Prix de Lausanne — Finals
Saturday, February 7th, 2026
Theatre de Beaulieu
2:30pm
Yesterday was the final of the 54th Prix de Lausanne. Well before the auditorium opened, the foyers were already teeming with teachers, company and school directors, dancers, families and press, creating a backing track of different languages and accents, all talking shop and debating “who made it through”. Alongside them, Lausanne’s loyal public arrived, as they have almost every year since 1973, to witness this final ritual of the Prix.
This year, 21 finalists from eight nationalities were selected to perform both their classical and contemporary variations once more — 11 girls and 10 boys. The most represented countries were South Korea (six candidates), China (five), and the United States (four).
For the nine-member jury, the slate was wiped clean so that only the classical and contemporary variations presented in these finals, weighted equally, would constitute the result, with a separate yes/no decision determining the Contemporary Prize. Of the 21 finalists, fourteen would ultimately be awarded either a scholarship or an apprenticeship — depending on age — enabling them to continue their training with some of the world’s most prestigious ballet schools and companies.
As per usual, half an hour before schedule many of the audience took their seats to watch Elisabeth Platel lead the finalists through their on-stage warm-up. She gave a clean, sensible class to get the dancers on their legs but also relax the atmosphere — “dégagé place, one thousand pirouettes!” she said in her dry Parisian way, drawing laughter. Meanwhile, eyes were already choosing favourites. Here were the “élus” — the chosen dancers of the Prix de Lausanne, 2026.
Finally, at 2:30 precisely, the curtain closed on the class and the 54th finals began.
And they were quite something.
Taken as a whole, the classical work in this final was hard to fault technically. Confident turns abounded, leaps soared, and even some of the more complex and unusual steps — such as the double saut de basque allongée in José Martinez’s Delibes Suite — were delivered with assurance. Almost everyone rose to the occasion. There were only occasional wobbles, missed turns, rushing or lagging when nerves and adrenalin tipped some performances over the edge or behind the beat. In this final, more than ever, the separating factor between the dancers seemed to be artistry — how and why steps were delivered, and the meaning behind the movement.
Of particular note was Jetro Thijs’ Colas. This kid is all artist. Just 15.6 years old, and the smallest boy in the competition at 5’2”, he filled the stage with presence, teased the audience with musical playfulness and showed an artistic sensibility well beyond his years.
At the other end of the physical spectrum, the tallest dancer in the competition at 6’2”, Lu Haowen, gave a beautifully sorrowful Albrecht. Though not awarded a prize, I felt his performance brought an understated physical and interpretative integrity to the role that stopped your breath. Then breathtaking in a different way altogether was Suhyeok Bang’s flying, spinning and utterly gobsmacking Acteon and Diana variation, during which his ease, speed and breadth of movement could give Misha a run for his money.
Dayeon Yeom’s Esmeralda was impressive in how measured her approach was. While the variation itself is a crowd-pleaser — and the Lausanne audience was pleased, awarding her the Audience Favourite Award — Yeom structured her performance to grow steadily toward its conclusion. I was particularly taken by the stillness she found within the choreography, matching the music’s phrasing. Her final relevés on the diagonal, with their frozen arrêts as her toe tapped the tambourine, brought the house down.
Personally, I am always stopped in my tracks by Raymonda’s dream scene variation. The music is exquisite, and the solo demands an exceptional level of control and flow to match. Qin Yihan met those demands fully. Her balances in the opening piqué arabesques, followed by controlled rolling through the foot, were as continuous and fluid as the violin line itself.
Judging classical work is one thing. Contemporary dance remains a complex form to comment on — its rules are looser and its language more subjective. Responses are inevitably personal. Without direct exposure to a choreographer’s intentions, audiences and jury alike are responding less to correctness than to how convincingly meaning is conveyed. I tried to bear this in mind myself, resisting the urge to assess how closely dancers may or may not have adhered to coaching, and instead responding to whether the work spoke clearly.
This final’s contemporary work was of a consistently high level. Again, what separated performances was mostly found in movement intention and, as I like to say, “having a point of view”.
There were several moments when I leaned in. Blake Metcalf’s interpretation of 2025 Young Creation Award winner Henry Lichtmacher’s “20 Miles from Shore” made the work feel like it had been made for him. Lichtmacher’s choreography is very clear and subtly narrative, and Metcalf appeared to know exactly what he wanted to say with it.
For me, another standout was Dayeon Yeom in “Extinction” by Alexander Mockrish, another 2025 Young Creation Award winner. Yeom articulated each distinct section of the solo with intention, demonstrating an understanding of structure that highlighted the solo’s journey. Once again, it was her ability to use stillness that proved most compelling.
Goyo Montero’s “Grinding the Teeth” offered the men who chose it considerable scope for play, and it was here that Dragos Gramada and William Gyves, both from Zurich University of the Arts, truly stopped the show. Their performances revealed the depth and breadth of contemporary training they receive — giving them not only the ability to grasp Montero’s intention quickly, but also the confidence to individualise it. It was no surprise that Gramada was awarded the Contemporary Prize.
As a final note on the contemporary work, it was deeply moving to see the late Louise Deleur’s solos. Her choreography is layered with meaningful detail, and those who danced them did her proud.
Jury decisions inevitably come with surprises, and this year was no exception. Competition results are best understood as snapshots in time, shaped not only by the performances on the day, but also by the particular constellation of people on the jury and their values, experience and tastes. Read together, their decisions could be taken as a cultural lens on dance and its future.
This year, the First Scholarship was awarded to William Gyves, who consistently gave thoughtful and well-executed performances across both classical and contemporary genres. He showed equal integrity in both — and yes, that is the dancer of now: one who is open to all styles of dance and can adeptly mould their physicality to diverse movement intentions.
Meanwhile, the Web Audience Favourite Award went to Pietra Rego de Souza — a pocket rocket of strength and pizzazz, and a dancer who wins spectators’ hearts and will undoubtedly go on to an interesting career.
While the jury were off making these weighty decisions, we were treated to performances by Inès McIntosh and Shale Wagman of the Paris Opera Ballet, as well as Alban Lendorf and Silvia Selvini from the Royal Danish Ballet, giving the evening perspective on where these young dancers are headed. We also saw performances of the two Young Creation Award works to be added to the Prix’s contemporary repertoire next year, and the beautiful, vibrant and celebratory “The Gathering”, created by Edward Liang in just eight days for the Partner School Choreographic Project.
One of the evening’s most resonant moments came with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Prima Ballerina Sylvie Guillem. The audience could barely bring themselves to stop applauding. Visibly moved, Guillem addressed the candidates directly, offering two simple reminders: that pursuing dance is a privilege, and that the career is short. Held together, she suggested, these truths help ensure that the opportunity is never taken for granted.
It was a fitting final word to a week that, once again, reminded us what the Prix de Lausanne does best — not merely identifying talent, but sustaining a shared culture of excellence, curiosity and care.
-Emma Sandall