At the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition, the event was attended in person by Márta-Fodor Molnár, Rector of the Hungarian Dance University; János Kiss, Artist of the Nation and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Tamás Nagy, Associate Professor and Chair of the Arts Council; and Attila Kalmár, Head of HDU’s Department of Modern and Theatrical Dance.

Marci Balog has grown, as both the photo and the results show (in the photo: Tamás Nagy, Márton Balog, Márta-Fodor Molnár, and János Kiss).

Attila Kalmár told us that Marci Balog was approached by the world’s leading ballet schools, indicating that he truly attracted attention at the world’s most prestigious ballet competition.

Boróka Kosaras participated in the partner schools’ choreographer project, during which choreographer Edwaard Liang created a piece for 27 dancers in just eight days. The choreography was performed at the finals on Saturday and was also featured on Sunday at the Rising Star Gala. Edwaard Liang was extremely pleased with Boróka, who even danced a small solo in the performance.

Attila Kalmár answered several of our questions.

How would do describe the level of the competition?

It was a stiff competition in Marci’s age group, as well as among the senior girls. We also saw impressive performances among the senior boys.

How satisfied are you—so, how satisfied are the Masters with the students’ performance?

I am completely satisfied, and so is the excellent ballet master József Medvecz, who prepared Marci. Marci is an exceptional talent and an ideal danser noble type, a dedicated and intelligent dancer who is truly a pleasure to work with. Accordingly, he performed wonderfully at the competition, both in classical ballet and modern classes, as well as in performing classical and modern variations. Since dance is an art form, no matter how much one tries to make evaluation criteria objective, subjectivity and other dance-specific factors cannot be entirely eliminated. We are also very proud of Boróka, together with her teacher Angéla Kövessy, as it is a very important feedback for us that a choreographer specifically enjoys working with our students.

And how satisfied do you think the young dancers are?

I believe that participating in the Prix de Lausanne 2026 was a defining experience and valuable learning opportunity for both of them, which will certainly have an impact on their further professional development.

Congratulations to the two students of the Hungarian Dance University for their outstanding performance at this world-class competition!

A The best also took notice of the Hungarian Dance University’s student in Lausanne bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

At the press conference, Erika Miklósa — Chair of the Board of Trustees of the main sponsor, the MOL – New Europe Foundation — was unable to attend in person, but in her welcome speech, which she sent separately to the Organizing Committee, she emphasized that what began as a great idea has now become a prestigious competition, thanks to the dedication of the organizers.

“…For the third year now, I have been witnessing the magical rise of the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix, an excellent young ballet dancers exposure. In a very short time, it has earned international recognition and is now a significant ballet competition in Central Europe, attracting young talents from all over the world. It simultaneously offers a window onto the international scene and provides opportunities for the most gifted to receive ballet scholarships in Central Europe and a launchpad for their careers. Talent truly flourishes when there is space to grow and a community that believes in it. The MOL – New Europe Foundation places special emphasis on supporting young talents and their mentors,” emphasized the Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer and recipient of the Order of Saint Stephen.

Photos by Pál Csillag (HDU)

At Friday’s press conference in Budapest, Márta Fodor-Molnár, Rector of the Hungarian Dance University (HDU), stated that applications for the competition — aimed at young dancers aged 14 to 24 — will close on Friday. So far, more than 140 registrations have been received from 22 countries, and 80 young ballet dancers will be selected from among the applicants. The event also offers various ballet masterclasses to complement the competition experience and enhance the dancers’ skills.

Irén Novák, Deputy State Secretary for Arts and Community Culture at the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, commented on the heightened interest surrounding this year’s competition, stating that it is no coincidence, as Hungarian dance and ballet artists are world-renowned. She recalled that talented young Hungarian dancers achieved outstanding results at last year’s competition. “Those who come here to study also help spread the good reputation of our country,” she said, emphasizing that the event also plays an important role in shaping the country’s image abroad and contributes significantly to ballet education in Europe.

János Kiss, Kossuth Prize-winning ballet artist and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the foundation overseeing the renewal of the university, spoke about how the BBGP offers a true ballet opportunity for advancement for students, as well as for both young and more experienced dancers. “It’s a chance for them to take the next step in their careers and to be noticed by renowned leaders and artists from the world’s major dance companies,” emphasizing the of importance of ballet opportunities, ballet training and professional growth.

