Prix Benois de la Danse

The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and it 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 earns a cash prize of $1,000,000, as well as 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

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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

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  • To give the Benois audience the best performances of the works that have been entered, regardless of whom they were created by.
  • To bring the best representatives of different dance styles and schools together.
  • To support veterans of ballet financially, with funds from the gala concerts

Members of the Benois de la Danse jury have included

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Laureates of the prize[1]

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Composers

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Designers

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Prix "Benois-Moscow Massine-Positano"

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For High Artistry in Partnership

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Lifetime achievement

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Name (Nationality) 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 Anna Sybranda, Sonia Gaskell
William Forsythe ( ) 2002   Germany Stuttgart Ballet Joffrey Ballet School
Mikhail Baryshnikov ( ) 2003   United States American Ballet Theatre
(after Mariinsky Ballet)
Vaganova Academy
Maurice Béjart 2003   France Béjart Ballet Lausanne Paris Opera Ballet School
Marina Semyonova 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 Sonia Gaskell, Françoise Adret
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
(after New York City Ballet)
Peter Farmer 2010   United Kingdom
Ohad Naharin 2010   Israel Batsheva Dance Company Batsheva Dance Company, Juilliard School & School of American Ballet
Toer van Schayk 2011   Netherlands Dutch National Ballet Irail Gadescov, Sonia Gaskell
Pierre Lacotte 2012   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
John Neumeier ( ) 2013   Germany Hamburg Ballet
(after Frankfurt Ballet & Stuttgart Ballet)
Vera Volkova, Royal Ballet School
Brigitte Lefèvre 2014   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Sylvie Guillem ( ) 2015   United Kingdom Royal Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
John Neumeier ( ) 2016   Germany Hamburg Ballet Vera Volkova, Royal Ballet School
Edward Watson 2016   United Kingdom Royal Ballet Royal Ballet School
Marcia Haydée 2017   Brazil Ballet de Santiago Royal Ballet School, Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas (Monaco)
Natalia Makarova 2018   Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Jiří Kylián 2019   Czech Republic

Ballerinas

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Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
Nadezhda Gracheva 1992   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Kazakh Ballet School, Moscow State College of Choreography
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
Yulia Makhalina 1998   Russia Mariinsky Ballet Vaganova Academy
Ulyana Lopatkina 1997   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, School of American Ballet
Alessandra Ferri 2000   Italy La Scala Theatre Ballet
(after Royal Ballet & American Ballet Theatre)
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 ( ) 2003   Germany Bayerisches Staatsballett Víctor Ullate School of Danse
Alina Cojocaru[2] ( ) 2004   United Kingdom Royal Ballet Kyiv 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 ( ) 2008   United Kingdom from Royal Ballet
(for the Teatro San Carlo)
Madrid Royal Conservatory of Dance
Silvia Azzoni ( ) 2008   Germany Hamburg Ballet Baletna Skola, 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 supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, École Nationale de Danse de Marseille
Bernice Coppieters ( ) 2011   Monaco Ballets de Monte-Carlo Royal Ballet School of Flanders, Juilliard School
Zhu Yan 2011   China National Ballet of China Beijing Dance Academy
Alina Cojocaru[2] ( ) 2012   United Kingdom from Royal Ballet
(for the Hamburg Ballet)
Kyiv State Ballet School
Olga Smirnova[citation needed] 2013   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Vaganova Academy
Polina Semionova ( ) 2014   United States American Ballet Theatre Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Mariko Kida ( ) 2014   Sweden Royal Swedish Ballet San Francisco Ballet School
Svetlana Zakharova ( ) 2015   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Vaganova Academy
Alicia Amatriain ( ) 2016   Germany Stuttgart Ballet John Cranko School
Hannah O'Neill ( ) 2016   France Paris Opera Ballet Australian Ballet School
Ludmila Pagliero ( ) 2017   France Paris Opera Ballet Instituto Superior de Arte of Teatro Colón
Maria Riccetto 2017   Uruguay National Ballet of Uruguay Uruguay National Ballet School
Sae Eun Park ( ) 2018   France Paris Opera Ballet Korea National Academy of Ballet
Elisa Carrillo Cabrera 2019   Mexico Staatsballett Berlin Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura
Ashley Bouder 2019   United States New York City Ballet School of American Ballet
Not Awarded 2020
Amandine Albisson 2021   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Ekaterina Krysanova 2021   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Not Awarded 2022
Misun Kang 2023   South Korea Universal Ballet, South Korea
Qiu Yunting 2023   China National Ballet of China

