Young Australian dancer Harrison Lee has won the 43rd Prix de Lausanne, which took place between February 1 and 8, 2015, at Theatre de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland. Harrison is a student of The McDonald College of Performing Arts in NSW.
Of 70 candidates chosen by DVD selection from around the world 67 competed. Six Australians were among them:
Olivia Betteridge (Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy, NSW)
Rebecca Blenkinsop (Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, Vic)
Cooper Cridland Hayes (Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy, NSW)
Harrison Lee (The McDonald College of Performing Arts, NSW)
Bianca Scudamore (Classical Coaching Australia, Qld)
Navrin Turnbull (Private coaching by Maldon John Czislowski, Qld)
Nine jury members watched the candidates over the course of the week. This year’s jury was led by Cynthia Harvey, former principal dancer of the American Ballet Theater, New York and the Royal Ballet, London. Alongside her were Sylviane Bayard, Chi Cao, Lisa-Maree Cullum, Franco De Vitta, Simona Noja, Lidia Segni, Ethan Stiefel and György Szakaly – all highly respected members of the ballet community, former principal dancers and directors and four of whom Prix de Lausanne laureates. Read here for more information on the jury members.
During the week the dancers were taught and coached by Patrick Armand (Etoile, Associate Director of the San Francisco Ballet School, USA), Monique Loudieres (Etoile, Ballet de l’Opéra national de Paris), Stefanie Arndt (Etoile Hamburg Ballet, Former Dancer Ballet of Frankfurt) and Tamas Moricz (Former Dancer of Ballet Frankfurt).
For the competition the candidates prepared one classical variation from an extensive list of the classical repertoire and one contemporary variation. Three contemporary ballet choreographers contributed two variations each, one for boys and one for girls, from which the candidates could choose. The choreographers for the 2015 Prix de Lausanne were Goyo Montero, ballet director and choreographer of the Nurnberg State Ballet, Germany; Louise Deleur, founder, artistic director and choreographer of Lucid Dance Theater, Brisbane Australia; and Richard Wherlock, former director and choreographer, Basel Ballet, Switzerland.
The candidates learnt their chosen solo by video in advance and had the opportunity to work personally with the choreographers during the week.
For the first time, Arte Concert, live streamed the competition, and it was broadcast daily between 4pm and 5pm. The live-streaming reached a record number of viewers for the Prix.
The pre-selections for the finals were held on Friday, 7 February. The candidates performed first their classical variation and then their contemporary variation. At 6:30pm the 20 finalists were announced.
At 3pm on Saturday, 8 February, the Finals took place in front of a full auditorium of public, sponsors, teachers and family. Six scholarships were awarded. First place, the number one scholarship, went to 15 year old Australian Harrison Lee (McDonald College, Sydney). The second scholarship went to 17-year-old Jisoo Park from South Korea (Seoul Art High School). The third to 17-year-old Mitsuru Ito from Japan (Escola do Danca do Conservatorio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal). The fourth to 17-year-old Miguel Pinheiro from Portugal (Escola do Danca do Conservatorio Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal).). The fifth to 17 –year-old Rina Kanehara from Japan (Academie Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo, Monaco) and the sixth to 17-year-old Julien MacKay from the USA (Bolshoi Ballet Academy, Moscow, Russia).
The audience prize was awarded to Lou Spichtig from Switzerland (Tanz Akademie Zurich). Lou Spichtig also won the Best Swiss Prize. The contemporary prize was awarded to Miguel Pinheiro.
During the interlude the six Queensland Ballet Jette Parker Young Artists performed Greg Horsman’s Glass Concerto. They were followed by Forceful Feelings, an Armenian ballet troupe, performing Serenity by choreographer Arsen Mehrabyan.
The public and members of the Prix agreed this was a strong year. The standard was very high. Everyone involved is to be congratulated.
On Saturday and Sunday (7 and 8 February) the finalists and non-finalists met with representatives of 32 international partner schools to discuss scholarships and placements. Whether the dancers reached the finals or not, all candidates had the chance to network and find a place to further their training and careers.
Dance Australia extends warmest congratulations to Harrison Lee – what a fantastic achievement! Dance Australia also congratulates finalists Rebecca Blenkinsop, Bianca Scudamore and Navrin Turnbull.
Keep an eye out for a full report on the Prix de Lausanne in the April/May edition of Dance Australia.
- Emma Sandall