14th International Ballet Competition

From June 3rd through 11th, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow hosted the 14th International Ballet Competition, and Makar Mikhalkin, 2nd year student of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (teacher – Mikhail Sharkov) won the 1st Prize, Gold Medal and the title of Laureate in the “Junior Solos” nomination.

The quadrennial Ballet Competition in Moscow ranks among the most eminent ballet competition. Its history dates back to 1969. Triumphs at the competition, along with the Laureate titles give young gifted performers a chance to promote themselves literally worldwide. Previously, Andris Liepa, Vadim Pisarev, Vladimir Malakhov, Morihiro Iwata, Polina Semionova, Natalia Osipova and many others won the hearts of the judges and the audience at the Competition.

The Competition Committee received 343 participation applications from 33 countries. The multinational panel of judges included prominent ballet figures from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Turkey, Korea, Italy, DPR, China and Kazakhstan. Yuri Grigorovich was the head of the panel.

After the draw, Makar Mikhalkin was assigned number 27.

At the first audition, Makar presented variations of Albrecht from Giselle and Basilio from Don Quixote. In the second round he performed the variation of Lucien d'Hervilly from the Paquita and an ad-hoc contemporary number composed by Nikita Vysotsky for the Competition. In the 3rd round he danced the variation of a slave from a pas de deux from Le Corsaire and Prince Siegfried from the Swan Lake.

Two former graduates of the Academy received Special Diplomas in the Men – Duet nomination: Marcello Pelizzoni (Italy, class of 2018) and Alessandro Caggegi (UK, class of 2015).

Our congratulations and compliments to the Laureate and Prize winners! Great job! We wish you triumphs, bright performances and new accomplishments!