A Ballet Education’s Blog is back, and what great timing, as the candidates for the Prix de Lausanne were announced.
It’s the 55th edition of the Prix de Lausanne, and the candidates have been selected. If you are new to the Prix de Lausanne (PDL), many will say it's the most selective ballet competition in the world. It isn’t like your typical competition, but it is your typical competition. The difference? The selection process is all behind closed doors. Every October, hundreds of applicants- this year, 647 applicants- submit a video. Well, that’s not even true anymore, because now they have pre-selections in select demographics: Asia and Latin America. This year, 412 video applicants applied (293 girls and 119 boys from 36 countries submitted. A total of 72 candidates were selected, 41 girls and 31 boys, adding to the 9 pre-selected candidates, bringing this year’s total to 81 dancers from 17 countries.
The breakdown: the preselected candidates during the preselection rounds included 2 girls and 1 boy from Brazil, 2 girls from Cuba, 1 girl from Italy, 1 girl from Japan, 1 girl from Romania, and 1 girl representing the UK, representing 6 countries in total.
From the video auditions, only boys were selected from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, and Japan, while only girls were selected from Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Portugal, and the UK. France has both boys and girls representing the country where ballet was codified, with 1 girl and 3 boys, and the People’s Republic of China has a whopping 8 girls and 4 boys representing the world's most populous country. Spain is another country sending both girls and boys, with 2 girls and 3 boys, while the United States is sending 14 candidates: 9 female representatives and 5 male representatives. But that isn’t the big one; once again, South Korea is dominating ballet. South Korea is sending a total of 15 girls and 5 boys, with a total of 20 candidates, leading the way over the US with 6 more candidates.
South Korea - 20
United States - 14
P. R. China - 12
Spain - 5
While the Prix seems to be wrapped nicely in a great PR package, they too are not protected from the voices of social media chiming in, mine included. The Prix selection process includes a full doctor’s physical exam (height, weight, and more), classical class work, pointe work for women, and contemporary. And while this all seems fine and dandy, it is basically the selection for the YAGP final round. The YAGP final round (Jr and Senior combined) equals about the same number of candidates… Many of those selected for the Prix De Lausanne aren’t strangers to YAGP or the YAGP final round…
Of the 81 candidates competing at this year’s PDL, only 13 have not competed YAGP.
If we look at this year's candidates, very few are strangers to the competitive world of ballet, and even fewer are strangers to social media.
The ridiculously talented Megan Jarvis from the UK has attended finals multiple times, grand prix’d in Boston last season, and was a final-round candidate at YAGP Finals 2026. Hana Takahashi blew everyone away through YAGP last season. Rising stars like Macie Mersch, was a YAGP finalist, moved on from her home studio to John Cranko Schule. Many years ago, Morgan Johnson, a Hope Award winner and YAGP 2021 Finals 1st-place classical winner, left her home studio at West Met to train at Academie Princess Grace. Eloy Gil Vicente, placed in the top 12 men at the YAGP Finals 2024, and is now competing in the PDL for Switzerland under Tanz Akademie Zurich. WonHee Seo from South Korea, competed at the 2024 final round. These are just some of the many, many examples of the extraordinary talent rising through the world of ballet competitions.
There are some new schools entering the world of the Prix.
Pacfic Northwest Ballet has entered the picture with Justin Egan, an 18-year-old who also competed at YAGP finals 2026. N&D Ballet will be bringing two students to the Prix this year. A school I have watched for a long time has worked hard and built its reputation throughout the competitive world of ballet and the ballet community. They will be bringing Emma Tian and Chloe Wang. Marlupi Dance Academy from Indonesia will be bringing three to the Prix.
There are also the heavy hitters of the PDL, and, to be honest, YAGP—
They aren’t strangers to the competitive world and have built massive reputations by consistently having participants in the PDL and final round: Seoul Arts High School, Sunhwa Arts Middle School, Yewon School, Conservatorio Internacional de Ballet e Dance Annarella Sanchez, Shanghai Dance School, Affiliated Secondary School of Beigjin Dance Academy, Academy de danse Princesse Grace, Watanabe Buber Ballet Academy, A&A, Elite Classical Coaching, Basileu Franca, Tanya Pearson Academy, and more. In the world of California ballet, Peninsula School of Performing Arts will be bringing the lovely Gia Chung. And City Ballet San Francisco will be bringing Sophia Xiao.
This year we also saw schools with big names not have students qualify for PDL, granted we don’t know if they had anyone apply— at least with YAGP we can cross-reference semi-finals. But there is something to be said about being rejected privately. Schools missing from the PDL this year include Master Ballet Academy, Bayer Ballet, Cary Ballet, and the recent slew of professional schools like ABT JKO, Houston, and School of American Ballet, which have entered candidates in the past. It could be that the kids have already committed; it could just be a rebuilding year.
What does this all mean?
It means the world of ballet really isn’t changing. It might be changing in terms of format, winning, and exposure, but it is saying that those who are talented, persevere, and are dedicated will always rise to the top.
It also reminds us that competition is as subjective as the jury's selection, and if the same jury adjudicates multiple competitions, the results will be the same. It reminds us that the ideals of ballet, and the process by which students are selected, still rest with those in power in the art form. They control the competitive world, not the competition itself. Those presenting scholarships and offering spots at their prestigious schools are the ones selecting the talent, and that circles us right back to the beginning of A Ballet Education.
