Tonight is the final of the Eurovision Young Dancers contest 2013 in Gdansk, Poland. So far in this look back at Eurovision Young Dancers contest we have seen the contest from 1985 up until 2001, today we will look at the final 3 contests that have been held. So without further hesitation let’s take a look at the contest from 2003-2011.
The 2003 contest saw Eurovision Young Dancers go to the Netherlands, as NOS hosted the contest at the Stadsschouwburg Theatre in Rotterdam on the 4th of July. Like in 2001 a total of 17 countries took part in the contest, with three countries debuting; Armenia, Ukraine and Romania. Whilst Austria Germany and Ireland withdrew from the contest.
The semi final was held on the 29th of June, the following countries were left in the semi final by the jury:
- Armenia
- Belgium
- Cyprus
- Norway
- Poland
- Slovenia
- United Kingdom
Unlike in previous years the top.3 ranking was removed and instead three prizes were handed out. The prizes and there winners were:
- Classical – Ukraine – Jerlin Ndudi
- Modern – Sweden – Kristina Oom & Sebastian Michanek
- Youth Jury Choice – Czech Republic – Monika Hejduková & Viktor Konvalinka
In 2005 the contest returned for it’s 11th edition since it’s debut in 1985. This year’s contest saw Eurovision Young Dancers go back to Poland but this time to the National Theatre in Warsaw. The contest in the space of two years had shrunk hugely from 17 countries to just 10 the lowest number ever. The countries that withdrew were:
- Armenia
- Cyprus
- Estonia
- Norway
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
The lack of countries meant that only a final was held on the 24th of June. Unlike the 2003 contest the top.3 ranking by the jury was returned. The results were:
- Netherlands – Milou Nuyens
- Poland – Elena Karpuhina & Michał Wylot
- Belgium – Marjorie Lenain
The countries that received no ranking were:
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Greece
- Latvia
- Romania
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
Eurovision Young Dancers then just vanished into thin air. The 2005 contest showed that interest in the contest had suddenly vanished. Countries were appearing for one or two contests and then withdrawing. Austria especially had managed to go in and out of the contest every couple of years. It seemed that the EBU had put a focus on the Eurovision Song Contest that was growing hugely, as well as Junior Eurovision which was just 3 years old.
The 2007 contest was officially not held due to the introduction of the Eurovision Dance Contest which saw professional dancers competing in a more Eurovision style event. Whilst the 2009 contest which was due to be held in Norway, was called off due to low participating numbers.
By 2011 Eurovision Young Dancers finally returned as a total of 10 countries confirmed they would be in Norway on June 24th for the contest at the Dansen Hus. The 2011 contest saw huge change in the countries taking part.
Debuting were:
- Croatia
- Kosovo
Returning:
- Germany
- Norway
- Portugal
- Slovenia
Withdrawing:
- Belgium
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- Latvia
- Romania
- United Kingdom
So with the joint smallest contest to date, only one show was held. The format of this show was different to in previous years as there was no longer just a top.3 result. A first half show was held where all the participants performed, the jury then selected two acts that they wanted to proceed to the final. The jury of 4 then decided after the final, in which the two dancers performed spontaneously on the result of:
- Norway – Daniel Saar
- Slovenia – Petra Zupančić
The countries that did not make it to the final were:
- Croatia
- Germany
- Greece
- Kosovo
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Sweden
So that’s it we’ve now looked at all of the twelve editions of the Eurovision Young Dancers contest that have been held so far. Tonight will be the 13th edition, so we hope you enjoy the show and be sure to check back over the day for more informative articles.
