.

Confidentiality can protect a person who comes forward, but it does not replace the need for careful review of the information provided.

Absolutely.

No large international organization should assume that its policies and procedures can never be improved.

Transparency does not mean claiming that mistakes never happen.

It means being prepared to:

listen → review → correct → explain.

We believe accountability is strengthened when an organization is willing to acknowledge areas where its processes can become better.

YAGP has developed a long-term Transparency & Trust Initiative focused on:

Transparent Judging
Conflict of Interest
Independent Review
Confidential Complaints
Wellbeing & Safeguarding
Public Statistics
Regular Reporting
Education & Training

These measures are intended to make the organization’s processes easier for participants, parents, and teachers to understand.

The goal is not to win an argument on social media.

The goal is to create a system in which participants and families do not have to guess how decisions are made.

YAGP welcomes legitimate questions and constructive criticism.

When concerns are raised, our responsibility is to listen, examine the facts, improve where necessary, and communicate clearly.

Transparency is not about saying that everything is perfect.
It is about making the process visible, accountable, and continually better.

Height and weight can be relevant information when working with young athletes whose bodies are still growing.

In medicine, these measurements are not interpreted simply as isolated numbers. A child’s growth and development are considered in relation to age, development over time and the individual athlete’s overall health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes that children involved in sports should prioritize healthy growth and development rather than achieving a particular weight for athletic purposes. Dance is specifically identified as an activity in which young athletes may feel pressure to maintain a very lean physique.

Collecting information about physical development must never mean establishing an “ideal” weight for a dancer.

No.

There is no single weight that is appropriate for every young dancer.

Children and adolescents grow at different rates and go through puberty at different times. Weight must therefore never be interpreted without considering age, growth and overall health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics specifically notes that weight is not an accurate stand-alone indicator of body fat, lean muscle mass or athletic performance.

YAGP does not believe that a dancer should attempt to reach a particular number on a scale in order to become a better dancer.

No.

YAGP does not require dancers to lose weight in order to participate, compete or succeed.

Young dancers should not be encouraged to restrict food, dehydrate themselves or undertake excessive exercise in order to change their weight.

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that unhealthy weight-control practices can impair performance and can have serious physical and psychological consequences. It recommends that young athletes prioritize healthy nutrition, growth and development over competitive advantage.

Dance is physically demanding. Young dancers may train for many hours while their bodies are simultaneously developing.

Insufficient energy intake relative to training demands can affect multiple systems of the body, including bone, reproductive, endocrine, immune and cardiovascular health.

Research involving adolescent ballet dancers has identified concerns including low energy intake, delayed puberty and reduced bone mineral content, all of which demonstrate why the health of a developing dancer cannot be reduced to appearance or weight alone.

For this reason, YAGP’s responsibility is not to promote a particular body type, but to support the development of healthy, strong and sustainable young dancers.

Absolutely.

There is no single body type that defines a healthy dancer.

A dancer’s physical development is influenced by genetics, age, puberty, nutrition, training, recovery and many other factors.

Modern sports medicine also recognizes that health problems related to inadequate energy availability cannot always be identified simply by looking at a dancer’s weight.

The IOC’s consensus on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) emphasizes that athlete health should be assessed comprehensively rather than through body weight alone.

Weight should not be a measure of artistic or technical merit.

Judging should evaluate the dancer’s performance according to the competition’s established criteria.

Height and weight are not substitutes for evaluating technique, musicality, artistry, coordination, physical preparation or performance quality.

A number on a scale is not a score.

This is an important question, and transparency matters.

YAGP should clearly identify:

what physical-development information is collected;

why it is collected;

who has access to it;

whether judges can see it;

whether it is ever used in judging;

how it is protected;

how long it is retained; and

what rights participants and parents have concerning their information.

Health-related information should only be accessible to people who genuinely need it for a defined purpose.

The IOC’s RED-S consensus specifically treats body-composition information as health data and emphasizes confidentiality, appropriate data protection and informed consent for body-composition assessments.

Physical safety can be relevant to many aspects of dance, including jumps, partnering, lifts and other demanding movements.

However, a dancer’s weight alone is not a sufficient measure of whether a particular movement or partnership is safe.

