Photo Gallery: The Prix de Lausanne Prize Winners 2025

85 out of the 86 initially selected candidates have participated in the 2025 Prix de Lausanne and 20 of them reached the Finals that took place today, at the Beaulieu Theatre in Lausanne.

The members of the jury were looking for the following characteristics in each dancer:

• artistry
• physical suitability
• courage and individuality
• an imaginative and sensitive response to the music
• a clear grasp in communicating differing movement dynamics
• technical facility, control and coordination

While advanced technical skills are taken into account, jurors’ primary focus is on the candidate’s potential to succeed as a professional ballet dancer.

This year’s chairman of the jury was Laurent Hilaire, Director of the Bayerisches Staatsballett and former Étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, and the panel selected nine prize winners.

Thanks to their scholarships, the nine dancers will have the opportunity to join one of the prestigious partner schools or companies of the Prix de Lausanne.

The nine Prize Winners of the Prix de Lausanne 2025

1st Scholarship – PARK Youn-jae

2nd Scholarship – POOR Eric

3rd Scholarship – YASUUMI Shinnosuke

4th Scholarship – WANG Hanxi

5th Scholarship – JAIN Hector

6th Scholarship – HANDA Ryan

7th Scholarship – HAMASAKI Hono

8th Scholarship – KIM Bogyeong

9th Scholarship – WHEWAY HUGHES Jakob

The following prizes have been awarded:

Best Young Talent Award:  214 – PARK YounJae – South Korea (Offered by Rudolph Nureyev Foundation)

Beaulieu Award: 423 – YASUUMI Shinnosuke – Japan (Offered by Beaulieu SA)

Contemporary Dance Award: 408 – WHEWAY HUGHES Jakob – United Kingdom (Offered by Minerva Kunststiftung)

Web Audience Favourite Award: 408 – WHEWAY HUGHES Jakob – United Kingdom (Supported by ARTE Concert and la Fondation en faveur de l’Art Chorégraphique)

Audience Favourite Award: 423 – YASUUMI Shinnosuke – Japan (Supported by ARTE Concert and la Fondation en faveur de l’Art Chorégraphique)

The Finalists who have not been awarded a scholarship will each receive CHF 1,000, (Offered by Bobst SA)

There was no eligible Finalist this year for the Best Swiss Candidate Award.

Gramilano Editor

Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.