IN CLASS: This feature is part of an ongoing education column highlighting the various activities that engage school communities.<\/p>\n
Want this before everyone else? Subscribe to our Beyond the Classroom newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 A Staten Islander has received a dance award that recognizes young talent across artistic disciplines.<\/p>\n YoungArts announced that Keith Hinds, a senior at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and a MOVE|NYC Young Professional, was selected as a 2026 YoungArts award winner in modern\/contemporary dance.<\/p>\n Hinds joins hundreds of the nation\u2019s most accomplished young visual, literary, and performing artists from 39 states and Washington, D.C. <\/p>\n The YoungArts Award, which has been awarded annually since 1981, is the only award in the country that recognizes exceptional young talent across artistic disciplines and affirms their pursuit of a professional life in the arts. Recipients become part of a lifelong community of peers and mentors and have access to critical resources that sustain their creative practices throughout their careers.<\/p>\n Hinds, 17, is a dancer and choreographer who began his training at 11 years old at Morris Intermediate School (I.S. 61) in Brighton Heights. Hinds continued his studies at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan and many professional programs, including MOVE|NYC|, Ballet Hisp\u00e1nico, Alvin Ailey, and The Juilliard School.<\/p>\n A two-time national YoungArts winner, he explores humanity through movement and uses dance as a tool to illustrate the complexity of the human experience. <\/p>\n \u201cIf we give young people the validation to pursue artistic careers, then the arts in the United States will continue to thrive,\u201d said YoungArts President and CEO Clive Chang. \u201cThe YoungArts Awards not only affirm their interests and talents, but give them the support networks and resources that allow them to envision a long-term path and sustain it. We are thrilled to recognize the extraordinary creativity, imagination, and talent of this year\u2019s award winners and to champion them for the rest of their lifetimes.\u201d<\/p>\n YoungArts award winners are ages 15-18 and in grades 10-12. They are selected through a highly competitive application reviewed by panels of esteemed artists in a rigorous adjudication process.<\/p>\n Winners were selected from a record number of nearly 13,000 applications across 10 artistic disciplines, including classical music, dance, design, film, jazz, photography, theater, visual arts, voice, and writing. <\/p>\n A complete list of the 2026 winners is available at youngarts.org\/winners.<\/a><\/p>\n Send us your stories<\/p>\n