Three students at the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School (SCBS) won top honors at the recent Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) semi-finals competition in Atlanta.
Sean Miller and Natalia Chersia, previous top winners at YAGP competitions, continued their winning ways with First Place finishes in their categories. Ariel Serrano, co-founder and Artistic Director of SCBS, was once again named Outstanding Teacher.
The SCBS award winners:
FIRST PLACE, Classical Dance Category Ladies Senior Division: Natalia Chersia
FIRST PLACE, Classical Dance Category Men’s Senior Division: Sean Miller
SECOND PLACE. Classical Dance Category Men’s Senior Division: Simon Hagmann
FIRST PLACE, Contemporary Dance Division: Sean Miller
FIRST PLACE, Ensemble: Natalia Chersia and Sean Miller
OUTSTANDING TEACHER: Ariel Serrano, Artistic Director SCBS
“Our students are so deserving of these honors, particularly in these challenging times when their dreams of moving on to professional companies have been temporarily put on hold,“ said Mr. Serrano.
Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) is the world’s largest global network of dance competitions. Winners of the Atlanta semi-final, along with winners of semi-finals in other cities throughout the world, compete in the finals in New York City. The 2020 finals were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. A date for the 2021 finals has not been announced.
Natalia Chersia & Sean Miller Award Winning Pas de Deux from Sleeping Beauty
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About The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School
SCBS was founded in 2011 by the Cuban-born husband and wife team of Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernandez. They trained at the elite Escuela Nacional de Ballet de Cuba and performed internationally. In 1993, they moved to Sarasota to join the Sarasota Ballet, where they danced as principals. Co-Artistic Directors of SCBS, they offer classes at all levels for students from age three to adults, but the heart of the School’s program is a rigorous training course to prepare talented, serious young dancers for professional careers. Students of SCBS have won numerous awards in international ballet competitions, and have gone on to perform with companies such as the Royal Ballet (UK), Birmingham Ballet (UK) Dance Theater of Harlem, State Street Ballet, Ballet San Antonio, Milwaukee Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet West, Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.