This week, Josephine was in Florida at YAGP Finals, and fit a dancer from Japan named Asuka Hara.
This adorable and beautiful dancer is 11 years old. She is the 2022 recipient of YAGP's Hope Award, which is presented to the dancer for best overall performance in the Pre-Competitive category (9-11 years old).
Asuka competed and performed on flat, in a variation from Graduation Ball. Although Asuka does have pointe shoes, she has not performed or competed en pointe yet. YAGP's guidelines do not allow 10 year olds to compete en pointe, and 11 year olds are strongly discouraged.
However, during the fitting, it is immensely clear that Asuka is strong and technically capable enough for pointe. We are excited to see where her ballet career takes her and can't wait to see her perform/compete en pointe!