Finals day at the Prix de Lausanne 2021 video edition

Twenty candidates have been selected for the Finals of the Prix de Lausanne that will take place on Saturday 6 February 2021 at 14.00 CET.

Seventy-eight candidates from around the world have presented their classical and contemporary variations via video. The nine jury members watched and marked each candidate during the week through ballet class exercises. At the end of the selections yesterday, the jury made its choice after seeing the classical and contemporary variations videos of each candidate.

Various parameters were taken into account to assess the dancers' potential: artistry, technical facility, the ability to give an imaginative and sensitive response to the music, and to communicating clear movements, among others. They had to master the traditional classical repertoire as well as the contemporary creations of Kinsun Chan, Cathy Marston, Goyo Montero, Heinz Spoerli or Richard Wherlock.

The jury, composed of renowned personalities of the field and presided this year by Richard Wherlock (Director and Head Choreographer at Basel Ballet) has selected the 20 Finalists of the Prix de Lausanne 2021:

The 20 selected candidates are from 11 different countries. The most represented are Brazil with four candidates, and Japan and South Korea with three candidates.

The final, via video, starts at 14.00 CET. It will be live-streamed on ARTE Concert, YouTube, Facebook and the Prix de Lausanne website.

The audience will be able to vote for their favourite on the Prix website and help them win the Audience Favourite Prize.

After the finals, around 16.30, six prize winners will be announced. They will receive a scholarship or apprenticeship, allowing them the opportunity to choose among the Prix de Lausanne partner schools and companies.

Top photo: Prix de Lausanne Jury 2021 © Aline Paley

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.