Ballet Fellowship Program Draws Hundreds of Young Applicants

Mexico City – The "Despertares Creative Fellowship," a new training initiative linked to Isaac Hernández's "Despertares 2026" ballet production, has generated significant interest among aspiring young professionals. Emilia Hernández, the executive producer of "Despertares," described the program as a vital "opportunity for young people in various production areas to work closely with the production during the Despertares week."

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an opportunity that is offered to young people in various areas of the world of production to work more closely with the production during the week of Despertares.

The fellowship aims to provide practical experience in roles such as stage management, lighting design, sound engineering, and set design. A call for applications launched in June attracted an overwhelming response, with organizers initially receiving 386 applications. However, the interest continued even after the deadline, bringing the total number of inscribed individuals to 427 from all over Mexico.

Selecting the eight fellows proved challenging due to the high volume of qualified applicants. The chosen participants, aged 21 to 27, hail from various regions of Mexico and will shadow the production team to learn firsthand how "Despertares" is staged. "This is the first edition of this fellowship, and there is so much young talent, eager and needing opportunities to get close to these major productions," Hernández explained.

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We reached a total of 427 people registered from all over the Mexican Republic.

She emphasized the rarity of such opportunities, noting that it is "almost impossible" for international artists performing on major stages to open their doors to emerging talent. The fellowship allows these young professionals to work alongside top lighting designers, sound engineers, set designers, and production staff. Participants will observe and learn directly from the execution and assembly of the entire show during the production week, all at no cost.

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There is a lot of young talent, eager and with the need to have opportunities to get close to these major productions because it is very difficult for an international artist who is performing... to open the doors for talents who already have academic training in a specific area, to put their experience into practice and also learn by watching.

Beyond the fellowship, the "Despertares" program includes other special events. An art installation by Yoann Bourgeois Art Company will be displayed at Plaza Carso on August 26. Masterclasses led by Isaac Hernández, Mr. Kriss, and Skyler Br are also key highlights of the special programming organized by "Despertares 2026" and Soul Arts Productions.

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to be there, live, during the week of production, learning by watching how everything is executed and assembled behind the scenes.