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.
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) *2will 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).
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.
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