The public final will take place in 2026 Saturday 6 June 2026 at 6 pm at the Théâtre de la Gare du Midi in Biarritz.
The finalists will benefit from two days of training to support their project.
As in the first four editions, the jury will be made up of the 3 directors of the Ballets organizing the Competition. They will be joined by :
– Iratxe AnsaDirector of Metamorphosis Dance
– Isabel Bischof, Artistic Director of Bern Ballett (Switzerland)
2024 Jury Prize – Young Ballet Choreographers’ Competition, Resident Choreographer at Ballett Schwerin (Germany)
– Martin Harriague, Director of the Ballet of the Grand Avignon Opera
– Sabrina Sadowska, Director of Chemnitz Ballet (Germany)
– Beate Vollack, Director of Dance at the National Capitol Opera of Toulouse
Artistic Director CCN - Ballet de l'Opéra national du Rhin
Director and choreographer of the CCN Malandain Ballet Biarritz
Director of Dance at the Opéra National de Bordeaux
Franco-Italian, 24 years old. A dancer and choreographer, Noémi is currently working with the Paris Dance Project and the Ballet of J’erri. She previously danced with CCN – Ballet of the National Rhine Opera, then with ŻfinMalta – the National Dance Company of Malta.
Dutch, 24 years old. A dancer, choreographer, and freelance teacher, Zoë is currently involved in both creative and educational projects after years spent at Nederlands Dans Theater 2. She has also collaborated with IID Company, the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company, and several European festivals.
Lilit Hakobyan is an Armenian choreographer and interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin. A former dancer with the State Ballet Hannover, she develops a choreographic language inspired by cinema and visual arts. Awarded three prizes at the International Choreography Competition Hannover in 2024 for her piece ‹ LUCK ›, she now creates works for several European dance companies.
Italian, 28 years old. A dancer with the Ballet of the National Capitol Opera of Toulouse, Lorenzo is also pursuing choreographic work. Before joining the Capitole, he danced with the Ballet de Catalunya in Barcelona and later with the Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb.
Italian, 23 years old. A dancer and freelance choreographer based in the Netherlands, Nnamdi is currently developing his own creative and performance projects. Trained at the Dance Arts Faculty in Codarts Rotterdam, he previously collaborated with the Ballet of Parma, Stuttgart Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, and the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company.
Italian, 31 years old. A dancer with the Ballet of the National Opera of Bordeaux, Riccardo is also developing his choreographic work. He previously performed at the Rome Opera Theatre and then at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples.
3 commissions for creation and dissemination
Each winner will be able to choreograph a 20-minute piece for 10 to 20 dancers during a month-long residency at the Ballet de l’Opéra national de Bordeaux, du CCN . Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin, or at the Ballett Schwerin.
Each ballet provides its own dancers, a rehearsal studio and the necessary staff to welcome the dancers, and takes charge of costume and accessory manufacture, as well as lighting design (no or minimal scenery).
Each creation will be presented in the official season of the Ballet, which offers the residency.. In each city, the host ballet can complete the programme.
Biarritz Prize
A prize of €15,000 will be awarded to the candidate by the grand jury at the finals.
Prix des professionnels/ Fondation pour la Danse Thierry Malandain – Académie des beaux-arts
The dance critics and theater directors present at the final will vote to award one of the finalists the Prix des professionnels, endowed with €5,000 by the Fondation pour la Danse Thierry Malandain - Académie des beaux-arts.
Audience Prize
Invited to vote at the end of the competition, the spectators present at the final will award the choreographer of their choice the ‘Audience prize’ worth €3,000.
Prix Pass Culture
1 000 €
