Hundreds of Illinois' young ballet dancers audition for scholarship competition

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Hundreds of Illinois' most talented ballet students are taking the stage at the Youth America Grand Prix ballet scholarship auditions.

YAGP is the largest global network of dance. The next big ballet stars are scouted during the competition, which runs Thursday, Jan. 19, to Sunday, Jan. 22.

Participants go on to dance professionally for American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New York City Ballet, and many others.

YAGP fulfills its mission of dance education through scholarship auditions, master classes, alumni services, performances and education. For the past 24 years, over $4.5 million has been awarded in scholarships to the world's leading dance schools, with up to $350,000 now awarded annually.

Since YAGP's founding in 1999, over 200,000 young dancers - ages 9 to 19 - of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds have participated in YAGP's international workshops, audition classes, and dance awareness events.

Today, more than 12,000 young dancers audition annually. More than 450 Youth America Grand Prix alumni are now dancing with 80 professional companies around the world.