The Fonteyn: RAD’s Worldwide Ballet Competitors

Phrase affiliation time: what involves thoughts while you consider ‘dance competitions’?

Maybe motion pictures like Step Up (decide a quantity, any quantity) or Work It! spring to thoughts. Or possibly you keep in mind these younger ladies beneath path of the notorious Abby Lee Miller in Dance Mothers. And, in case you love glitter, you most likely pictured the celebrities of Strictly Come Dancing – and their skilled companions who’ve dance battled it out for giant titles in Blackpool.

However the ballet world has dance competitions, too.

Flashback to 1931, when The Genée (now often called The Fonteyn) made its debut.

The Genée / The Fonteyn Historical past

The worldwide competitors for younger dancers educated within the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus started in 1931, when the Adeline Genée Gold Medal was awarded to Felicity Garratt. 

The ballet competitors has taken place practically yearly since, because the RAD’s flagship annual occasion — in London and overseas, globetrotting to the likes of Sydney, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Cape City. 

Open to certified non-professional dancers aged 15 – 19 on the deadline, The-Genée-turned-The-Fonteyn is seen as a ‘launch pad for an expert [dance] profession.’ Previous winners embody Steven McRae, Francesca Hayward and Harris Beattie. 

All through its the years, the ballet competitors has expanded to supply silver and bronze medals, plus extra awards: Musicality Award, Choreographic Award, and the Dame Margot Fonteyn Viewers Alternative Award, which all include money prizes. Winners now even have the chance to be thought of for a wide range of scholarships at varied faculties. 

The Fonteyn Competitors Construction

As Tim Arthur Chief Govt of the RAD summarises the custom, “Every year [at The Fonteyn] we carry collectively dancers from across the globe for per week of dance that they’ll keep in mind and cherish without end.” 

The Semi-finals

This Semi-finals happen over three days, throughout which the dancers obtain teaching and are judged on: 

1. a classical ballet class on stage
2. a efficiency of classical ballet repertoire from an permitted record
3. a efficiency of their ‘Dancer’s Personal’ choreography — a chunk choreographed by themselves, their instructor or a peer

Then a panel of esteemed judges selects the finalists, based mostly on approach, musicality and efficiency qualities. 

The Finals

Alison Roberts-Tse of Dance Dispatches attended The Fonteyn 2024 closing at His Majesty’s Theatre in London as press. The occasion felt equal elements competitors, showcase and jubilant celebration of dance amongst ballet royalty — in a construction not unfamiliar to The Nice British Bake Off. 

First, every of the finalists carried out the solos commissioned particularly for the competitors. Let’s liken this to TGBBO’s ‘Technical’ problem, since each feminine carried out the identical choreography and each male carried out the identical motion phrases. (Albeit, they did obtain steerage, not like the bakers.)

It was an interesting 40-some minutes, inspecting the varied nuances every dancer emphasised in Andrew McNicol’s choreography. (Nevertheless, this might not be everybody’s cup of tea: watching a feminine variation 8 instances and a male variation 4 instances… though they did intersperse the female and male dances.)

Subsequent, the finalists confirmed off their strongest fits of their ‘Dancer’s Personal’ choreography, which ranged from ballet to up to date dance. Dancers had probably the most freedom right here, which makes it like TGBBO ‘Showstopper’ problem, no?

And at last, the dancers displayed their classical ballet abilities with a ‘Signature Bake’ — er, Classical Repertoire Variation. 

The finalist judges (a few of who additionally judged the Semi-finals) took every efficiency under consideration and deliberated, whereas the viewers was handled the balcony pas de deus from Romeo & Juliet by Northern Ballet dancers Harris Beattie and Saeka Shire. 

Bestowing awards to the medallists capped off the night, honouring probably the most excellent dancers from the worldwide RAD neighborhood of greater than 400,000 college students. What an achievement!

Word: Dance lovers can ​watch The Fonteyn – Finals livestream and replay at medici.television . 

The Fonteyn 2024 Judges, Commissioned Choreographer & Producer

Judges: 

• Dame Darcey Bussell DBE, President of the RAD
• Alessandra Ferri OMRI, Inventive Director Designate of the Wiener Staatsballett 
• Jose Alves, former Senior Artist at Ballet Black (Semi-final solely)
• Kevin O’Hare CBE, Director of The Royal Ballet (Closing solely)

Judges for the Choreographic and Musicality Awards:

• Dame Monica Mason DBE
• Ashley Web page OBE

Commissioned Choreographer: Andrew MicNicol

Producer: Lynn Wallis OBE

“The competitors brings dancers from world wide collectively to share the enjoyment of dance, develop their artistry and to make good recollections.” — Andrew McNicol, The Fonteyn 2024 Commissioned Choreographer

The Fonteyn 2024 Winners

• Gold: Antonia Maria Cramb (aged 18, presently coaching at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)   
• Silver: Lydia Hough (aged 18 from the UK, presently coaching at English Nationwide Ballet Faculty) 
  + she gained the Margot Fonteyn Viewers Alternative Award — and acquired a vote from Dance Dispatches.
• Bronze: Alfie-Lee Corridor (aged 18 from the UK, presently coaching at Elmhurst Ballet Faculty)
  AND Ernesto Younger (aged 17 from Australia, presently coaching at Alegria Dance Studios)
  + he gained the Dancer’s Personal Choreographic Award.
• Musicality Award: Christie Anderson (aged 20 from the UK, presently coaching at Artwork of Movement Worldwide Dance Laboratory)

Congratulations to all the medallists and contributors!