7 Americans chosen for 46th Prix de Lausanne

Lauren HunterThe Prix de Lausanne, an international ballet competition for young dancers, recently announced its 2018 selected candidates. The event, which will take place on January 28-February 4 in Lausanne, Switzerland, has accepted 78 competitors.  

 

There were 380 candidates (297 girls and 83 boys) from 38 different countries who applied for video selection. 69 candidates were selected after this video selection and nine candidates were preselected from events like the 2017 Youth America Grand Prix in New York City, the 2017 International Ballet and Choreography Competition in Beijing and the official South American pre-selection in Montevideo. See the complete list of the 2018 selected candidates here.

 

The seven candidates chosen to represent the United States are: Finnian Carmeci of the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre; Chloe Misseldine of the Orlando Ballet School; Eric Snyder of the Yuma Ballet Academy; Daniela Thorne of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts; Makani Yerg of the CityDance Conservatory; and Jordan Coutts and Aviva Gelfer-Mundl of the V&T Classical Ballet & Dance Academy.

 

Prix de Lausanne CEO and Artistic Director Shelly Power stated, “Prix de Lausanne is excited to welcome 78 candidates for the 46th edition, including eight younger students. The lowered age range allows for students to enter professional schools when turning 15 years old (instead of age 16), which is often the professional school entry age. Furthermore, we split the junior and senior awards, which we expect will further define potential and job readiness.”

 

Power added, “We must not forget the students not selected this year and remind them that competition is only a part of a dancer’s life and a career depends on the will to prevail in these moments of disappointment. For those that have been accepted, we congratulate them and look forward to sharing in the personal and professional growth experience. Prix de Lausanne’s 46th edition is filled with exceptional talents inspiring us all to reach for the stars.”

 
Tickets for the 2018 Prix de Lausanne will go on sale December 15 at prixdelausanne.org.

 

Photo: Lauren Hunter, a young dancer from California, competed in the 2017 Prix de Lausanne and was named one of the eight prizewinners. Photo by Gregory Batardon, courtesy of Prix de Lausanne.