It was while she was a ballet teacher at Robin Horneff Performing Arts Center in New Jersey that she developed the idea of creating Youth America Grand Prix.
In 1999, together with her husband Gennadi Saveliev[5] (then a soloist with American Ballet Theatre) she decided to create one – and founded Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP).
The YAGP team would conduct auditions throughout the United States and the world, select the most promising young dancers and invite them to the annual Finals in New York City.
YAGP would then invite directors of leading dance academies to serve as the jury members, who would present scholarships to their schools as the prizes of the competition.
Scholarships at YAGP are awarded based on each individual school director's evaluation of a student's potential, independently of the jury panel's decision.