YES Academy

The Youth Excellence on Stage (YES) Academy Proram serves as American Voices’ flagship cultural engagement program as a means to further accessibility and understanding of American performing arts and culture.

Break Dancing

YES Academy – Erbil 2017

Youth Excellence on Stage

The YES Academy program was launched in 2007 to connect and inspire youth in areas of the world that lack opportunities for cultural exchange and dialogue with the United States. The YES Academy program provides high-quality professional training and performances in some of America’s great cultural genres, including Broadway, Jazz, Hip Hop & Breakdance and Classical Orchestra to work to inspire and motivate youth artistically and train future teachers and leaders.

Through the YES Academy program, we are able to offer creative outlets of empowerment to the lives of so many vulnerable youth from countries in transition. At its core, the YES Academy model is based on multicultural artistic collaboration. The YES Academy embraces people-to-people engagement as it brings American teachers and volunteers who are proficient in American genres of music, dance and theater to conduct performance and professional training in countries throughout the Middle East and Asia.

Moreover, YES Academies have provided teacher training and institutional capacity building for both partners and participants. The effects of this cross-cultural engagement are mutual—the YES Academy model has proven to be life-changing for both participants and faculty alike.

Beyond providing artistic skills, training and opportunities for youth in the Middle East and Asia, YES Academies also affects perceptions of American culture and American citizenry by creating a space in which cultures are shared.

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Nations

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Young Artists

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Founded and growing

YES Academy Instructors

Alfredo Austin

Alfredo Austin

YES Academies: Nigeria, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Virtual

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Christopher Diaz

Christopher Diaz

YES Academies: Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Madagascar, Uganda, Moldova, Saudi Arabia, Singapore

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DJ Invisible

DJ Invisible

YES Academies: Madagascar, Thailand, Pakistan, Virtual

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Dr. Peter Thoresen

Dr. Peter Thoresen

YES Academies: Indonesia

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Eric Parker

Eric Parker

YES Academies: Kurdistan

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Farbeon
Jessica Lynn

Jessica Lynn

YES Academies: Indonesia

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Joel Rivera

Joel Rivera

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Kate Bass

Kate Bass

YES Academies: Eritrea, Lebanon, Uganda, Nigeria, Egypt, Virtual

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Miz Korona

Miz Korona

YES Academies: Kenya, Uganda

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Prisca

Prisca

YES Academies: Singapore

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Richie ‘Robot’ Steighner

Richie ‘Robot’ Steighner

YES Academies: Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia, Singapore, Kenya, India

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Teach

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Collaborate

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Perform

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Connect