For more than five decades, the Prix de Lausanne has welcomed talented young dancers from around the world for an intense week of classes, rehearsals, and performances as they compete for awards and scholarships. This year, the Prix runs February 1–8, 2026, at Switzerland’s Beaulieu Lausanne. Out of 444 applicants, 81 dancers (43 girls and 38 boys, from 18 countries) will compete in Lausanne this year. As always, all participating dancers have the opportunity to be seen by directors from international schools and companies through the Prix’s Networking Forum.
The Prix will also livestream the competition for free on its website and YouTube channel, as well as via ARTE TV. That includes the third edition of the Rising Stars gala, which will take place on February 8 after the finals. Paris Opéra Ballet artists Inès McIntosh and Shale Wagman will headline this year’s program, which also features the winning variations from the Young Creation Award, original choreography by The Washington Ballet artistic director Edwaard Liang, and classical and contemporary variations performed by the 2026 winners and finalists.
Now without further ado, here are your U.S. participants:
Representing the United States
Minori De Silva
Age: 16
Training: Morningstar Dance Academy in Johns Creek, GA
Milo Demeulenaere
Age: 18
Training: City Ballet San Francisco in San Francisco, CA
Gabriel Fabiani
Age: 17
Training: Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education in Tulsa, OK
William Gyves
Age: 18
Training: Tanz Akademie Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland
Nathan Lachenmayer
Age: 18
Studio: The HARID Conservatory in Boca Raton, FL
Diego Martinez Haidar
Age: 16
Studio: Pennsylvania Ballet Conservatory in Washington County, PA
Blake Metcalf
Age: 15
Training: The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, PA
Ekaterina Pichkova
Age: 16
Training: Osipova Ballet Academy in Mountainview, CA
Nikhil Sengupta
Age: 15
Training: A&A Ballet in Chicago, IL
Ella Way
Age: 16
Training: Pennsylvania Ballet Conservatory in Washington County, PA
Training at U.S. Schools, but Representing Other Countries
Lukas Rueda
Age: 17
Representing: Colombia
Training: Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance Education in Tulsa, OK
Yusei (Leon) Sai
Age: 15
Representing: Japan
Training: Southland Ballet Academy in Fountain Valley, CA
Young Creation Award Participants
The Young Creation Award, now in its sixth year, is a choreographic competition for young dancers from the Prix’s partner schools. Out of 61 applicants (42 girls and 19 boys) from 19 schools and 22 countries, five were selected.
Here are the artists from the U.S. who will be participating in this portion of the competition, either as a choreographer or a dancer:
Isabella Howard (Choreographer)
Age: 18
Training: San Francisco Ballet School in San Francisco, CA
Title: Bound to the Unseen
Dancer: Asier Bautista Ayora (Spain)
Emaline Ownby (Dancer)
Age: 18
Training: Tanz Akademie Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland
Title: Noise in Silence
Choreographer: Anastasiia Protsenkoherman (Ukraine)
Kyra Wentzlaff (Choreographer)
Age: 19
Training: School of the Hamburg Ballet in Hamburg, Germany
Title: Tidal
Dancer: Paolo Leanza (Italy)
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