Prior to the start of this year’s Prix de Lausanne, the London Ballet Circle was pleased to welcome past winners of the competition, Harrison Lee (2015) and Ashley Coupal (2021), for an evening of conversation with Christopher Powney, Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet School. Harrison currently dances with the Royal Ballet and Ashley is at ENB.
The dancers started by talking about their journey leading up to the Prix, before elaborating on their experience at the competition. Ashley said she had dreamed of participating since she was about 10 and that she enjoyed the competition, since it was a “fantastic opportunity to get feedback from great ballet dancers and extra coaching.” Harrison, likewise, had a positive experience competing, recalling that he was awarded a place at the RBS early in the week, which took the pressure off, allowing him to enjoy performing and “make the most of the opportunity.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, we gained a fascinating insight into the lives of two young ballet dancers, from dealing with Covid and mental health issues to the shock of moving away from home and the difficulty of balancing academic work with ballet training. There was also time to ask about the dancers’ favourite roles – for Ashley it was Giselle, and for Harrison… the ‘hedge’ in Alice in Wonderland which, he explained, was his first professional role at the Royal Ballet!
Christopher, who has sat on the Prix’s jury for many years, gave the audience an understanding of the intricacies of judging the competition. He said that he always looks at “potential, not just the outcome.” He also said that whilst the judging may be open to subjectivity, that’s the beauty of a jury – “you have people of all backgrounds, styles and profession giving their opinion” to get to the result.
After this fascinating “in conversation” event, as the Prix celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, LBC members will be able to watch the competition with a greater appreciation of the hard work and effort that the dancers (and jury members) put in behind the scenes.
A full report of this event is available here, and a recording will be made available in the members only section of the website in due course.
