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Prix de Lausanne 2015


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It's been published that Harrison Lee will attend RBS but does anyone know when the other prize winners' destinations are announced? Also, on the website it is written that all won scholarships, which can't be right as some were from the older group and at least one has been announced with a contract.

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Yes I suspect it's what she has wanted all along......to be part of the Royal Ballet in some way.

 

I think she will suit their style really well and I'm sure is mature enough to know she is joining a fairly large Company so will have to,make her own way once there.

 

I wish her the very best of luck with it all.

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Julian McKay off to Royal Ballet. Proves that British companies do want Russian trained dancers. This was my little bit of news I was sitting on. Well done Julian. 17 years of age and a place in one of the best companies in the world.

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Am I correct in thinking that the company had to accept where he chooses as a prize winner? As it is an apprenticeship he may not be guaranteed a full time place - as has happened this year with apprenticeships. I hope he is able to get the style they want and keeps his place as I thought he was a lovely dance.

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This is what happened to Patricia Zhou who was the top (I think) prizewinner at Lausanne (came from DSs school so Vaganova trained)- she wasn't offered a contract after her apprenticeship year at RB and is now with Staatsballet Berlin....

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Yes, I'm pretty sure the companies have to take whichever prizewinner choses to go there (in the even of more than one chosing a company, the higher placed goes unless the school or company chooses to accept both.)

 

Julian McKay had said in an interview some time ago after he won the prize that he wanted to go to the Royal Ballet so I am glad he got to go. As it seems like one of the most popular companies to chose, I had wondered whether one of the higher places winners would go instead.

 

Interesting that Miguel Pinheiro got a job before competing, I thought that wasn't allowed. Maybe it hadn't been finalised. It will be interesting to see who benefits instead.

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Oh I'm so sorry Primrose if it feels that way. I agree he is a lovely dancer. I think it is more that this thread overlaps with the thread discussing different styles being more or less acceptable in different companies, and the fact that Julian has a Prix apprenticeship at RB NOT being proof against a possible bias against Russian training in british companies (should it even exist, it was more of a discussion than a truth!). Not meant to be negative towards him personally at all, just pointing out that him going to RB doesn't really prove anything in respect of that debate. 

 

I was actually pondering what happened to Patricia Zhou and recall someone I know saw her dance at RB with the company and thought she clearly stood out- in their opinion as being exceptionally good - but of course it then occurred to me that as a ballet company you don't really want a member of the corps to stand out- its all about having a uniform and clean similarity of dancers. Perhaps where the men are concerned this is less of an issue because (in my very limited knowledge of ballet) they don't seem to be quite so constrained to a certain physical norm of height for example. So perhaps having a slightly different style of training will be less of an issue. 

 

I hope he has a great time at RB- and if he does get a permanent contract as a result then even better. I am all in favour of diversity in training style, looks, height and all the rest of it!

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What a shame that the posts seem to have a negative twist about the companies having to take him. He is an excellent dancer and a worthy winner.

No-one is saying that; people are just saying that the dancer chose the company and not the other way round as you had implied. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing McKay dancing with the company.

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Exactly BBB. When the schools and companies offer the scholarships/apprenticeships, they have no idea who the winners will be and who they will be welcoming for a year.  So it is indeed a great compliment to the UK dance world that so many winners have chosen establishments here.  The young dancers obviously think that having these names on their CVs will be an advantage whether or not a contract is forthcoming at the end of the year.

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What an interesting viewpoint you have taken primrose. I detect no negativity at all. There have been many comments about his lovely dancing and was indeed a worthy winner. There are many companies these dancers could have chosen and some will be a perfect fit, others will not. The fact they have the opportunity to choose tip top companies for a year is a wonderful thing and sets their career off on a very promising start. Each dancer may equally decide the company chosen does not suit them and they are in a fortunate position to 'try before you buy'.

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Plus, in reference to the original debate, i don't think anyone is implying that there is anything wrong with Russian training (you would have to be pretty mad to say that when Russia has produced some the worlds greatest ballet dancers), just commenting on the advisability of learning one specific method if you want to get a job at a company that trains and dances primarily in another....not is it a criticism of RB-  one could as easily say there's not much chance of a corps job at New York City Ballet if you haven't done Balanchine training. Its more of an observation about potentially having to choose your training method according to your desired career...

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I agree witht he posts above. Certainly no negativity on my part, just a comment that Julian's going to the RB doesn't prove anything regarding the debate about Russian trained dancers at the RB. In fact, I have previously commented in this thread that I was surprised that Julian didn't win the first prize based on the performances we saw, not to take anything away from any of the other prize winners who were all incredible as well.

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The companies take the prize winners for a year. There is no obligation on them to keep them after the end of the year. I feel that too much has been read into the experience of one dancer who was not kept on by the RB. There are many reasons for a company not giving a dancer a permanent contract after the year is up: there are better dancers that the company wants to take from other schools or companies; the dancer does not 'fit in' or live up to his/her early promise in the context of company life; the dancer has a 'bad attitude' or poor work ethic. There are many Vaganova trained dancers in the UK companies; many East European, Japanese and South American dancers have been trained in this method. If someone has trained in this method but does not show him/herself to be adaptable to other styles then, yes, I suppose that companies such as the RB, which can afford to be very choosy, will not keep them.

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This is what happened to Patricia Zhou who was the top (I think) prizewinner at Lausanne (came from DSs school so Vaganova trained)- she wasn't offered a contract after her apprenticeship year at RB and is now with Staatsballet Berlin....

 Which imo is a superb company.

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Which imo is a superb company.

Yes it is. There are many fine European companies. I fear that many UK trainees are unaware of the fantastic companies outside of our shores. I am constantly amazed at the stories my ds tells me of fellow dance students having no knowledge and no comprehension of companies outside of the UK other than the obvious - NYCB, ABT, Bolshoi etc.

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It still depends on there being a vacancy for a dancer to be employed.  A few years ago I remember at one of the audition insight days it was said that unfortunately no US students had been taken into RBS company that year.  Nothing wrong with the students, quite simply no one had left so there were no vacancies, (and nobody was taken in from abroad either at corps level).

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I thought that people might be interested to hear something about Rina Kanehara who accepted an apprenticeship with English National Ballet following her Prix win last year. At this afternoon's performance of ENB's Nutcracker at the London Coliseum she was one of the two Lead Snowflakes and then a Spanish Dancer in the Spanish Dance, a trio for one man and two women. These were not her debuts in these roles. She has also danced in the Chinese Dance, a trio for one woman and two men, involving some tricky (and rather awkward) partnering and some fouettés for the ballerina at the end. She seemed to be confident and comfortable on the stage. I see from her Twitter timeline that she has also danced as one of the three Odalisques in Le Corsaire on the autumn tour.

 

I should add that this afternoon Miss Kanehara was sharing the stage with Tamara Rojo who was dancing the dual role of Clara / Sugar Plum Fairy.

Edited by aileen
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