Congratulations to the winners of the Prix de Lausanne 2019! Great job! We wish all these young talented dancers the very best for the future.
This prestigious international dance competition is a significant springboard for the career of dancers today. Many former prize winners like Steven McRae (2003), Maria Kochetkova (2002), Alina Cojocaru (1997) are now leading stars in the ballet world.
If you missed the Finals yesterday, watch them here
The jury, presided this year by the ballet star and Gold Medal of the Prix de Lausanne 1990, Carlos Acosta, selected 8 Prize Winners yesterday at the Beaulieu Theater.
The 8 Prix de Lausanne 2019 Prize Winners are:
FONDATION CARIS – JEUNE ESPOIR 126 – BROWN Mackenzie – United States
OAK FOUNDATION 416 – FIGUEREDO Gabriel – Brazil
EMILE CHOURIET 313 – SASAKI Sumina – Japan
BEAU-RIVAGE PALACE 408 – WAKIZUKA Yu – Japan
FONDATION ALBERT AMON 412 – WU Shuailun – China
BOURSE JEUNE ESPOIR 203 – DA SILVA João Vitor – Brazil
FONDATION COROMANDEL 418 – JOAQUIM Alexandre – Portugal
HARLEQUIN FLOORS 316 – SUMIYAMA Mio – Japan
Other Prizes:
MINERVA KUNSTSTIFTUNG Contemporary Dance Prize: 126 – BROWN Mackenzie – United States
NUREYEV FOUNDATION Best Young Talent Prize: 117 – SHUGART Julia – United States
ANONYMOUS DONOR Best Swiss Candidate Prize: 313 – SASAKI Sumina – Japan
Audience Favourite Prize: 126 – BROWN Mackenzie – United States
Web Audience Favourite Prize: 125 – CHOI Jihyun – South Korea
Jiří Kylián is to one of the world’s most influential choreographer. In 2019 Ballet Zurich pays tribute to him presenting 4 masterpieces of his works from the 80s and 90s.
Thanks to all dancers of Ballet Zurich and the Junior Company for this awesome performance!
The world-renowned choreographer Jiří Kylián (Czechoslovakia, 1947) has been artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater for nearly a quarter century. After having created three ballets for NDT (Viewers, Stoolgame and La Cathédrale Engloutie), Kylián became the company’s artistic director in 1975 together with Hans Knill. In 1978 he and Carel Birnie founded NDT 2, meant to offer young dancers the opportunity to develop their skills and talents and focus on maturing their artistic personalities. In 1991 he initiated NDT 3; a company that created opportunities for older dancers. NDT stood out as the first company worldwide that showed the three dimensions of a dancer´s life. After an extraordinary record of service Kylián handed over the artistic leadership in 1999, but remained the company’s house choreographer until 2009.
Since his last piece Mémoires d’Oubliettes for NDT in 2009, Kylián’s creative focus has shifted to more small scale projects and films. Kylián’s entire body of work counts 100 creations to date, of which 77 performed by NDT and no less than 75 were especially created for the company. Furthermore, he made pieces for companies worldwide such as the Stuttgart Ballet, the Opéra de Paris, the Munich Bayerisches Staatsballett, and the Tokyo Ballet.
Kylián received many prestigious, international awards and honours, such as Officer of the Royal Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau, Honorary Medal of Order for Arts and Science of the House of Orange given to him by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, honorary doctorate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Honorary Medal from the President of the Czech Republic. To this day, Kylián’s masterpieces are frequently performed by numerous dance companies and schools around the world.
So who has the largest ballet company? France, Russia or the US?
There are many large, glamorous ballet companies all over the world. Usually they perform in majestic theaters, have diverse amazing repertoires, go on international tours and employ many dancers each season. Find out which company has the highestnumber of dancers.
It is definitely Russia!
No 1 BOLSCHOI BALLET ⎮ Moskau ⎮ 215 💃
No 2 MARIINSKY BALLET⎮ St. Petersburg⎮ 211 💃
Classical ballet in Russia has a long and rich cultutal history. Founded in 1776, the Bolschoi Ballet is known world-wide for its classical ballets like Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty composed by the famous Russian Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky.
Russians are mad about ballet. Ballet fans scream bravo when the ballerina first appears and at the end you hear wild applause and lots of bravos!
