Hundreds of young dancers in white tutus and with tightly coiffed hair gathered in New York’s Plaza Hotel to break the world record for dancing on pointe in one place.
The spectacle was organised by Youth America Grand Prix, a ballet scholarship programme that is celebrating its 25th anniversary with three nights of performances at the Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts.
The dancers included students aged nine to 19 who are competing for scholarships as well as professional dancers who are alums of the programme.
Tchaikovsky music played as the ballerinas stood on tiptoes and switched their weight rapidly from one foot to the other – a step called bourree – for a full minute.
Tina Shi, an adjudicator for Guinness World Records, announced the results, saying “353, that is a new Guinness World Record! Congratulations!”
The New York-based Youth America Grand Prix has operated the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition since 1999.
The previous record for ballerinas on pointe en masse was 306.
