BBT dancer Jolie Lavaux places third at YAGP Finals in NYC!

We are thrilled to share that Boca Ballet Theatre dancer Jolie Lavaux placed third in the Junior Age Division at the 2024 Youth American Grand Prix Finals at Lincoln Center in New York City! YAGP is the world’s largest international student ballet competition. It conducts regional auditions around the world with the final round of the competition held every April.

After placing first in the Classical Dance Category of the Junior Age Division in Boca Raton, Jolie was selected to advance to the Finals, where she performed Three Shades from La Bayadère under the mentorship of BBT faculty member Daniela Nascimento and a contemporary work by BBT alumna and instructor Clarissa Castañeda. Over the course of the competition, 120 finalists—out of 2,000 dancers—were selected to participate in Final Round.

The winners were announced at YAGP’s awards ceremony, along with many other dancers who received summer intensive scholarships and invitations to pre-professional training programs. We are proud to share that Jolie was awarded both full-year and short-term admissions to a number of schools, including The Royal Ballet School (UK), European School of Ballet (Netherlands), The John Cranko Schule (Germany), and Mosa Ballet School (Belgium).

We hope you will join us in congratulating Jolie on this exceptional, life-changing accomplishment!