About YBC Ballet Concours

The YBC Ballet Concours is a ballet competition organized in major cities in Japan since 2018.
Judging will be conducted by an excellent jury of professional dancers and instructors with a wealth of experience both in Japan and around the world.
In addition, our jury members ensures that there is no bias toward the (former) affiliations or any particular ballet company, thus ensuring that the participants are judged fairly. As a result, today our concours has grown to approximately 2,500 participants per year, and in many cases, early deadlines have been reached due to the large number of applications.
We welcome participation from overseas, and have accepted many participants from ballet schools in various countries such as the United States, China, South Korea, and Singapore.

Upcoming Schedule of YBC Ballet Concours

  • The 21st YBC Yokohama Ballet Concours : Mar 8,2025
  • The 6th YBC Ballet Concours Nagoya : Mar 29,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 6th YBC Ballet Concours Fukuoka : Mar 29,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 12th YBC Ballet Concours Tokyo : Mar 31,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • YBC Ballet Concours Grand Prix : Apr 20,2025 *2
  • The 3rd YBC Ballet Concours Hiroshima : Jul 21,2025
  • The 1st YBC Ballet Concours Kamakura : Jul 23,2025
  • The 13th YBC Ballet Concours Tokyo : Jul 25,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 22nd YBC Yokohama Ballet Concours : Jul 28,2025
  • The 1st YBC Ballet Concours Niigata : Aug 4,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 7th YBC Ballet Concours Fukuoka : Aug 5,2025
  • The 7th YBC Ballet Concours Nagoya : Aug 7,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 1st YBC Ballet Concours Hokkaido : Aug 9,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 5th YBC Ballet Concours Chiba : Aug 19,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 14th YBC Ballet Concours Tokyo : Sep 20,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 1st YBC Ballet Concours Hyogo : Sep 23,2025 ※With Contemporary Category
  • The 23rd YBC Yokohama Ballet Concours : Sep 27,2025 ※With Contemporary Category

Our exclusive features

  • Judging by experienced jury
  • Divisions(Categories) for various levels（Pre-Concour (non competitive division) is open to ages 5 and up.）
  • Invitations to YBC Competition participants and their instructors to a Gala Performance (held in the summer)*1.
  • Those who achieve excellent results in the Grand Prix Concour (held every April) *2 will win the opportunity to perform in the Gala Performance (held every summer)*1
  • For the Classical Variation Pre-Concours Choreography Categorie (choreography provided by YBC Ballet Concours), submission of music is not required (Using YBC official music file).

Join the YBC Ballet Concours : Welcoming International Participants

  • With English support, even non-Japanese-speaking groups can participate.
  • The YBC Ballet Concours office can be contacted in English from the consideration stage.
  • Dressing rooms may be exclusively available for groups with prior consultation. However, please note that this may not be possible depending on the venue’s capacity.
  • On the competition day, English-speaking staff will be available to assist, ensuring a smooth and worry-free experience.
  • We can accommodate the number of accompanying persons flexibly, so please consult with the office.

Divisions and Categories

Categories of Pre-Concours Divisions Age Regulations
Pre-Concours Choreography A
Pre-Concours Choreography B		 Age 5-9
Age 10-12		 Soft ballet shoes ※Submission of music is not required
Soft ballet shoes ※Submission of music is not required
Pre-Concours Early grades
Pre-Concours B1
Pre-Concours B2		 Age 7-9
Age 10-12
Age 13-15		 Soft ballet shoes required
Soft ballet shoes required
Soft ballet shoes required
Pre-Concours A1
Pre-Concours A2		 Age 10-12
Age 13-15		 Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Categories of Concours Divisions Age Regulations
Concours Grade 4
Concours Grade 5
Concours Grade 6
Concours JH1
Concours JH2
Concours JH3		 Age 10
Age 11
Age 12
Age 13
Age 14
Age 15		 Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Pointe shoes required
Teen (Hight School) Age 16-18 Pointe shoes required
Senior Age 19-22 Pointe shoes required
Adult Over 23 years old Participants may enter with soft ballet shoes or pointe shoes.
Contemporary (Junior/Senior) Age 10-15 (Junior)
Age 16-29 (Senior)		 Held irregularly
*Judging will be divided into junior and senior

