Eurovision Young Dancers 2015


The Eurovision Young Dancers 2015 was the fourteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers competition. The final was held in the New Theatre in Plzeň, Czech Republic on 19 June 2015. This was the first time that the Czech national broadcaster, Česká televize, had organised a Eurovision event. The event is aimed at young dancers aged between 16 and 21, competing in modern dances, be it solo or in couples, as long as they were not professionally engaged. Ten countries participated in the 2015 contest; with and making their début; returning after an eighteen-year break; and,, and withdrawing.
Viktoria Nowak of won the contest, with Staša Tušar of placing second.

Location

On 24 April 2014, the Czech city of Plzeň, was selected as the host city for the 2015 edition of the biennial Eurovision Young Dancers. The reasons behind this decision was to coincide the Young Dancers event alongside the European Capital of Culture, of which the city were organisers of a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension.
In November 2014, it was announced that the host broadcaster for the Czech Republic, Česká televize, had selected the New Theatre as the venue for the contest. The building first opened on 1 September 2014, showcasing a performance of Bedřich Smetana's The Bartered Bride, and has "state of the art" technology for a theatre of its kind. The 2015 Eurovision Young Dancers took place on 19 June 2015.

Format

The format consisted of dancers who were non-professional and between the ages of 16–21, competing in a performance of dance routines of their choice, which they had prepared in advance of the competition. All of the acts then took part in a choreographed group dance during 'Young Dancers Week'.

Presenters

On 10 March 2015, host broadcaster ČT, announced that Libor Bouček had been chosen to host the 2015 edition. Bouček, who is a well-known television presenter, speaks fluent Czech and English, and has experience with hosting live events, with his most recent being the 2014 European Athletics Championships. Česká televize, stated that his repertoire is why they decided to choose him to host the contest. Cameron McMillan, head choreographer and 2013 jury panel member, presented the backstage segments during the show.

Jury panel

of a professional aspect and representing the elements of ballet, contemporary, and modern dancing styles, score each of the competing individual and group dance routines. Once all the jury votes had been counted, the two participants which received the highest total of points progress to a final round. The final round consisted of a 90-second 'dual', were each of the finalists performed a 45-second random dance-off routine. The overall winner upon completion of the final dances was chosen by the professional jury members. The jury members were as follows:
The contest was limited to a maximum of fourteen countries, however, only ten countries had confirmed their participation. Ten countries have confirmed their participation in the 2015 contest; with and making their début; returned after last competing at the Eurovision Young Dancers 1997; and,, and withdrawing.
DrawCountryParticipantDanceChoreographerResult
01Staša Tušar"Gardenfound"Tanja PavličAdvanced
02Trine Lise Moe"Flux"Masja AbrahamsenOut
03Valéria Stašková"La Esmeralda"Marius Petipa, Karin AlaverdjanOut
04Anthea Zammit"Tiċrita - Tear Apart"Dorian MalliaOut
05Thijs Hogenboom"Variation of the Male Flame"Thom StuartOut
06Viktoria Nowak"Piece in Old Style"Jacek PrzybyłowiczAdvanced
07Klaudio Begaj"Scream of Life"Arjan SukniqiOut
08Agnes Klapp"L’après midi"Mia StaghOut
09Thomas Rohe"Senses"Thomas RoheOut
10Helena Nováčková"Soldier On My Own"Jana Kovačević SpiessováOut

Final duel

Broadcasting

The following countries, listed in order of broadcasting dates, have confirmed that they will broadcast the contest.
Date of broadcastCountryStation
19 June 2015AlbaniaTVSH
19 June 2015AlbaniaTVSH2
19 June 2015AlbaniaRTSH HD
19 June 2015AlbaniaRTSH Muzikë
19 June 2015AlbaniaRTSH Art
19 June 2015Czech RepublicČT2
19 June 2015NorwayNRK1
19 June 2015PolandTVP Kultura
19 June 2015 Rest of the world
19 June 2015SlovakiaRTVS2
19 June 2015MaltaTVM1
20 June 2015SwedenSVT2
28 June 2015NetherlandsNPO 2
28 June 2015SloveniaRTVSLO2
12 July 2015GermanyWDR Fernsehen

Other countries

For a country to be eligible for potential participation in the Eurovision Young Dancers, it must be member of the European Broadcasting Union. The EBU issued an invitation of participation for the 2015 Contest to all 56 active members. Ten countries had confirmed their participation, whilst the following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below.

Members