At the event, Tamás Nagy, Director of the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix, a great ballet competition in 2025, gave a detailed introduction of the international ballet jury members, highlighting that their presence is a true guarantee of the event’s high professional standards. In keeping with tradition, the chair of the international jury will once again be a globally recognized Hungarian ballet artist — in 2025, this honour goes to Master Mária Aradi, who was greeted with a standing ovation at the press conference.

It was also revealed, somewhat humorously, that Tamás Nagy — who also serves as Chair of the Artistic Council at the Hungarian Dance University, the organizing body of the competition — was the subject of a student’s thesis.

As for the jury, ballet competition judges include Mária Aradi, Megan Fairchild, Mário Radačovský, Kinsun Chan, Jahn Magnus Johanssen.

Mária Aradi is a globally recognized Hungarian ballet artist and the chair of the international jury for BBGP 2025. She has had a distinguished career as a principal dancer at several major ballet companies. Her expertise and artistic insight make her an invaluable leader for the competition’s jury panel. Today, she still works tirelessly as a teaching ballet master of the Hungarian National Ballet and as an invited guest instructor of the Hungarian Dance University.

Megan Fairchild is a New York City Ballet principal, and she is renowned for her technical skill and expressive performances. She brings extensive experience in both classical and contemporary ballet to the jury. Megan is celebrated for her versatility and commitment to advancing young dancers’ careers.

Mário Radačovský, Artistic Director of The Ballet of the National Theatre Brno, is an accomplished Slovak ballet artist known for his dynamic stage presence and strong technique. He has performed leading roles in several international ballet companies. Mário’s experience as both a dancer and mentor enriches the jury’s perspective in evaluating competitors.

Kinsun Chan, a Swiss-Canadian choreographer, Ballet Director of the Semperoper Ballet, is a principal dancer with the Hong Kong Ballet and recognized for his elegant style and powerful performances. He has been praised for his artistry and ability to connect with audiences worldwide. Kinsun brings a global viewpoint to the BBGP jury through his international career.

Jahn Magnus Johanssen, Assistant Director of Norwegian National Ballet and Leader of The Norwegian National Ballet Youth Company, is a celebrated ballet dancer and choreographer from Norway. He is known for his innovative work and contribution to contemporary ballet. Jahn’s artistic vision and creative approach provide valuable insight to the competition’s judging process.

At the end of the press conference, Dr Attila Simon, CEO of Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd., presented the prestigious award crafted by the renowned company, which will be given to the top performers of the BBGP. Following this, the CEO spoke about a special exhibition featuring unique and rarely seen Herend pieces, which has been opened in the foyer of the National Dance Theatre.

At the press conference, it was repeatedly emphasized that there could be no better venue for the competition than the National Dance Theatre. Several speakers expressed their gratitude to its director, Péter Ertl — a former acclaimed dancer — for hosting the event, as well as to Csaba Káel, CEO of Müpa.

The organizers and participants warmly welcome all those interested to attend the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix from November 17 to 21, 2025, at the National Dance Theatre, and to the Gala performance at Müpa. The event also significantly contributes to ballet education in Central Europe, strengthening regional artistic development.

A Erika Miklósa: For the third year now, I have been witnessing the magical rise of the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

Maika, who is Angéla Kövessy’s student, prepared for this competition on her own, and is assisted by her Japanese teacher Yoko Fukutani, finished third in the high school category (16-18-year olds).

Yoko Fukutani’s (Japan) and Angéla Kövessy’s (HDU) prepared with two variations for the competition by herself. In the first round our student performed the female solo “Etoile” (Paquita – Act 2), while in the final she performed a variation of “Medora” (The Pirate).

The cover photo shows Maika Watanabe with her certificate she received at the competition, dressed as the Medora variation (Le Corsaire).

The NAMUE Grand Final is open only to those who have previously won prizes in any of the regional NAMUE ballet competitions. The event was held in Osaka with 154 participants. There were a total of 20 participants in the secondary school category.

Congratulations to Maika Watanabe!

A HDU’s student Watanabe Maika achieves 3rd place at the NAMUE ballet competition bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

The main goal of the event was to create an opportunity for young dancers to gain international exposure and build relationships. A total of five HDU students took part in the event and they achieved excellent results.

