Prix Benois de la Danse

The Benois de la Danse is one of the most prestigious ballet competitions. Founded by the International Dance Association in Moscow in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and is jury-based in its judging. The members of this jury change every year and consists of only top ballet personages.

Statuettes are given to the winners in the categories of lifelong achievement, ballerina, danseur, choreographer, composer and designer.

The Benois de la Danse recognizes with monetary awards exceptional events occurring during the previous year on stages around the world. These include dancing roles of all kinds as well as choreographic accomplishments.

History

The idea for the Benois de la Danse was initiated in Moscow and the founders succeeded in obtaining the patronage of UNESCO in the autumn of 1992. Its scheduling at the end of April is meant to coincide with the birthday of the great Alexandre Benois (1870–1960) for whom it is named.

French sculptor Igor Ustinov designed the statuette of the Benois de la Danse award in 1992. He is the son of the famous actor Peter Ustinov, a great-nephew of Alexandre Benois.

Goals of competition

Members of the Benois de la Danse jury have included

Laureates of the prize[1]

Composers

Designers

Lifetime achievement

Name Year Country Company Training
Alicia Alonso 2000  Cuba National Ballet of Cuba
(after New York City Ballet)
Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical
Rudi van Dantzig 2002  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet
William Forsythe 2002  Germany Stuttgart Ballet Joffrey Ballet School
Mikhail Baryshnikov 2003  United States American Ballet Theatre
(after Mariinsky Ballet)
Vaganova Academy
Maurice Bejart 2003  France Béjart Ballet Lausanne Paris Opera Ballet School
Marina Semenova 2003  Russia Bolshoi Ballet
(after Mariinsky Ballet)
Vaganova Academy
Trisha Brown 2005  United States Trisha Brown Dance Company Mills College
Hans van Manen 2005  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet
Mats Ek 2006  Sweden Cullberg Ballet
Laurent Hilaire[2] 2007  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Fernando Alonso 2008  Cuba National Ballet of Cuba
Peter Farmer 2010  United Kingdom
Ohad Naharin 2010  Israel Batsheva Dance Company Batsheva Dance Company
and School of American Ballet
Toer van Schayk 2011  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet Dutch National Ballet
Pierre Lacotte 2012  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School

Ballerinas

Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
Nadezhda Gracheva 1992  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Isabelle Guérin 1993  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Sylvie Guillem 1994  United Kingdom Royal ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Galina Stepanenko 1995  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Dominique Khalfouni 1995  France Ballet National de Marseille
(after Paris Opera Ballet)
Paris Opera Ballet School
Diana Vishneva 1996  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Ulyana Lopatkina 1997  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Julia Makhalina 1998  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Marie-Claude Pietragalla 1998  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Élisabeth Platel 1999  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Sue Jin Kang 1999  Germany Stuttgart Ballet Académie de Danse Classique in Monte Carlo
Julie Kent 2000  United States American Ballet Theatre Academy of the Maryland Youth Ballet
and School of American Ballet
Alessandra Ferri 2000  Italy La Scala La Scala Theatre Ballet School
Aurélie Dupont 2002  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Anastasia Volochkova 2002  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Lucia Lacarra
(Spain)
2003  Germany Bayerisches Staatsballett Víctor Ullate School of Danse
Alina Cojocaru[2] 2004  United Kingdom Royal Ballet Kiev State Ballet School
Svetlana Zakharova 2005  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Marie-Agnès Gillot 2005  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Ekaterina Kondaurova 2006  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Kim Joo-won 2006  South Korea Korea National Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Agnès Letestu 2007  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Svetlana Lunkina 2007  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Tamara Rojo
(Spain)
2008  United Kingdom from Royal Ballet
(for the Teatro San Carlo)
Víctor Ullate School of Danse
Silvia Azzoni 2008  Germany Hamburg Ballet Hamburg Ballet School
Natalia Osipova 2009  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Kirsty Martin 2009  Australia Australian Ballet Australian Ballet School
Hélène Bouchet 2010  Germany Hamburg Ballet École Nationale de Danse de Marseille
Bernice Coppieters 2011  Monaco Ballets de Monte Carlo Royal Ballet School of Flanders
Zhu Yan 2011  China National Ballet of China Beijing Dance Academy
Alina Cojocaru[2] 2012  United Kingdom from Royal Ballet
(for the Hamburg Ballet)
Kiev State Ballet School
Olga Smirnova[3] 2013  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Vaganova Academy
Polina Semionova 2014

Choreographers

Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
John Neumeier 1992  Germany Hamburg Ballet Royal Ballet School
Jiri Kylian[2] 1993  Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre Royal Ballet School
Roland Petit 1994  France from Ballet National de Marseille
(for the Staatsoper Unter den Linden)
Paris Opera Ballet School
Angelin Preljocaj 1995  France from Ballet Preljocaj
(for the Paris Opera Ballet)
Schola Cantorum
Valentin Elizariev 1996  Belarus National Academic Bolshoi Ballet of Belarus
Carolyn Carlson 1998  France from Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson
(for the Paris Opera Ballet)
San Francisco Ballet School
Davide Bombana 1998  Italy from Maggio Danza Company
(for Bayerisches Staatsballett)
La Scala Theatre Ballet School
Jiri Kylian[2] 1999  Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre Royal Ballet School
Nacho Duato 2000  Spain Spanish National Dance Company Rambert School
David Dawson 2003  United Kingdom Dutch National Ballet Royal Ballet School
Édouard Lock 2003  Canada from La La La Human Steps
(for the Paris Opera Ballet)
Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon 2004  Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre
Alexei Ratmansky 2005  Russia[4] from Bolshoi Ballet
(for the Royal Danish Ballet)
Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Boris Eifman 2006  Russia from Boris Eifman Ballet
(for the Saint Petersburg Ballet Theatre)
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Martin Schläpfer 2007  Germany Ballet Mainz Royal Ballet School
Jean-Christophe Maillot 2008  Monaco Ballets de Monte-Carlo École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower
Wayne McGregor 2009  United Kingdom Royal Ballet José Limón School
José Martínez
(Spain)
2009  France Paris Opera Ballet École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower
and Paris Opera Ballet School
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
and Damien Jalet
2011  Belgium Eastman company
Performing Arts Research and Training Studios
and Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle
Jorma Elo 2011  United States from Boston Ballet
(for Vienna State Opera Ballet and Stanislavsky Ballet Company)
Finnish National Ballet School
Lar Lubovitch 2012  United States Lar Lubovitch Dance Company Juilliard School
Hans van Manen 2013  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet
Christopher Wheeldon 2013  United Kingdom Royal Ballet Royal Ballet School

