Royal Academy of Dance

• One of the world’s most prestigious ballet competitions, the Genée International Ballet Competition, returns home to London this September
• More than 50 talented performers expected to compete over three public performances
• See some of the world’s most talented young ballet performers before anyone else
• Judges announced: Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Director of The Royal Ballet, David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of Northern Ballet, David Bintley CBE, Artistic Director of  Birmingham Royal Ballet, Jeanetta Laurence OBE, Associate Director of The Royal Ballet.
• Royal Ballet’s celebrated young choreographic talent Charlotte Edmonds has been announced as the Commissioned Choreographer this year, demonstrating the RADs commitment to encouraging young choreographers
• Tickets for the Semi-finals and Final (16 – 19 September) available at www.rad.org.uk/geneetickets
  

The prestigious Genée International Ballet Competition returns home to London this September, after a five-year international tour. Promising to deliver its customary showcase of some of the world’s most talented young performers, this year’s Genée will see an expected 50 dancers compete over two public Semi-finals for a place in the Final at Sadler’s Wells (19 September). Tickets, on sale from today (19 May) are available at www.rad.org.uk/geneetickets

The Genée, which first took place in London in 1931, is one of the most celebrated annual events in the dance calendar – it provides an unparalleled launch pad for young dancers with alumni including, Leanne Benjamin, Steven McRae and more recently, Francesca Hayward. Over an intense 10 days, candidates aged 15 to 19 will experience world-class coaching and ensemble training featuring classic and specially commissioned new choreography in the build up to the Final.

The competition provides a platform for both performers and choreographers alike through the Dancer’s Own Choreographic Award which was introduced in 2012. In addition to Classical Repertoire variations and the choreographic award for the Dancer’s Own variation, competitors will learn two variations (one male, one female) to be premiered at the Final at Sadler’s Wells. This year Charlotte Edmonds, the rising young choreographic talent championed by The Royal Ballet, will be the commissioned choreographer for the competition, highlighting the RAD’s commitment to encouraging young choreographers.

2015 is a year of change for the Genée. For the first time, the RAD has introduced a new bursary programme to encourage more young dancers from across the world to enter the Genée by offering financial support. Named in honour of the Academy’s President, the new Darcey Bussell Genée Bursaries will cover successful applicants’ entry fees, travel expenses and associated costs. The bursaries have been made possible by donations made at the RAD’s QEII Coronation Award Gala in September 2014. In addition, The Dame Margot FonteynScholarship Fund has pledged to award a bursary of up to £2,000 per annum for the next 5 years to support eligible candidates. This will be administered by the RAD in tandem with the Darcey Bussell Genée Bursary scheme. A total of 10 bursaries have been awarded for this year’s competition with a total value of £17,000.

Darcey Bussell CBE, President of the Royal Academy of Dance, says: "It’s an honour for these new bursaries to be in my name. The Genée presents a rare opportunity to see the most talented young performers from all across the globe come together. Successful bursary applicants are coming from six continents so there will be fantastically diverse showcase in styles. This will not only be hugely enjoyable to watch but an invaluable experience for the participants. I’m delighted that these bursaries will enable dancers from less fortunate backgrounds to benefit from the Genée.”

Judges for the competition announced today include Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Director of The Royal Ballet, David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of Northern Ballet and David Bintley CBE, Artistic Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Semi-final judge, Jeanetta Laurence OBE, says: “I am delighted to be a part of the prestigious Genée International Ballet Competition 2015, particularly as many of The Royal Ballet’s Principals and artists are Genée alumni. The Semi-finals are key in spotting real talent; I’m really looking forward to seeing the creativity that will surely be apparent in the pieces performed for the Dancer’s Own section in which the young dancers bring their own choreography to the stage”.

The competition takes place between 10 and 19 September 2015. The Semi-finals will take place on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 September at Stratford Circus Arts Centre with the final taking place at Sadler’s Wells on 19 September. Participant entry for the competition closes on 10 August.

A limited number of all-inclusive Genée Experience Packages are currently available through the RAD website

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Genée website:

www.rad.org.uk/genee
@RADHeadquarters

RAD website:
www.rad.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

Ticket Information 
www.rad.org.uk/genee

Charlotte Edmonds
Charlotte trained at The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge. She was a finalist in the Ninette de Valois Junior Choreographic competition for three consecutive years. She won the Kenneth MacMillan Senior Choreographic Competition twice, with both her winning works featured in The Royal Ballet School end-of-year performances. While at the School, Charlotte performed with The Royal Ballet. In 2013, she was given her first choreographic commission as Causeway Artist in Residence with Yorke Dance Project, No Strings Attached, which opened at Sadler’s Wells. In 2014, she created her first dance film The Indifferent Beak for the Royal Ballet Deloitte Ignite Festival. In November 2014 she choreographed for the London Children’s Ballet Gala hosted by Darcey Bussell with dancers from the Royal and Birmingham Royal Ballet Companies. Charlotte is completing her final year at Rambert School and will be the first participant of The Royal Ballet’s Young Choreographer Programme from August 2015.

The Genée International Ballet Competition 
Known simply as ‘the Genée’, it is one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world, attracting the finest young dancers trained in the Royal Academy of Dance’s syllabus, from around the globe.

Candidates receive a unique opportunity to work with renowned choreographers and teachers for five days before performing at the Semi-finals and then the Final, where they compete for a range of medals.

The 2015 competition will be held in London, home of the RAD and where the first Genée was held in 1931. Candidates will experience world-class coaching at the RAD headquarters by the Thames in Battersea, including sessions in the Genée Studio, and be judged by representatives from internationally renowned ballet companies.

The Final will take place on Saturday 19 September at the prestigious Sadler’s Wells theatre in Islington.

Competition Final Judges:
Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Director of The Royal Ballet. 
David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of Northern Ballet. 
David Bintley CBE, Artistic Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Competition Semi-finals Judges:
Dame Monica Mason DBE, former Director of The Royal Ballet. 
David Nixon OBE, Artistic Director of Northern Ballet. 
Jeanetta Laurence OBE, Associate Director of The Royal Ballet

The Royal Academy of Dance – RAD
The Royal Academy of Dance is one of the world’s most influential dance education organisations, setting standards in classical ballet worldwide and a global leader in dance education and Continuing Professional Development for dance.

Founded in 1920 to set standards for dance teaching within the UK, the RAD has a presence in 83 countries, with 36 offices and over 14,000 members worldwide. The RAD’s teacher training programmes count more than 1,000 students and more than a quarter of a million students are being examined through its syllabi. 

The Academy offers its members support through the knowledge, and expertise of highly qualified staff and through conferences, workshops, training courses and summer schools.

The RAD's patron is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Dame Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund 
The Dame Margot Fonteyn Scholarship Fund was established following the death of Margot Fonteyn in 1991. The Fund exists to provide scholarships and prizes to gifted dance students in need of financial support and to promote interest in and appreciation of ballet as an art form.