Sixteen Australians selected for Fonteyns

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) Australia has announced that 16 talented Australian semi-finalists have been selected to compete in the The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024.

Seven are from NSW: Isabella Jordan; Sophia Hudson; Isabella Chao; Ella Brownlow-Ziirsen; Aliya Bernado; Ernesto Young; Ella Schindler; Madeleine Calvert; Chelsea Potter and Abbie Beresford-Wong.

Four are from Queensland: Tylah Johns; Tahlia Szumowski; Lila McGrath; and Sophie Tee; one is from the ACT – Soraya Sullivan – and one is from Victoria – Patric Annetta.

Altogether, 69 competitors from 13 countries are travelling to London to participate.

"These students will have the opportunity to perform on a world stage and share in a life changing experience with new friends in what will be a stepping stone to wonderful career in dance," says Shelley Yacopetti, National Director of RAD Australia.

The semi-finals will be held at RAD Headquarters from September 4-6, culminating in the finals at His Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End on September 8.

The competition will be judged by a prestigious line-up of dance luminaries: RAD President Dame Darcey Bussell; Alessandra Ferri (Artistic Director Designate of the Vienna State Ballet); Jose Alves (freelancer and former leading artist Ballet Black); and Kevin O'Hare (Director of the Royal Ballet).

The judges of the Choreographic and Musicality awards are RAD Vice President, Dame Monica Mason, and Ashley Page, choreographer and former artistic director of the Scottish Ballet.

For more information, go to https://www.thefonteyn.org/