Holly Robinson and Angus Fraser have won the senior classical first prizes at Youth America Grand Prix’s Australian regional competition in Sydney, with Kayla McKinnon and Brent Helm taking the senior contemporary first prizes.
Held in September as part of YAGP’s 2027 season, the competition brought together 531 dancers from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Taiwan, according to organisers. Placements were awarded in classical, contemporary, pas de deux and ensemble categories.
YAGP also reported 649 scholarship offers as of its 15 September announcement, with further offers being received. This figure represents offers, rather than the number of individual dancers receiving scholarships. The release lists institutions including The Australian Ballet School, the John Cranko School, the Princess Grace Academy and San Francisco Ballet School among those offering opportunities, but does not detail the duration or financial coverage of individual offers.
“We are so happy to celebrate this year’s winners and so proud of every dancer who shared their talent and hard work with us,” said YAGP founder and artistic director Larissa Saveliev. “What makes this experience especially meaningful is what comes next: 649 scholarships have already been offered to dancers, opening doors to further training and new possibilities.”
The adjudication panel included Megan Connelly, artistic director and head of school of The Australian Ballet School; Matthew Dibble, répétiteur for Twyla Tharp Dance; Era Jouravlev, artistic director of the Ballet Trainee Program at Joffrey Ballet School; Kenta Kura, director of K Ballet Academy; Ashley McNeil, director of Alberta Ballet School; Robert Parker, artistic director of Elmhurst Ballet School; and Garry Trinder, director of the New Zealand School of Dance.
Joining them were Natalia Bashkatova, YAGP’s assistant artistic director and head of its US scholarship department; YAGP co-founder Gennadi Saveliev, ballet master of ABT Studio Company; and Larissa Saveliev.
The following results were supplied by YAGP.
Senior Classical – Women
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First: Holly Robinson, Dance North Academy, Australia.
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Equal second: Xirui Xu, Queensland Dance Centre; Sophie Simmonds, Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy.
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Third: Kasia Macdonald, Papilio Atelier, New Zealand.
Senior Classical – Men
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First: Angus Fraser, Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy.
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Second: Jiaze Yue, Tanya Pearson Academy.
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Third: Reuben Pitchforth, The Graduate College of Dance.
Senior Contemporary – Women
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First: Kayla McKinnon, The Academy Australia.
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Second: Abbie Crozier, Bergen Lavelle Classical Coaching.
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Third: Holly Robinson, Dance North Academy.
Senior Contemporary – Men
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First: Brent Helm, TJS Dance Academy.
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Second: Cristian Van Den Broek, Dance North Academy.
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Third: Jiaze Yue, Tanya Pearson Academy.
Junior Classical
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First: Cindy Xinyi Zhang, The Grand Ballet of Hong Kong.
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Equal second: Annie Li, Australia; Venus Sarabia, Hong Kong.
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Equal third: Finlay Hunter, New Zealand; Maci Smith, Claudia Dean Academy.
Junior Contemporary
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First: Shelby McAuliffe, The Perth School of Ballet.
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Second: Maci Smith, Claudia Dean Academy.
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Third: Beatrix Griffiths-Witt, Tanya Pearson Academy.
Pre-Competitive Classical
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First: Eliza Goodwin, Claudia Dean Academy.
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Second: Avianna Neilson, The Perth School of Ballet.
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Third: Yu Tian Lim, Pei School of Dance, Singapore.
Pre-Competitive Contemporary
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First: Avianna Neilson, The Perth School of Ballet.
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Second: Willow Campbell, Bergen Lavelle Classical Coaching.
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Third: Maisie Skye, Claudia Dean Academy.
Hope Award
Yu Tong Lim, Pei School of Dance, Singapore.
Senior Pas de Deux
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First: Sophie Simmonds and Angus Fraser, Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy, performing Coppélia.
Ensembles
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First: Dance North Academy, Hallelujah.
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Second: Pei School of Dance, Singapore, Envision.
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Third: Whitney Schofield Dance Academy, Shadows.
Congratulations to the dancers recognised across the categories, and to the teachers and schools supporting their training.