@STRAZ CENTER
*YAGP Alumni Program is subject to change
29 CENTERBILL • JANUARY 2018
SATURDAY, JAN 13, 8:00PM
FERGUSON HALL
Straz Center for the Performing Arts
in association with
Youth America Grand Prix
presents
Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow
Featuring:
Youth America Grand Prix 2018 Tampa Semi-Final Participants
AND
Adiarys Almeida (Principal Guest Artist)
Ashley Bouder (New York City Ballet)
Melissa Chapski* (Dutch National Ballet)
Karel Cruz (Paci c Northwest Ballet)
Taras Domitro (Principal Guest Artist)
Joseph Gatti* (Principal Guest Artist)
Carla Korbes (Principal Guest Artist)
Svetlana Lunkina (The National Ballet of Canada)
Evan McKie (The National Ballet of Canada )
Chase O’Connell (Ballet West)
Giovanni Princic* (Dutch National Ballet)
Beckanne Sisk* (Ballet West)
Daniel Ulbricht (New York City Ballet)
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
ADIARYS ALMEIDA (Principal Guest Artist)
trained at the Alfonso Perez Isaac School in
Matanzas, Cuba and the National Ballet School
in Havana, Cuba. She has performed with the
National Ballet of Cuba, Cincinnati Ballet,
Corella Ballet and Boston Ballet, and received
medals at the International Ballet Competition
of Havana, Cuba. Almeida currently appears
as Principal Guest Artist at Gala performances
worldwide, and has recently launched a line of
dancewear.
ASHLEY BOUDER (Principal Dancer, New
York City Ballet) began her ballet training at
the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet with
Marcia Dale Weary. After attending the 1999
Summer Program at the School of American
Ballet (SAB), the of cial school of New York
City Ballet, she was invited by SAB to continue
training full-time. Bouder joined New York City
Ballet in June 2000 as an apprentice, and by
2005 was promoted to principal. Bouder is the
founder of the Ashley Bouder Project – an arts
collaborative, focused on furthering women in
leadership roles in the performing arts world.
MELISSA CHAPSKI* (Dutch National Ballet)
was born in Massachusetts and trained with
Ellison Ballet in New York City. She participated
in YAGP for several years, winning a gold medal
at the YAGP Semi-Finals and top 12 at the 2015
Finals. Thereafter, Chapski accepted an offer to
join Dutch National Ballet Junior Company in
2015, and was promoted to elevé in 2017.
KAREL CRUZ (Principal Dancer, Paci c
Northwest Ballet) is from Holguin, Cuba, and
received his training at Cuba’s Escuela Nacional
de Artes. He joined Ballet Nacional de Cuba
in 1996 and left in 1998 to join Ballet Clasico
de Camara in Venezuela. From 1999 to 2000,
he danced with Teatro Teresa Carreno, also in
Venezuela. After coming to the United States,
Cruz spent a year at the Rock School for Dance
Education, before joining Paci c Northwest
Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2002.
He was promoted to soloist in 2007 and principal
in 2009.
TARAS DOMITRO (Principal Guest Artist)
is Cuban-born. He trained at Alejo Carpentier