Get ready for an overwhelming avalanche of young talent from two major competitions about to perform at City Center and the Rose Theater in the Time-Warner Building at Columbus Circle. Youth America Grand Prix, founded in 1999 by two former Bolshoi dancers, Larissa and Gennadi Savaliev, is conducted annually throughout the US and abroad. The competition, 2009, culminates in New York City at City Center, April 21, Tuesday, in the final round at 7:00 p.m. giving scholarships to 60 young dancers totaling $250,000. YAGP former winners are now performers in major companies throughout the world. Tuesday's performance is open to the public in honor of YAGP's 10th anniversary.

On Wednesday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. the performance presents the "stars of tomorrow," in a program that includes young dancers and ends with the YAGP cast in a Grand Defile that is grand enough to challenge the Olympics. After an intermission, the program continues with Act II, "Stars of Today," including members of American Ballet Theatre and the Mariinsky Ballet.

Thursday, April 23, YAGP adds an innovation: footage of the life and work of legendary teacher Peter Pestov with closing remarks by Alexei Ratmansky as part II. Part I includes performances by members of the Mariinsky, Berlin State and Bolshoi Ballet, all beginning at 7:00 p.m. at each performance.

More YAGP info at www.yagp.org.

(More on the other major competition in a future article.)

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At the Library at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a new series on books about dance includes Gloria Contreras and friends on May 18 at 6:00 p.m. Contreras's book "What I learned from Balanchine: Diary of a Choreographer" was published by Jose Pinto Books, Inc. about Mexico's leading choreographer of classical dance. More programs on dance books at the Bruno Walter Auditorium will follow. For further information, call 212-870-1630, or see www.nypl.org/lpaprograms.