Danseurs

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Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
Julio Bocca 1992   Argentina Ballet Argentino Instituto Superior de Arte of Teatro Colón
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 The Royal Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Vladimir Derevianko ( ) 1996   Germany Sächsischen Staatsoper Dresden Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Gregor Seyffert 1997   Germany Komische Oper Berlin Berlin State Ballet School
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 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 ( ) 2000   United States American Ballet Theatre Víctor Ullate School of Danse
Jeffrey Gerodias 2002   United States Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Boston Conservatory, The Ailey School
Jiří Bubeníček ( ) 2002   Germany Hamburg Ballet Prague Dance Conservatory
Lukáš Slavický ( ) 2003   Germany Bavarian State Ballet Prague Dance Conservatory
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)
Revolutionary Army of China Art College
Leonid Sarafanov 2006   Russia from Mariinsky Ballet
(for the Vienna State Opera Ballet)
Kyiv 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 The Royal Ballet
(for the Bolshoi Ballet)
Cuban National Ballet School
Ivan Vasiliev 2009   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Belarusian State Choreographic College
Joaquín De Luz ( ) 2009   United States New York City Ballet Víctor Ullate School of Danse
David Hallberg 2010   United States American Ballet Theatre Ballet Arizona School
Thiago Bordin ( ) 2010   Germany Hamburg Ballet Mannheim Academy of Dance
Fernando Romero 2011   Spain Lope de Vega Theatre Manolo Marín Dance School (Academia de Bailie de Monolo Marin)
Rolando Sarabia ( ) 2011   United States Miami City Ballet Cuban National Ballet School
Semyon Chudin 2011   Russia Stanislavsky Ballet Company Novosibirsk State Ballet School
Mathias Heymann 2012   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Carsten Jung 2012   Germany Hamburg Ballet Palucca School of Dance, The School of the Hamburg Ballet
Alban Lendorf 2013   Denmark Royal Danish Ballet Royal Danish Ballet School
Vadim Muntagirov ( ) 2013   United Kingdom English National Ballet Perm Ballet School, Royal Ballet School
Herman Cornejo ( ) 2014   United States American Ballet Theatre Instituto Superior de Arte at Teatro Colón
Edward Watson 2015   United Kingdom The Royal Ballet Royal Ballet School
Kim Kimin ( ) 2016   Russia Mariinsky Ballet Korea National University of Arts
Hugo Marchand 2017   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School
Denis Rodkin 2017   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Moscow State Academic Dance Theatre of Dance Gzhel
Isaac Hernández ( ) 2018   United Kingdom English National Ballet The Rock School for Dance Education
Vladislav Lantratov 2018   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Vadim Muntagirov ( )[2] 2019   United Kingdom The Royal Ballet Perm Ballet School, Royal Ballet School
Not awarded 2020
Jesus Carmona 2021   Spain Compañia Jesús Carmona
Not awarded 2022
Hugo Marchand 2023   France Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet School

Choreographers

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Name (Nationality) Year Country Company Training
John Neumeier ( ) 1992   Germany Hamburg Ballet Vera Volkova, Royal Ballet School
Jiří Kylián[2] ( ) 1993   Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre Prague Dance Conservatory, 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 Vaganova Leningrad Academic Choreographic School
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
Jiří Kylián[2] ( ) 1999   Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre Prague Dance Conservatory, Royal Ballet School
Nacho Duato 2000   Spain Spanish National Dance Company Rambert School, Maurice Béjart’s Mudra School, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
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 & Sol León 2004   Netherlands Nederlands Dans Theatre
Alexei Ratmansky 2005   Russia[3] from Bolshoi Ballet
(for the Royal Danish Ballet)
Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Boris Eifman 2006   Russia from Boris Eifman Ballet
(for the St 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 ( ) 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, Vaganova Academy
Lar Lubovitch 2012   United States Lar Lubovitch Dance Company Juilliard School
Hans van Manen 2013   Netherlands Dutch National Ballet Sonia Gaskell, Françoise Adret
Christopher Wheeldon 2013   United Kingdom Royal Ballet Royal Ballet School
Alexei Ratmansky ( ) 2014   United States American Ballet Theatre Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Christopher Wheeldon 2015   United Kingdom Royal Ballet Royal Ballet School
Inger Johan ( ) 2016   Germany Nederlands Dans Theater Royal Swedish Ballet School & National Ballet School of Canada
Yuri Possokhov 2016   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy
Crystal Pite 2017   Canada from Kidd Pivot
(for the Paris Opera Ballet)
The School of Toronto Dance Theatre
Deborah Colker 2018   Brazil Deborah Colker Company
Yuri Possokhov 2018   Russia Bolshoi Ballet Bolshoi Ballet Academy

By categories

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Prix Benois de la Danse, Laureates
  2. ^ a b c d e f g repeat prize winner
  3. ^ to be verified since he was ballet master of the Bolshoi Ballet from 2004 to 2009
  4. ^ annual curriculum only
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