Get to Know the 10 American Dancers Heading to the 2019 Prix de Lausanne

October 30, 2018

Competition season is just around the corner. Today, The Prix de Lausanne announced the 80 dancers that will head to Switzerland February 3–10 to compete for scholarships and apprenticeships to the Prix’s partner schools and companies.

By the numbers, 363 dancers (273 girls and 90 boys) from 40 countries applied. Nine jury members reviewed the video submissions and selected 71 dancers over the course of three days. Add in the nine preselected competitors for a grand total of 80 dancers (44 girls and 36 boys) hailing from 20 countries.

Out of that group, 10 are from the U.S. Get to know them below. There’s another reason to follow these Americans: Last year, Aviva Gelfer-Mundl, one of the American Prix de Lausanne competitors, took home a big prize.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Prix in the months to come!

Mackenzie Brown, Académie Princesse Grace 

While Mackenzie Brown is entering as a U.S. competitor, she trains in Monaco at the Académie Princesse Grace. Brown was the 2016–17 Miss World Dance and is a Russian Pointe ambassador. Last year, she participated in Prix de Lausanne’s Partner Schools Choreographic Project.

Olivia Daugherty, International Ballet School

Olivia Daugherty, 15, studies at International Ballet School in Littleton, CO. She’s no stranger to competitions: Daugherty has placed at the Youth America Grand Prix and the Denver Ballet Guild’s Young Dancers Competition. She has also earned scholarships to the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive and intensives at Académie Princesse Grace and University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Parker Garrison, International Ballet Academy 

Parker Garrison
is a student at International Ballet Academy in Cary, NC. At age 12, he appeared on America’s Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. At the 2018 YAGP New York Finals, Garrison won a scholarship to Boston Ballet’s 2019 Summer Intensive and a short-term scholarship to Académie Princesse Grace.

Erik Kim, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Erik Kim
is a high school student at University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC. Starting at 1:30 in the above clip, you can see Kim in an UNCSA production of Paquita.

Mackenzie Kirsch, Dance Center of San Antonio 

Mackenzie Kirsch
trains at the Dance Center of San Antonio in San Antonio, TX, a Vaganova school run by Vanessa Bessler, a former principal with the National Ballet of Panama. At the 2018 YAGP Finals, Kirsch won a scholarship to the 2018 Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive. She’s also a member of the Children’s Ballet of San Antonio and competed in the 2018 Vaganova Prix in St. Petersburg.

Soana Madsen, VM Ballet School

Soana Madsen trains abroad at VM Ballet School in Toulouse, France, which is directed by her parents, Matthew Madsen and Vinciane Ghyseens; her father was born in the U.S., while her mother is Belgian. In 2017, Madsen competed on the French classical talent TV show, “Prodiges.”

Harold Mendez, Sarasota Cuban Ballet School

Harold Mendez
is a student at the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School in Sarasota, FL. He has a long list of competition accolades, including medals from Cuba’s Grand Prix, YAGP, World Ballet Competition and, most recently, a bronze medal in the junior male category at the 2018 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, MS.

Basia Rhoden, Master Ballet Academy 

A student at the Vaganova-based Master Ballet Academy in Scottsdale, AZ, Basia Rhoden took home a bronze medal at the 2018 YAGP Finals as well as placing at the 2018 ADC | IBC.

Rheya Shano, Brookline Ballet School

Rheya Shano trains at Brookline Ballet School outside of Boston. She won a gold medal in the Classical Junior Division at the 2017 Valentina Kozlova IBC and a bronze medal in the junior category of the 2018 USA IBC in Jackson, MS.

Julia Shugart, All American Classical Ballet School

Last but not least is Julia Shugart, a student at All American Classical Ballet School in Tampa, FL. Like the rest of the American contestants, Shugart is a regular on the ballet competition circuit.