A Danish Star is Rising: Ida Praetorius Wins Erik Bruhn Prize

The Royal Danish Ballet’s Ida Praetorius may only be 19, but she’s quickly making her mark on the ballet world.

Last year, Pointe highlighted her as one of the standouts of 2011—when she was only an apprentice! Artistic director Nikolai Hubbe had cast her in the lead of Fleming Flindt’s The Lesson for the company’s U.S. tour, and she astounded us with her expressive movement and innate dramatic flair.

Now a member of the corps, Praetorius took home the prestigious Erik Bruhn Prize last night, along with her RDB partner Andreas Kaas. Rounding out the awards was RDB’s Alessandro Sousa Pereira, who won the choreographic prize. Emma Hawes of the National Ballet of Canada and James Hay of The Royal Ballet both won audience choice awards, as did NBC’s Guillame Coté for his choreography.

Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for what Praetorius does next. And be sure to check out Pointe‘s list of standout performances from 2012 in our December/January issue!