Inspiring Words at the 2024 Prix de Lausanne
The Prize Winners and the Jury of the 2024 Prix de Lausanne. Photo by Prix de Lausanne.
From 29 January 2024 until 4 February 2024, dance students and ballet lovers all over the world got to experience the Prix de Lausanne in more than seven hours of live streaming daily. The Prix de Lausanne is one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world. The competitors and prize winners are of course the heroes of the competition. But one of this year’s highlight were the inspiring words spoken at the awards ceremony by two former prima ballerinas, President of the Jury Darcey Bussell and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Alessandra Ferri.
Alessandra Ferri was awarded the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. A Prize Winner of the 1980 Prix de Lausanne, Ferri was one of the great dramatic ballerinas of her generation, dancing with major companies all over the world. She deeply moved the audience with her own memories of the Prix de Lausanne:
“My artistic journey really started on this stage. It was the first time that I was dancing a solo in front of an international jury and an international audience. And it was really just me with my tutu and all my dreams. It was then that I discovered a feeling I never felt before: fear. But it was then that I also discovered I had the tools to control and overcome the paralysing feeling. I perfectly remember two moments from that experience: the terror before stepping on stage and the perception that once I walked on that stage, the bubble of fear inside of me had suddenly burst, allowing me to feel the magic of what it means to be free through dancing. That moment of awakening was so powerful that it marked my life forever. I fought the paralysis of my own fears with the freedom of my own dance.”
Ferri described how she dove into her roles to forget and overcome her own limits, how she lived lives on stage that weren’t her own but felt like it, enriching her and making her the person she is today: “And my incredible journey is the proof that through hard work, discipline and unconditional belief in our dreams, we can access magical and enchanted lands.” Ferri also emphasised that the jury of the Prix de Lausanne doesn’t just recognize talent, but also potential: “It demands that the jury looks with a far-sighted knowledge that it is not the speed of the journey that counts, but its trajectory.”
Darcey Bussell, President of this year’s jury, was a Prix de Lausanne Prize Winner in 1986 and went on to become a principal at London’s Royal Ballet and the most famous British ballerina of her generation. During the awards ceremony, she spoke directly to the young dancers: “To our wonderful candidates: I would love to remind you - first and foremost, you are an artist. The social media show reels of moves and extreme poses are not true reflections of our emotional, provoking art. Please, please focus on how your expressive moves will contribute to the storytelling ability of dance. You are unique and you have a story to tell with each and every move you make.
To many of you, the world must suddenly feel more complex, politically and environmentally. Life has always thrown us challenges. In this world, art has the most important part to play: its beauty, its strength, hope, its collaboration, its communication and its way of connecting. Never stop learning and evolving as an artist. Keep finding inspiration from collaboration, nature and the other art forms. To all you young artists - be proud of your training and the discipline it gives you. It will take you far. Be confident in the knowledge that you are entering an important career, contributing deeply to society. Your passion, tenacity will keep the beauty of ballet alive for decades.”
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