Genée International Ballet Competition
| Genée International Ballet Competition | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Awarded for | Classical Ballet |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Presented by | Royal Academy of Dance |
| First awarded | 1931 |
| Official website | http://www.rad.org.uk/genee |
The Genée International Ballet Competition is a classical ballet competition. It is organised by the Royal Academy of Dance and named in memorial to Dame Adeline Genée, one of the founders of the Academy.[1] First held in 1931, it is one of the oldest ballet competitions of its kind in the world.
Contents
Overview
The Competition originated quite humbly in 1931 as the ‘Adeline Genée Gold Medal’ and was introduced as an additional incentive for candidates who had passed the Solo Seal examination. The competition is open to candidates who have studied the Academy's syllabus, having completed the Advanced 2 examination with Distinction, and those who have been awarded the Solo Seal Award.
Felicity Garratt was the first recipient of ‘Adeline Genée Gold Medal’ award with a silver medal and then a bronze medal added in 1934 and 1956 respectively, and both gold and silver medals introduced for male dancers in 1938. The award continued to progress and develop into a competition format and remarkably it has taken place almost every year since 1931, even during the Second World War. In 2002, however Luke Rittner, Chief Executive, took the landmark decision to hold the competition outside London in order to embrace its international spirit, taking it to Australia where Sydney Opera House played host to a record number of candidates.
Following that success the Academy did not look back. A partnership with Birmingham Royal Ballet saw Birmingham host the Genée in 2003; Athens hosted a stunning event at the Herod Odeon Atticus under the auspices of the Cultural Olympiad Greece 2004 and the Genée has been welcomed by Hong Kong, Toronto, and, in 2009, Singapore hosted a unique and overwhelmingly successful event. November 2010 saw the return of the competition to London after five years on tour.
The competition consists of a semi-final and a final, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals presented for both male and female sections. The Gold medal is awarded to a candidate only if they demonstrate exceptional technical skills, an innate response to music, outstanding performance qualities and charisma.[2] Other awards were introduced periodically, including the Audience Choice Award and the Award for Theatricality.
The Royal Academy of Dance, in association with the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the New Zealand School of Dance, presented the Genée in 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand, from 6–15 December 2012. In 2013, the Genée was hosted for the first time in Glasgow, Scotland, and in 2014 the competition was held in Antwerp, Belgium.
The 2015 competition was held in London, with the final taking place at Sadler's Wells Theatre.
Winners
| Year | Venue | Dancer | Age | Nationality | School | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | London, England | Leroy Mokgatle | 15 |  South Africa |
Art of Motion |  Gold |
| Lania Atkins | 15 |  Australia |
The Dance Spot |  Silver |
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| Makensie Henson | 15 | Australia |
Prudence Bowen Atelier |  Bronze |
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| 2014 | Antwerp, Belgium | Vida Polakov | 16 |  New Zealand |
Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy | Gold |
| Mikaela Johnson | 15 | Australia |
The Conlan College of Classical Ballet | Silver |
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| Lucinda Strachan | 17 |  United Kingdom |
English National Ballet School | Silver |
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| Rachel Hickey | 17 | United Kingdom |
Elmhurst School for Dance | Bronze |
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| Isabella Swietlicki | 17 | United Kingdom |
English National Ballet School | Bronze |
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| Weslley Vitalino Carvalho Da Silva | 19 |  Brazil |
Academia de Ballet Elisa | Bronze |
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| 2013 | Glasgow, Scotland | |||||
| Isabelle Brouwers | 17 |  Germany |
English National Ballet School | Silver |
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| Sasha Leong | 15 | Australia |
Sydney Ballet School | Silver |
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| Natasha Watson | 17 | United Kingdom |
Ballet West | Bronze |
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| Rory Ferguson | 17 | Australia |
Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy | Bronze |
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| John Rhys Halliwell | 18 | United Kingdom |
English National Ballet School | Bronze |
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| 2012 | Wellington, New Zealand | |||||
| Montana Rubin | 15 | Australia |
The Dance Spot | Gold |
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| Aurelian Child-de Brocas | 15 | New Zealand |
Alegria Dance Studios | Gold |
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| Kaena Ahern | 17 | New Zealand |
Mount Eden Ballet Academy | Silver |
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| Ariana Hond | 16 | New Zealand |
Mount Eden Ballet Academy | Silver |
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| Harry Davis | 17 | Australia |
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School | Silver |
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| 2011 | Cape Town, South Africa | |||||
| Mana Ogawa | 17 |  Japan |
Kudo Ballet School | Silver |
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| Si Jia Miao | 19 |  China |
Dance Division Tongji University | Silver |
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| Jin Hao Zhang | 16 | China |
Dance Division Tongji University | Silver |
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| Mlindi Kulashe | 19 | South Africa |
Cape Junior Ballet School / English National Ballet School | Bronze |
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| Ashley Scott | 17 | South Africa |
Cape Junior Ballet School | Bronze |
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| 2010 | Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, England | |||||
| Sean Bates | 18 | United Kingdom |
Royal Ballet School | Silver |
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| Francesca Hayward | 18 | United Kingdom |
Royal Ballet School | Silver |
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| Orazio di Bella | 19 |  Italy |
Elmhurst School for Dance | Bronze |
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| Tierney Heap | 17 | United Kingdom |
Royal Ballet School & Centrepointe | Bronze |
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| Lachlan Monoghan | 17 | Australia |
Royal Ballet School and The McDonald College | Bronze |
