Dance is an old art form that is appreciated across the globe. It comes in an endless variety of styles – and people of all ages, levels, and backgrounds can participate.
The beauty and complexity of some routines are incredible to watch – just like the one in the video below. Each dance tradition has its own specialty, and this ballerina flower performance is a reminder of ballet’s gentleness and grace!
Performed at the YAGP, this is no beginner school performance.
The YAGP (Youth America Grand Prix) is the world’s largest network of dance! Through the years, they have established themselves in the scene and grown in popularity and prowess. Each year, the YAGP holds a competition in the heart of New York City.
With 1,200 up-and-coming dancers at the competition, this is no joke!
Despite the average age of the dancers being younger than 15, you wouldn’t know it unless someone told you! The skill and discipline that these kids display is otherworldly.
One performance has garnered over 5 million views on YouTube – and for good reason!
The ensemble was named “Jasmine,” getting its name from the flower’s prolific reference during the performance. As we’ll see, a strong, graceful flower is exactly what these dancers represent as they perform.
Hustling out onto the stage, the ballerinas get into position as the music begins.
With hearts pounding, the group of girls get ready to perform! They all gather around and form a square in the middle of the stage. Suddenly, they whip out hand fans and hold them above their heads, giving a distinctly Oriental flair to the display.
With snaps and flourishes, the dancers open and close their fans.
In quick succession, the dancers use their fans to create a flower pattern above them! The beautiful image is incredible; the wild part is that they aren’t even close to being done!
Finally rising, the group spreads out and pirouettes around the stage.
As the dance goes on, the students occasionally break off into groups and reunite according to the song’s timings. Throughout the performance, make sure you keep an eye out for the flower pattern you saw in the beginning! It’s a theme that the girls use throughout the entire thing.
Nearing the end, the girls line up for a few more beautiful displays.
While hip-hop is all about fast movements and absurd postures, ballet is about grace and form. These dancers do an amazing job of seemingly floating across the stage to get into positions. As they near the end of the routine, they line up and create a “wave” with their fans, all in special positions. Waving the fans, one’s mind is thrown to an ocean, only this time, it’s pink!
Finally, the end of the song arrives.
The song’s end draws near as the dancers go back to their original positions that they started in. To end the song, they, of course, display a few more examples of fan-made flowers, briefly creating them above the heads of the others.
Leaving the stage, the black emptiness left is a reminder of the color that was once there.
The girls’ dance is so stunning and beautifully performed, it earned them the first-place prize in regional. On top of that, a video of their performance currently has over 44K “thumbs-ups” on YouTube, with likely many more to come.
Ready to be dazzled? You can check out these amazing dancers below!
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