Houston Ballet Hosts Youth America Grand Prix Finals and Gala
Company:
Youth America Grand Prix
Houston Ballet will host the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition, for their 2025/26 Season Finals, May 10-18, 2026, at the Wortham Theater Center. Competitors at the Houston Finals represent the final 700 soloists selected from more than 12,000 talented young dancers who auditioned at YAGP semi-finals held this year throughout the United States and around the world. The Finals week in Houston will culminate in YAGP’s 2026 Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala on Sunday, May 17, featuring international ballet stars from around the world.
Tickets for the YAGP Junior and Senior Finals and closing Gala are on sale now at https://performingartshouston.org/
Junior and Senior Finals – Saturday, May 16
Following preliminary competitions (classical first round, contemporary, pas de deux, and ensembles) held May 11-15, the Junior and Senior Final Rounds will be held on Saturday, May 16, at 10:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. respectively, at the Wortham’s Brown Theater. Dancers in the Junior Age Division (ages 12-14) and the Senior Age Division (ages 15-20) will perform their classical solos before a respected jury panel made up of acclaimed directors and leaders in the field.
Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala – Sunday, May 17
The Youth America Grand Prix Finals Week in Houston will culminate on Sunday, May 17 with the 2026 Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala at 7:00P.M. at the Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theatre. International stars of ballet are scheduled to perform including Constantine Allen of Dutch National Ballet, Reece Clark of The Royal Ballet, Tyler Donatelli and Angelo Greco of Houston Ballet, Sasha De Sola and Francesco Gabrielle Frola of San Francisco Ballet, and Chloe Misseldine of American Ballet Theatre. Donatelli and Greco, both YAGP alumni, will perform the third movement of Stanton Welch’s Vi et Animo, set to music by Tchaikovsky.
For more information and to purchase tickets, starting at $51.75, please visit: https://performingartshouston.org/
Photo: Tyler Donatelli by Alana Campbell