Danseurs

Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
Julio Bocca 1992  Argentina Teatro Colón Teatro Colón Ballet School
Alexander Kølpin 1992  Denmark Royal Danish Ballet Royal Danish Ballet School
Andrei Uvarov 1993  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Sergei Filin 1994  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Nicolas Le Riche 1995  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Irek Mukhamedov 1996  United Kingdom Royal Ballet
(after Bolshoi Ballet)
Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Vladimir Derevianko 1996  Germany Sächsischen Staatsoper Dresden Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Gregor Seyffert 1997  Germany Komische Oper Berlin
Farukh Ruzimatov 1997  Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Manuel Legris 1998  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Vladimir Malakhov 1998  Germany Stuttgart Ballet
(after Bolshoi Ballet, etc.)
Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Nikolay Tsiskaridze 1999  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Jean-Guillaume Bart 2000  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Ángel Corella
(Spain)
2000  United States American Ballet Theatre Víctor Ullate School of Danse
Jeffry Gerodias 2002  United States Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Jiří Bubeníček 2002  Germany Hamburg Ballet
Lukáš Slavický 2003  Germany Bavarian State Ballet
Laurent Hilaire[2] 2004  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Lloyd Riggins 2004  Germany Hamburg Ballet Orlando Southern Ballet School
Mathieu Ganio 2005  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Di Wang 2006  China from Guangzhou Dance company
(for the Nagoya International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition)
Leonid Sarafanov 2006  Russia from Mariinsky Ballet
(for the Vienna State Opera Ballet)
Kiev State Ballet School
Hervé Moreau 2007  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Marcelo Gomes 2008  United States American Ballet Theatre Helena Lobato and Dalal Aschcar ballet schools
Carlos Acosta 2008  United Kingdom from Royal Ballet
(for the Bolshoi Ballet)
Cuban National Ballet School
Ivan Vasiliev 2009  Russia Bolshoi Ballet
(after National Academic Bolshoi Ballet of Belarus)
Belarusian State Choreographic College
Joaquín De Luz
(Spain)
2009  United States New York City Ballet Víctor Ullate School of Danse
David Hallberg 2010  United States American Ballet Theatre Ballet Arizona
Thiago Bordin 2010  Germany Hamburg Ballet Mannheim Akademie des Tanzes
Fernando Romero 2011  Spain Lope de Vega Theatre Manolo Marín Dance School
Rolando Sarabia 2011  United States Miami City Ballet
(after National Ballet of Cuba)
National Ballet School in Havana
Semion Chudin 2011  Russia Stanislavsky Ballet Company Novosibirsk Choreographic College
Mathias Heymann 2012  France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Carsten Jung 2012  Germany Hamburg Ballet Hamburg Ballet School
Alban Lendorf[3] 2013  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet Royal Danish Ballet School
Vadim Muntagirov 2013  Russia English National Ballet Perm Ballet School
Herman Cornejo 2014  United States American Ballet Theater Instituto Superior de Arte at Teatro Colón

By categories

Number Country
23  France
21  Russia
16  Germany
11  United States
9  United Kingdom
6  Netherlands
2  Argentina  China  Cuba
 Italy  Monaco  Spain
 South Korea
1  Australia  Austria  Belarus
 Belgium  Canada  Denmark
 Greece  Israel  Sweden

Number Country Laureate's company
16  France Paris Opera Ballet
10  Russia Bolshoi Ballet
8  Russia Mariinsky Ballet
7  Germany Hamburg Ballet
7  United Kingdom Royal ballet
5  United States American Ballet Theatre
4  Netherlands Dutch National Ballet
3  Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre
3  Germany Stuttgart Ballet
2  Cuba National Ballet of Cuba
2  France Ballet National de Marseille
2  Monaco Ballets de Monte Carlo

Number Country Main training school[5]
20  France Paris Opera Ballet School
12  Russia Bolshoi Ballet Academy
9  Russia Vaganova Academy
5  United Kingdom Royal Ballet School
4  Spain Víctor Ullate School of Danse
3  Ukraine Kiev State Ballet School
2  Italy La Scala Theatre Ballet School
2  United States School of American Ballet
2  France École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower
2  Germany Hamburg Ballet School

Footnotes

  1. Prix Benois de la Danse, Laureates
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 repeat prize winner
  3. 3.0 3.1 ""Ballet Oscar" winners honored at Bolshoi". Voice of Russia. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  4. to be verified since he was ballet master of the Bolshoi Ballet from 2004 to 2009
  5. annual curriculum only

External links