Winners at Prix de Lausanne, granted a scholarship by the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation: where are they now ?

Andrey Jesus Maciano, Ava Arbuckle, Julia Shugart, Denilson Almeida, Shale Wagman, Danbi Kim and Francisco Sebastião are the seven winners of the Best Young Talent Prize at Prix de Lausanne and granted a scholarship by The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation, since 2013.

Created in 1973 by Philippe and Elvire Braunschweig and Rosella Hightower, the Prix de Lausanne is an international ballet competition for young dancers aged 15-18 years old. Its goal is to discover, promote and support the finest talents around the world.

Their mission are to reveal the potentiel of the talents of tomorrow, among young dancers around the world, to open them the doors of the best school and companies around the globe, providing them scholarships to access these prestigious schools and dance companies, to promote their scholastic education to assure them a bright future and career transition after their activity and to preserve their health

The competition takes place every year in Lausanne, Switzerland, and has become a reference through the years in the dance world.

The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation is committed to its role in the promotion of ballet through the support of individual dancers or companies or performances.

Each year, the winner of the Best Young Talent Prize at Prix de Lausanne is granted a scholarship by the Foundation and we couldn’t be more proud of how amazing dancers all the winners became.

  • Andrey Jesus, from Brazil, won in 2021 and is soon heading to London to attend the The Royal Ballet School
  • Ava Arbuckle from the United States won in 2020 and is now a promising student at the John Cranko School in Germany.
  • Julia Shugart won in 2019 and is studying at the Royal Ballet School in London, as Denilson Almeida did before her, who won in 2017. He is now dancing at the Royal Ballet.
  • Shale Wagman, from Canada, won in 2018 is dancing at the Bayerisches Staatballett in Munich
  • Danbi Kim, from South Korea, who won in 2016, is now in the corps de ballet at the Houston Ballet, USA.
  • Francisco Sebastiao, from Portugal, is our first grant and award holder in 2013, when the Foundation became a sponsor and patron of the competition. He is now part of the Companhia Nacional de Bailado in Portugal, after graduating from the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program.

We can't wait to see what the future holds for them, and the 2022's Prix de Lausanne winner!