Young artists are taking over Miami this week, as the city plays host to National YoungArts Week, a congregation of the country's most promising teen artists. Per CBS News Miami, these aspirants, aged 15 to 18, are ready to strut their stuff across ten disciplines, including jazz, ballet, and visual arts, having been drawn from a pool of over 7,000 applicants to stand as the cream of the crop.
YoungArts President Clive Cang, although no longer orchestrating tunes at The Lincoln Center, expressed his enthusiasm about the event's reach, stating, "These wonderful young artists, who come from 26 states, all participated in a national competition and have been selected out of over 7,000 applications." The former Lincoln Center stalwart is looking not just to showcase these talents but also to help them make the next leap in their burgeoning careers critically. Performances are set to occur at Miami's New World Center, with live streaming available for those who can't attend in person.
Several program alumni, including household names like Viola Davis and Timothy Chalamet, have tasted the limelight that YoungArts helps to magnify. Meanwhile, local Miami talents aren't holding back their excitement either. Miami City Ballet hosted rehearsals where young Joshua Armstrong shared with CBS News Miami, "There's so many different an amazing unique people here and all of the arts, so if you're not familiar with one you can check out a different one end. It's beautiful all around." His peer, Samuel Fine, expressed his thrill to dance on his home turf, dreaming of Broadway, saying, "It is amazing to know that my mom can come and watch what I do."
According to The Miami Herald, YoungArts is presenting the work of 153 top winners, including 49 from South Florida. Lauren Slone, the senior director at YoungArts, reiterated the importance of encouraging these young artists: "The winners in particular have an opportunity to be recognized and encouraged as artists, which is no small thing." Among them, 17-year-old Brandon Goldberg, shared how he started to play piano keys at just 3 years old – his journey led him to become one of YoungArts' distinguished awardees. Katrine Eliev, another talented awardee, utilizes unconventional materials such as sugar in her visual arts to symbolize the change in family dynamics post the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a bold and reflective choice in artistic expression.
