Young Creation Award

Latin American Preselection in Brazil

Registration opens May 15th, 2025.

The Young Creation Award 2025 will take from 3 to 8 February, 2025, in parallel to the Prix de Lausanne competition week.

The Prix de Lausanne wishes to confirm its unique status as a forerunner in the dance world with this competition for young, talented choreographers from our partner schools. Launched in 2021, this unique competition in Europe promotes contemporary creation and emerging young choreographers, offering them a platform for their professional development.

Anne-Laure Lechat

General information

Five young choreographers are selected to present their original creations to the prestigious Prix de Lausanne jury during the Choreographic Evening, held as part of the competition week.
The two winning choreographies will be performed again during the Finals of the Prix de Lausanne, as well as at the Rising Stars performance.

These two winners will also return the following year as official coaches for their solos, coaching candidates alongside other renowned choreographers.

The main goals of the Young Creation Award are to:

Discover and support emerging choreographic talent;
Provide young choreographers with a unique opportunity within the esteemed context of the Prix de Lausanne;
Celebrate artistry in a constructive and encouraging competitive environment;
Inspire young dancers to explore the art and technique of choreography through imagination and creativity.

Registration

Registration for the Young Creation Award 2026 will open in October 2025.

Rules & Regulations 2026

Young Creation Award - Rules & Regulations 2026

Young Creation Award - Procedure 2026

Audio files 2026

Young Creation 2026 official music

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.

The choreographer must choose to work with one audio file from the official list. The audio file cannot be edited.

Winners

2025

The two winners of the the Young Creation Award 2025 are:

Henry Lichtmacher (United States), from the Houston Ballet Academy, with the variation 20 Miles From Shore
Dancer: Alex Westerman
Music: The Ballerina, Lars Meyer

Alexander Mockrish (Sweden), from the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, with the variation Extinction
Dancer: Caroline Quiner
Music: Etude Nr 1 for String Quartet, Peter Sandberg

The two winning variations will become part of the 2026 Prix de Lausanne’s contemporary variations repertory. To perfect their training, the winners will return as coaches for the dancers during the next Summer Intensive in July and the 2026 Prix de Lausanne, working alongside renowned choreographers.

2024

The two winners of the 2024 edition of the Young Creation Award are:

Quinn BATES (USA) from the School of the Hamburg Ballett John Neumeier with the variation Groovin’
Dancer: Miguel Artur ALVES OLIVEIRA
Kseniya KOSAVA (Belarus) from the Palucca University of Dance Dresden with the variation Under glass
Dancer: Sakura NATORIGAWA

Their two winning choreographies (as voted by the Jury) will be added to the Prix de Lausanne 2025 contemporary repertoire. The two young choreographers will have the chance to come and coach the 2025 candidates who will have chosen their variations during the competition week.

2023

The two winners of the 2023 edition of the Young Creation Award are:

Elena Dombrowski (France) from the Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower with her original variation ‘Tout va bien?’. Dancer: Tom BELLEC
Aleisha Walker (USA) from the ABT Studio Company with her original variation ‘Do you care?’. Dancer: Madison BROWN

The two winning choreographies (as voted by the Jury) will be added to the Prix de Lausanne 2024 contemporary repertoire. The two young choreographers will have the chance to come and coach the 2024 candidates who will have chosen their variations during the competition week.

2022

The two winners of the 2022 edition of the Young Creation Award are:

Milla Loock with her variation “Cognition“, danced by Anita Ferreira (School of the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier). Music: ‘Dismantle’ by Peter Sandberg.
Luca Branca with his variation “Les Ombres du temps“, danced by Yo Nakajima (Princess Grace Academy). Music: ‘Ad Infinitum’ by Vincent Isler.

The two winning choreographies (as voted by the Jury) have become part of the Prix de Lausanne contemporary repertoire 2023. Milla Loock and Luca Branca will therefore come to the Prix de Lausanne 2023 and coach the candidates who have chosen their variations.

2021

The two winners of the first edition of the Young Creation Award are:

Maya SMALLWOOD (USA) from Canada’s National Ballet School with her original variation ‘Unravel‘. Music: ‘Euphoria’ by Vincent Isler. Dancer: Ewan Hartman.
Samuel WINKLER (Australia) from the School of Hamburg Ballet John-Neumeier with his original variation ‘Suppress‘. Music: ‘Aurora’ by Vincent Isler. Dancer: Gabriel Barbosa.

The two winning choreographies (as voted by the Jury) have become part of the Prix de Lausanne contemporary repertoire 2022.