The Eurovision Young Dancers 1999 was the eighth edition of the

Eurovision Young Dancers The Eurovision Young Dancers (), often shortened to EYD, or Young Dancers, was a biennial dance competition, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and is broadcast on television throughout Europe. Thirty-seven countries have taken pa ...

, held at the

Opéra de Lyon This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

, in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on 10 July 1999. Organised by the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(EBU) and host broadcaster

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

, dancers from ten countries participated in the televised final. A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition. made their début while host country , , and returned. and decided not to participate. Both single dancers and couples younger than 20 could enter the competition, male or female. Single dancers had to perform 2 pieces of maximum 10 minutes in total, while couples could choose to perform 1 or 2 dances, but in total no longer than 10 minutes as well. The semi-final that took place in the same venue 6 days before the final (4 July 1999). The non-qualified countries were , , , , Switzerland and United Kingdom.

Katja Wünsche Katja is a feminine given name. In Germany, the Netherlands, Flanders, and Scandinavia, it is a pet form of Katherine. Katja may refer to: Music *Katja Andy (1906–2013), German-American pianist * Katja Ebstein (born 1945), German singer *Katj ...

and Stegli Yohan of Germany won the contest, with Sweden and Spain placing second and joint third respectively.

Location

, in

, was the host venue for the 1999 edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers. The Opéra Nouvel (''Nouvel Opera House'') in

, is the home of the

Opéra National de Lyon The Opéra National de Lyon, marketed as Opéra de Lyon during the last decade, is an opera company in Lyon, based and performing mostly at the Opéra Nouvel, an 1831 theater that was modernized and architecturally transformed in 1993. The inaugu ...

. The original

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

was re-designed by the distinguished French architect,

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

between 1985 and 1993 in association with the agency of scenography

dUCKS scéno Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

and the acoustician Peutz. Serge Dorny was appointed general director in 2003.

Format

The format consists of dancers who are non-

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

and between the ages of 16–21, competing in a performance of dance routines of their choice, which they have prepared in advance of the competition. All of the acts then take part in a choreographed group dance during 'Young Dancers Week'. Jury members of a professional aspect and representing the elements of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

, and

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

dancing styles, score each of the competing individual and group dance routines. The overall winner upon completion of the final dances is chosen by the professional jury members. The interval act was a performance by the

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...

group "Kä-fig".

Results

Preliminary round

A total of sixteen countries took part in the preliminary round of the 1999 contest, of which ten qualified to the televised grand final. The following countries failed to qualify.

Final

Awards were given to the top three countries. The table below highlights these using ''gold, silver, and bronze''. The placing results of the remaining participants is unknown and never made public by the European Broadcasting Union.

Jury members

The jury members consisted of the following: * –

Boris Eifman Boris Eifman (Борис Яковлевич Эйфман) (born 22 July 1946, in Rubtsovsk) is a Russian choreographer and artistic director. He has done more than fifty ballet productions. Eifman was born in Siberia, where his engineer father h ...

(Head of Jury) * – Maguy Marin * –

Meryl Tankard Meryl Tankard is an Australian dancer and choreographer who has a wide national and international reputation. Early life and education Tankard's father served in the Royal Australian Air Force and the family moved to various bases during her ea ...

* / –

Jean-Christophe Maillot Jean-Christophe Maillot (born 1960) is a French dancer and choreographer born in Tours. Early life and education He studied at the dance conservatory in Tours before enrolling at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, ...

* –

Tero Saarinen Tero Kalevi Saarinen (born September 7, 1964, in Pori, Finland”Saarinen, Tero Kalevi”, ''Kuka kukin on: Henkilötietoja nykypolven suomalaisista 2011'', p. 869. Helsinki: Otava, 2011. . ) is a Finnish dance artist and choreographer, and Artis ...

* – Vicente Sáez * – Victoria Maragopoulou

Broadcasting

A total of 20 countries broadcast the 1999 event, including , , and . Agnes Letestu, the 1989 Eurovision Young Dancers winner, commented on this year's contest for the host broadcaster

. In the United Kingdom, highlights of the contest was broadcast as part of

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

series ''Summer Dance''.

References

External links

* {{Eurovision Young Dancers Eurovision Young Dancers by year 1999 in France July 1999 events in Europe Events in Lyon