Many very famous Russian ballet dancers like Mikhail Baryshnokov, MRudolf Nureyev, Anna Pavlova, Sergei Diaghilev, Maya Plisetskaya, Mikhail Fokin and Svetlana Zakharova have had a big influence in the world of ballet.
No 3 PARIS OPERA Ballet ⎮ Paris ⎮ 154 💃
This ballet company is the oldest national company in the world, founded in 1669 by Louis XIV. This French company still holds a rich and highly reputed place in ballet history but manages to adapt to contemporary trends. Its dance school is considered one of the best in the world. To learn the FRENCH STYLE, it is almost compulsory to go first to that school.
The years when Rudolf Nureyev was ballet director in Paris were called the golden age of Paris Opera Ballet. Sylvie Guillem, probably the best female dancer of the 20th century, was promoted as a Principal Dancer.
No 4 The ROYAL BALLET ⎮ London ⎮ 103 💃
Although this ballet company was founded late, in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became Britain’s flagship ballet company with a worldwide reputation. It is located in the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
This company is known for its amazing repertoire of a very high technical standard. Four Prima Ballerina Assoluta – Alicia Markova, Margot Fonteyn, Phyllis Spira and Alessandra Ferri – danced there.
No 5TEATRO ALLA SCALA Ballet Company⎮ Milano ⎮ 98 💃
One of the oldest and most well known ballet companies was founded in 1778. The repertoire includes both classical ballets and modern pieces as Giselle, Swan Lake, Excelsior, the Taming of the Shrew, Onegin and Theme and Variations.
No 6 and 7 AMERICAN BALLET THEATER and NEW YORK CITY BALLET ⎮ New York City ⎮ about 90 💃
The Russian choreographer George Balanchine is called the „father of the American ballet“. He created his own works based on the Russian technique and invented the neoclassical style. He was the founder and Artistic director of the New York City ballet from 1946 to 1989. Many of his works are still in the repertoire of the NYCB and many other ballet companies all over the world.
No 8 Staatsballett Berlin ⎮ Berlin ⎮ 93 💃
No 9 ⎮ Dutch National Ballet⎮ Amsterdam ⎮87 💃
No 10 Royal Danish Ballet⎮ Copenhagen ⎮ 75 💃💃and San Francisco Ballet ⎮75 💃
Followed by the Australian Ballet 72 💃⎮the National Ballet of Canada 71💃 ⎮English National Ballet 71 💃 ⎮ National Ballet China 70 💃 ⎮ the National Ballet of Cuba 66 💃 ⎮Stuttgart Ballet 64 💃 ⎮ Houston Ballet 58 💃
Nur wenige Ballettliebhaber wissen, dass Balletttänzerinnen ihre nagelneuen Spitzenschuhe brechen, nähen, kleben und kneten, um sie bequemer zu machen.
Prima Ballerina Katja Wünsche zeigt uns, wie sie die Zehenbox ihrer Spitzenschuhe umnäht. Damit die Satinbänder nicht einschneiden, näht sie auch noch Gummis ein. Erst dann hat sie den nötigen Halt, um perfekt tanzen zu können.
Photos: LI CUNXIN, Artistic Director of the Queensland Ballet in Brisbane, former „Mao’s Last Dancer“ , Evi Hock and Ballet dancers of the Queensland Ballet.
Did you know that the NUTCRACKER Ballet is a cash cow for US Ballet companies?
I read an article in The Economist which stated that this ballet can generate up to 45% of a ballet company’s annual revenue in America. That’s why you can see at least one version in every state. It’s a tradition for families to come together and attend a performance of this famous Christmas ballet. Often, children from ballet schools are involved, dancing in the roles of small mice or toy soldiers. Magic happens when the beautiful music of the Waltz of Flowers starts.
are without question Li Cunxin and Dominik Slavkovský.
Li Cunxin with Queensland Ballet photo by David Kelly
Magic happened when Ballet Star Li Cunxin, was lured out of 18 years retirement for a special performance of the NUTCRACKER with the Queensland Ballet. Taking to the stage in Brisbane for one night only, the 56 year old dancer delivered a mesmerizing performance. While Drosselmeyer is predominately a character role, Li incorporated his own choreography – adding pirouettes and jumps to the performance. His twists and turns hinted at his past brilliance.
