By Ellen Gray, Young Arts Miami

On Sunday, February 26, YoungArts winners from the South Florida region will perform at the New World Center in YoungArts Miami. This interdisciplinary performance and awards ceremony features the 2012 YoungArts winners from the New World School of the Arts, Design and Architecture Senior High, John A. Ferguson Senior High School, Ronald Reagan Doral Senior High School, and other South Florida schools. “We are pleased to be able to expand the reach of the YoungArts experience through our YoungArts Regional Program, and proud to invite winners from South Florida to work alongside masters and fellow students from the South Florida community at YoungArts Miami,” said Paul T. Lehr, NFAA’s Executive Director

YoungArts, the core program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA), is hosting these young artists from the South Florida region for YoungArts Miami from February 22-26, 2012. In addition to performances and exhibitions, these 57 young artists will enjoy the rare opportunity to take master classes and interdisciplinary workshops from world-renowned artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Edward Villella, Maria Martinez-Cañas, Daniel Arsham, Roberto Juarez, and other South Florida masters in a variety of disciplines.   The week culmiates in the performance at the New World Center that is free and open to the public:

Sunday, February 26, 5:30 p.m., YoungArts Miami Performance, New World Center, 500 17^th  Street, Miami Beach. To reserve tickets, visit the box office, or www.newworldcenter.com or call 305-673-3331 (service fee applies).

YoungArts Miami is made possible through a generous challenge grant by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge, as well as the Miami Council, Wells Fargo, and with the support of the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and by The Children’s Trust. The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

Notable YoungArts alumni from South Florida include visual artists Daniel Arsham, Fabiola Arias, Hernan Bas, and Naomi Fisher; actors Raúl Esparza, Katie Finneran, Josie Loren and Tarell Alvin McCraney; writer and filmmaker Lucas Leyva; and dancer Yara Travieso.

For more information about YoungArts Miami and YoungArts visit www.youngarts.org.