Safe partnering depends on many factors, including:

technique;

physical strength;

conditioning;

experience;

coordination;

the specific choreography;

the skill of both partners; and

appropriate supervision.

Safety should therefore be assessed through professional judgment and appropriate preparation — not by applying a universal weight limit to young dancers.

The appropriate response should be health support, not pressure to change appearance.

If there is a genuine concern about nutrition, growth, energy availability, injury risk or another health issue, the appropriate professionals are qualified medical and nutrition specialists.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that concerns about weight in young athletes be addressed with the child’s physician and that discussions focus on growing healthy bodies rather than achieving a specific weight.

A competition organization should not attempt to replace medical professionals.

RED-S refers to health and performance problems that can occur when an athlete’s energy intake is insufficient in relation to the energy required by training and normal physiological functions.

It can affect multiple aspects of health and performance.

Importantly, RED-S is not simply a “low-weight” condition.

The IOC recommends a comprehensive approach to assessment and emphasizes decisions based on the principle:

Health first — performance second.

This principle is particularly relevant when working with young dancers.

Feedback about a dancer should be constructive, professional and relevant to dance.

There is an important difference between discussing:

technique;

alignment;

strength;

coordination;

movement quality;

musicality;

artistry; and

physical preparation

and making comments that make a child feel that their body itself is the problem.

Young dancers should never be made to believe that their worth, talent or future depends on achieving a particular body shape.

A request or recommendation concerning weight should never be treated casually when the dancer is a minor.

Parents and dancers should be encouraged to seek advice from an appropriately qualified medical professional rather than acting on informal recommendations from teachers, judges or other non-medical personnel.

The AAP cautions that coaches may not have adequate nutritional expertise to counsel young athletes about weight loss and that conversations about weight can increase the risk of harmful weight-control practices.

Quite the opposite.

A healthy dancer needs appropriate strength, conditioning, nutrition, recovery, coordination and injury prevention.

The goal is not to remove physical standards from dance.

The goal is to ensure that physical preparation develops a dancer’s capacity, strength and longevity, rather than encouraging unhealthy attempts to make the body smaller.

Young dancers come from different countries, cultures, genetic backgrounds and stages of physical development.

There is no scientifically justified single body type that can define every healthy young dancer.

The role of a youth competition should therefore be to recognize excellence in dance while respecting normal human variation.

Diversity of bodies is compatible with excellence in dance.

Because collecting information and using information are two different things.

A responsible organization may have legitimate administrative or health-related reasons for collecting certain information.

But the responsibility that comes with collecting sensitive information is significant.

YAGP’s standard should therefore be:

Collect only what is necessary.
Explain why it is collected.
Limit access.
Protect the information.
Never use it as an indirect measure of talent.

We believe that a sustainable dance career requires a healthy body and a healthy relationship with food, training and one’s own body.

A young dancer should not have to choose between health and artistic ambition.

The objective should be to help dancers develop the physical and artistic capacity to dance at a high level without compromising their long-term wellbeing.

We encourage families to speak with qualified healthcare professionals who understand the needs of young athletes and dancers.

Parents should not feel that they need to solve these questions alone.

When appropriate, a multidisciplinary team may include a pediatrician or sports-medicine physician, registered dietitian/nutrition professional and other qualified specialists.

Our principle is straightforward:

A competition result lasts for a moment.
A young dancer’s health can affect an entire lifetime.

For this reason, the health and wellbeing of the dancer must always take priority over a medal, placement, invitation or any other competitive outcome.

Health first. Performance second. Always.

Our Commitment

YAGP is committed to continually improving how young dancers are supported, informed and protected.

That includes creating greater transparency around:

the information we collect;

why we collect it;

who can access it;

how judging is conducted;

how conflicts of interest are addressed;

how concerns can be reported; and

how the wellbeing of young dancers is protected.

Transparency is not about pretending that every system is perfect.

It is about being willing to explain the system, examine it critically and improve it when better practices become available.

For YAGP, the ultimate measure of success is not simply how well a dancer performs on stage.

It is whether young dancers can pursue excellence while remaining healthy, strong, respected and able to build a sustainable future in dance.