Competitors on Choreographers
While the competition is known for launching careers of dancers, past Commissioned Choreographers have also gone on to amazing careers and have done some incredible things post-competition. Among them are Christopher Hampson (2003), Yuri Ng (2006), Liam Scarlett (2010), Robert Binet (2013) and Charlotte Edmonds (2015).
A new solo
‘Something the Genée gave me which I couldn’t have had elsewhere was the new solo created for us by Liam Scarlett. It was so thrilling to work with an exciting, up and coming choreographer. The fact that Liam has gone on to do so many more successful productions makes the memory even sweeter.’ – Sean Bates, Junior Soloist with Northern Ballet (Silver, 2010)
Eye opener
‘Another fond memory of mine is having the opportunity to work with Yuri Ng, who choreographed Dance a Little Faster. His variation was eye-opening for me. It was a piece that I truly loved, as it allowed me to play with the musicality, dynamics and intentions of the dance, something that I had never experienced before. It was incredible to learn such a magical variation from the choreographer himself.’ – Alexandra MacDonald, First Soloist with The National Ballet of Canada (Finalist, 2006)
Insight
‘I absolutely loved working with choreographer Robert Binet, getting an insight into his choreographic style and performing his solo in the Final!’ – Isabelle Brouwers, First Artist with English National Ballet (Silver, 2013)
A special thing
‘I really enjoyed the commissioned piece by Liam Scarlett, which we all learnt and performed at the Final. It was a special thing within the competition. Everyone was in the same position it wasn’t a pre-rehearsed solo, we all helped each other.’ – Tierney Heap, Soloist with The Royal Ballet (Bronze, 2010)