Rules and Regulations

Awards

  • Pre-Concours Divisions: Non competitive. Of the top 70%, the highest 10% will recieve the Jury Special Excellence Award, the next 20% will recieve the Special Excellence Award, 40% will be awarded the Excellence Award, and the remaining 30% will beawarded the Encouragement Award.
  • In each category of the Concours, 1st through 8th places will be announced on the day of the competition.

About music

  • Participants from overseas may submit their oun music in the form an MP3 files in advance.
  • Participants in the choreography division will receive an MP3 files of the classical variations.

Variation Time

-Pre-Concours categories : within 2min. 30 sec.
-Concours categories : within 3 min. 10 sec.
-Adult categories : within 3 min.
-Contemporary categories : within 3 min.

Participation Fee

-Pre-Concours categories : 25,000 JPY
-Concours and Adult categories : 25,000 JPY
-Contemporary : 28,000 JPY
-Participation for 2 divisions : 40,000 JPY
-Participation fees can only be paid by Paypal or international money transfer.

By proceeding to the application form, we will assume that you have confirmed the above information.

Click here to apply

YBC Grand Prix (*2)

The YBC Grand Prix is a competition that grants participation rights only to participants who meet the following criteria in the YBC Ballet Concours held from April of the previous year to March of the year of the competition.

  • Classical Division: Participants who placed from 1st to 5th and those who scored above a certain standard beyond 6th place in any category of the YBC Ballet Concours held during the specified period.
  • Contemporary Division: Participants who placed from 1st to 3rd and those who scored above a certain standard beyond 4th place in the Contemporary Category of the YBC Ballet Concours held during the specified period.

Participants who place from 1st to 12th in each category will be awarded, and those who achieve outstanding results among them will receive the following opportunities to perform or scholarships.

  • 1st and 2nd place winners in each Category of Concours Divisions will have the opportunity to perform solo at the Yokohama Ballet Festiva
  • 1 or 2 participants from each Category of Contemporary Divisions, selected through jury deliberation, will perform at the Yokohama Ballet Festival.
  • 2 to 5 members under 20 years old will be selected to perform at the Yokohama Ballet Festival as part of “Jeune Ballet Yokohama”.
  • Up to 5 participants per performance will have the right to participate in exhibition performances at ballet concerts held across Japan during the summer.
  • Full scholarship for 1 participant and half scholarships for 2 participants for the workshop “Tokyo International Ballet Intensive” held in the summer. https://www.soyplanning.com/tokyoibi2024/


YBC Ballet Concours is organized by Soyplanning Corporation, which operates ballet-related events and media businesses with the motto “Bringing art closer to everyday life.” In addition to the concours business, we also produce various ballet and dance performances under the SHIVER brand, providing opportunities for participants of the YBC Ballet Concours to perform and enjoy the stage.

SOYPLANNING CORPORATION (English Corporate Site)

Upcoming Schedule

  • April 20,2025 : YBC Ballet Concours Grand Prix 2025 at Ota Kumin Plaza (Tokyo) (*2)
  • August 02-03,2025 : YOKOHAMA Ballet Festival 2025 at Kamakura Performing Arts Center(Kanagawa Pref.) (*1)
  • July 26-27,2025 : SHIVER Premium 2025 at THE HALL YOKOHAMA (Kanagawa Pref.)
  • August 06,2025 : SHIVER Ballet Concert in FUKUOKA at Fukuoka Civic Hall (Fukuoka Pref. )
  • August 08,2025 : SHIVER Ballet Concert in NAGOYA at Nagoya Shimin Hall / Village Hall (Aichi Pref.)

For more information, please see the link below

–YBC Ballet Concours Grand Prix 2025
–YOKOHAMA Ballet Festival 2025
–SHIVER

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