# Eurovision Young Dancers 1999

The Eurovision Young Dancers 1999 was the eighth edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers, held at the Opéra de Lyon, in Lyon, France, on 10 July 1999. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster France 3, dancers from ten countries participated in the televised final. A total of sixteen countries took part in the competition. Czech Republic made their début while host country France, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Kingdom returned. Estonia and Slovakia decided not to participate.
Both single dancers and couples younger than 20 could enter the competition, male or female. Single dancers had to perform 2 pieces of maximum 10 minutes in total, while couples could choose to perform 1 or 2 dances, but in total no longer than 10 minutes as well. The semi-final that took place in the same venue 6 days before the final (4 July 1999).
The non-qualified countries were Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Katja Wünsche and Stegli Yohan of Germany won the contest, with Sweden and Spain placing second and joint third respectively.

## Location

Opéra de Lyon, in Lyon, France, was the host venue for the 1999 edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers.
The Opéra Nouvel (Nouvel Opera House) in Lyon, France, is the home of the Opéra National de Lyon. The original opera house was re-designed by the distinguished French architect, Jean Nouvel between 1985 and 1993 in association with the agency of scenography dUCKS scéno and the acoustician Peutz. Serge Dorny was appointed general director in 2003.

## Format

The format consists of dancers who are non-professional and between the ages of 16–21, competing in a performance of dance routines of their choice, which they have prepared in advance of the competition. All of the acts then take part in a choreographed group dance during 'Young Dancers Week'.
Jury members of a professional aspect and representing the elements of ballet, contemporary, and modern dancing styles, score each of the competing individual and group dance routines. The overall winner upon completion of the final dances is chosen by the professional jury members.
The interval act was a performance by the hip-hop dance group "Kä-fig".

## Results
### Preliminary round

Broadcasters from sixteen countries took part in the preliminary round of the 1999 contest, of which ten qualified to the televised grand final. The following participants failed to qualify.
| Country | Broadcaster | Participant | Dance | Choreographer |
| Cyprus | CyBC | Dafni Mouyiassi | The Sleeping Beauty | M. Petipa |
| United Kingdom | BBC | Lara Glew | La Bayadère | M. Petipa |
| Hungary | MTV | Attila Bongar | Le Corsaire | M. Petipa |
| Czech Republic | ČT | Lukas Slavicky and Zuzana Zahradnikova | Don Quixote | M. Petipa |
| Slovenia | RTVSLO | Ana Klasnja | Variation of Giselle | J. Coralli and J. Perrot |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR | Laetitia Guggi | La Bayadère | M. Petipa |

### Final

Awards were given to the top three participants. The table below highlights these using gold, silver, and bronze. The placing results of the remaining participants is unknown and never made public by the European Broadcasting Union.
| R/O | Country | Broadcaster | Dancer(s) | Dance | Choreographer | Result |
| 1 | Greece | ERT | Maria Boubouli | Don Quixote | M. Petipa | |
| 2 | Netherlands | NPS | Ernst Meisner | La fille mal gardée | J. Dauberval | |
| 3 | Spain | TVE | Clara Blanco | Variation of Giselle | J. Coralli and J. Perrot | 3 |
| 4 | France | France Télévision | Emmanuel Eggermont and Juliette Roudet | Les Chiens | J. Bouvier and R. Obadia | |
| 5 | Poland | TVP | Marta Wojtaszewska and Marcin Krajewski | Stars & Stripes | G. Balanchine | |
| 6 | Latvia | LTV | Elza Leimane | Esmeralda | J. Perrot | |
| 7 | Finland | Yle | Aarne Ruutu | La Sylphide (James variation) | A. Bournonville | |
| 8 | Germany | ZDF | Katja Wünsche and Stegli Yohan | Cinderella | J. Neumeier | 1 |
| 9 | Belgium | RTBF | Frederik Deberdt | La Sylphide | A. Bournonville | |
| 10 | Sweden | SVT | Nathalie Nordquist | Flower Festival in Genzano | A. Bournonville | 2 |

## Jury members

The jury members consisted of the following:
* Russia – Boris Eifman (Head of Jury)
* France – Maguy Marin
* Australia – Meryl Tankard
* France/ Monaco – Jean-Christophe Maillot
* Finland – Tero Saarinen
* Spain – Vicente Sáez
* Greece – Victoria Maragopoulou

## Broadcasting

A total of 20 countries broadcast the 1999 event, including Croatia, Ireland, Norway and Russia.