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Dancer who will perform the Nutcracker Prince is selected for Prix de Lausanne

Jett Lecamu of Winston-Salem, a 10th-grade student in the School of Dance, has been selected for the Prix de Lausanne 2022, the prestigious international ballet competition. He will perform in the roles of the Nutcracker Prince and Trepak in the live ��������Ƶ production of “The Nutcracker” Dec. 10-19 at the Stevens Center.

Lecamu is one of 74 dancers from around the world selected through video auditions for the competition to be held Jan. 31 through Feb. 6, 2022, in Montreaux, Switzerland. Competition administrators hope to hold the event in person after the COVID-19 pandemic required adjudicating the finalists’ entries online last year.

"This is a remarkable accomplishment for Jett, and it affirms the quality of our training program for young dancers, both male and female,” said Assistant Dean of Ballet Jared Redick. “As one of Jett’s main teachers, I’m proud of his accomplishment and the excellent work he’s done with his faculty coach, Ilya Kozadayev.”

Lecamu began his dance training at the age of 5 and then completed five years of training in the Preparatory Dance Program at ��������Ƶ before enrolling as a 10th-grader.

For the video audition, Lecamu performed Kozadayev’s original contemporary choreography titled “Illustrations” and a series of ballet exercises specified by the judges. In the competition, he will perform the Franz variation from Arthur Saint-Leon’s ballet “Coppelia” and a contemporary selection yet to be determined.

Redick said Lecamu’s achievement at a young age makes him a welcome ambassador for both the Preparatory Dance Program and the young men’s ballet program at ��������Ƶ. “We have an excellent ballet program for young men, with outstanding training by internationally recognized faculty who have performed and taught around the world,” he said.

Lecamu is the fifth ��������Ƶ student in as many years who has been chosen for the Prix de Lausanne, and the seventh in nine years. “The Prix de Lausanne is a launching pad for a dancer’s career,” Redick said. “Erik Kim went to the Prix de Lausanne in 2019, his senior year at ��������Ƶ, and from there he joined the Ballet Sodre in Montevideo, Uruguay. He’s currently a company member with Atlanta Ballet. Another alum, Bret Coppa, was awarded a contract with Atlanta Ballet after competing at the Prix de Lausanne in 2017.”

Lecamu was a finalist last spring in the North American competition of the Youth America Grand Prix in Tampa, Florida, and he will compete in the Winston-Salem regional semifinals in February 2022.

For the Prix de Lausanne, nine professionals from the international dance world judged the videos of 376 applicants (298 girls and 78 boys) from 39 different countries. A total of 74 dancers were selected via this process to join seven preselected candidates. In total, 81 dancers (49 girls and 32 boys) from 17 different countries were selected to take part in the Prix de Lausanne 2022.

Created in 1973, the Prix de Lausanne is an international ballet competition for young dancers aged 15-18 years old. Its goal is to discover, promote and support the finest talents around the world.

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