The competition, organized by the EuroDance Foundation, is among the world's most important dance events. It is named after the great dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, who died in Paris in 1993. (The Hungarian State Opera, where Nureyev made his last public performance, will host the awards gala for the competition.)
The contest, which is being organised for the fourth time this year, has attracted more than 250 young dancers from 30 countries. About 80 dancers are expected to participate this year.
The jury for this year's contest will be headed by the Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century. The jury's members are Heinz Sporeli, director and choreographer for the Zurich Ballet; the Argentine ballet star and director of the Ballet Argentino Julio Bocca; the director and choreographer of the Toulouse Ballet de Capitol Nanette Glushak; the president of the Japanese Association of Dance Kenji Usui; chief professor at Prague's Ballet Academy Jaroslav Slavicky; director of the Vienna Dance Competition Evelyn Teri; Ildikó Pongor of the National Ballet; and Zoltán Nagy, the rector of the Hungarian College of Dance.
The awards gala will take place on March 10 at the Hungarian State Opera House. Past winners of the prize - Laurent Hilaire and Manuel Legris, Vladimir Malakhov, April Ball, Ivan Vasiliev, Johan Kobborg and Lukas Slavicky - will also be acknowledged at the ceremony.
