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Competitions & Festivals

Every edition, year by year.

The complete history of the Young Artiste competition and festival — editions, dates, categories, highlights and the young artistes who made them.

Competition & Festival History

A decade in the making, year by year.

Every edition of the Young Artiste competition and festival — the milestones, categories and young artistes who made them.

  1. 2020

    Young Artiste Competition 2020–2021

    SIFF's flagship program — the Young Artiste talent competition and scholarship program is a biennial that awards and accredits the artistic youth of India in multiple vocal, instrumental and dance forms across classical and contemporary genres.

    Top 100
    Finalists mentored
    VocalInstrumentalDanceClassical & contemporary genres
    • First edition of SIFF's flagship national talent competition and scholarship program.
    • The Young Artiste Advanced Mentorship Program (YAMP) was an immersive learning opportunity organised for the Top 100 Finalists of Young Artiste 2020.
    • YAMP 2020–21 was graced by the presence and involvement of several great artists and collaborators, including Dr. L. Subramaniam, Kavita Krishnamurti and Tony Das.
    View the Top 100
    A SIFF facilitator leading a Young Artiste session with children seated on the floor of a brightly painted classroom
  2. 202320 September 2023 — registration opened at 3:30 pm

    Young Artiste Festival 2023

    The first-ever on-ground adaptation of Young Artiste, bringing young talents aged 6–21 years from across India — from metro cities and remote corners alike. The festival also featured specially abled performers, in a bid to showcase that art knows no boundaries.

    6–21 years
    Age group
    Vihaan Bamugade, 6
    Youngest performer
    VocalsDanceKeyboardSpirit of Young Artiste
    • Emceed by Soumya Ravi and Gaurav Chauhan, opening with an invocation song and lamp lighting by the dignitaries.
    • Vocalists of Young Artiste performed duets, including a medley of "Girls Like You" blended with "Tere Bina".
    • A speech by Dhaani Singhal, co-founder of SIFF Young Artiste, on the origins of the program.
    • The top 6 dancers performed, joined by Deepak Devrani and Anushka Chandak; six keyboard finalists followed.
    • 13-year-old Navdeep Singh, a dancer from Jammu, was among the featured young artistes.
    • Grand finale performance by SIFF Young Artiste's in-house presenters with the band "Oxygen on the Rocks", and a vote of thanks by co-founder Kavita Iyer.

    Voice of Young Artiste

    • Trisha Roy
    • Sanjay Bhatt
    • Vivaan Karki
    • Antara Kulkarni
    • Nilantika Polley

    Dancer of Young Artiste

    • Prashant Bhalerao
    • Dimple Rajendrasingh
    • Mehek Fatima
    • Navdeep Singh
    • Vani Pandey

    Keyboardist of Young Artiste

    • Gargi Lavekar
    • Yash Matsyapal
    • Varsha Nataraj
    • Jobin Stanley John
    • Vihaan Bamugade

    Spirit of Young Artiste (new category)

    • Tejas Ghate
    • Manasi Pandey
    Read the festival story
    Children taking part in a movement activity at the Dnyandeep Balgruha centre
  3. 2024Held online on 8 March

    SIFF Young Artiste Inter-School Competition 2024–25

    A grand celebration of talent and dedication that culminated the academic year, bringing together the finest young talents from schools, NGOs and organizations under the SIFF Young Artiste program.

    500+
    Round 1 entries
    Top 100
    Round 2 finalists
    Solo Indian VocalsGroup Indian VocalsSolo Indian DanceGroup Indian Dance
    • Opened with a Ganesh Vandana and diya-lighting ceremony, followed by a montage of glimpses from previous years.
    • Hosted by actor Radha Bhatt, with a performance by singing teacher Malvika Ma'am and a dance performance by Amulya Ma'am.
    • Rashmi Ma'am, Founder of VIDYA Foundation, shared an inspiring message, and Manish Ji from IIT-GN gave a special address.
    • Two special mentions in Indian Solo Dance: Lakshmi Chatty (GHPS Siddhapur School), the youngest dancer, and Khushi for a blindfolded dance.
    • Concluded with a vote of thanks from co-founder Kavita Iyer.

    Solo Indian Vocals

    • 1st — Khant Pinkiben Amarsinh, KGBV Limadiya Mahisagar
    • 2nd — Bambhaniya Poonamben Kalubhai, KGBV Type-3 Talagajarada
    • 3rd — Varsharani Navi, Govt. Adarsh Vidyalaya RMSA Jamkhani

    Group Indian Vocals

    • 1st — Samarth Vidya Mandir
    • 2nd — KGBV Katav
    • 3rd — KGBV Bordi

    Solo Indian Dance

    • 1st — Tannu Kumari, VIDYA School Gurugram
    • 2nd — Khushi Kumari, VIDYA School Gurugram
    • 3rd — Mohamed Sulthan, K K English High School

    Group Indian Dance

    • 1st — KGBV Vanzna
    • 2nd — KGBV Hajarpura Narmada
    • 3rd — Samarth Vidyalaya

    Partners & institutions: VIDYA Foundation, IIT Gandhinagar, KGBV schools, Government schools

    Read the competition recap
    Children at the Samarpan Foundation centre watching a Young Artiste session
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