Students representing HDU included Ferenc Pethő, Liza Szűcs, Félix Boboi, Benedek Sánta and Júlia Precup, who were accompanied and assisted by Master Krisztina Végh. The students were prepared by Masters Angéla Kövessy, Balázs Krajczár, Sándor Túri, Noémi Kulcsár and Attila Kalmár. In the jury of the competition, HDU was represented by Master Mónika Barna.

In the classical solo category, Liza Szűcs won first place, while Júlia Precup and Félix Boboi also came first in the contemporary duo category. The third first place was won by to Liza Szűcs, Benedek Sánta and Ferenc Pethő in the classical group category with their performance “Baby Fairy pas de trois”.

In addition, Félix Boboi came third in the classical solo category, Júlia Precup came second in the modern solo category and Ferenc Pethő also reached the top 10.

Congratulations to the students of the university and their teachers.

A Hungarian Dance University students won three first prizes in Lecce bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

As reported earlier, several students of the university received awards or special prizes, some of them even managed to finish in top 3 at the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the students and their masters.

Below you will find a list of students and their masters who are or have been students of the Hungarian Dance University this calendar year, and who received recognition for their performance at the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix.

Photo by Andrea P. Merlo

The special prize-winners are:

The best Hungarian performer: Gvendolin Nagy (graduate, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár)

Young talent – solo, offered by the capital of Budapest: Márton Balog (4^th grade, teacher: Edina Dorkó)

Young talent – Pas de deux, offered by the capital of Budapest: Janka Dobra, Kamill Kökény-Hámori (9^th grade, teacher: Mónika Barna, József Medvecz)

200-euro voucher offered by iDanceStore: Gvendolin Nagy (graduate, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár)

Global Dance Open entry: Márton Balog (4^th grade, teacher: Edina Dorkó), Benedetta Maria Carrara (5^th grade, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár, Krisztina Végh), Evanthia Nakos Míra (5^th grade, teachers: Márta Fodor Molnár, Krisztina Végh)

The podium finishers

Junior category:

3. Lili Németh – Hungarian Dance University, (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Senior category:

3. Ezgi Toydemir – Hungarian Dance University (8^th grade, teacher: Katalin Volf)

Pas de Deux category:

2. Saito Hiraku and Yu-Rou Chiang – Hungarian Dance University (9^th grade, teacher: József Medvecz; 8^th grade, teacher: Katalin Volf)

3. Kamill Kökény-Hámori and Janka Dobra – Hungarian Dance University (9^th grade, teacher: Mónika Barna, József Medvecz)

Special prizes offered by the jury members:

Daria Klimentová’s offer

Scholarship for the International Ballet Masterclass Verona 2024:

100% scholarship:

Lili Németh (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Félix Boboi (8^th grade, teacher: Sándor Túri)

Kamill Kökény-Hámori (9^th grade, teacher: József Medvecz)

Hiraku Saito (9^th grade, teacher: József Medvecz)

50% scholarship:

Airi Fukumoto (6^th grade, teacher: Angéla Kövessy)

Liza Szűcs (6^th grade, teacher: Angéla Kövessy)

30% scholarship:

Nakos Míra Evanthia (5^th grade, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár, Végh Krisztina)

Offer by David Makhateli

Participation in the Grand Audition Barcelona event:

Gvendolin Nagy (graduate, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár)

Participation in the Grand Audition Budapest event:

Iza Fašun (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Anastasija Dokič (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Hommochi Sakurako (8^th grade, teacher: Katalin Volf)

Liza Szűcs (6^th grade, teacher: Angéla Kövessy)

Ezgi Toydemir (8^th grade, teacher: Katalin Volf)

Hiraku Saito (9^th grade, teacher: József Medvecz)

Janka Dobra and Kamill Kökény-Hámori (9^th grade, teacher: Mónika Barna, József Medvecz)

Offer by Jan Broeckx

One-week summer course “Art in Motion Munich” by the Ballet Academy, University of Music and Performing Arts Munich:

30% scholarship:

Márton Balog (4^th grade, teacher: Edina Dorkó)

Toko Koga (5^th grade, master: Márta Fodor Molnár, Krisztina Végh)

50% scholarship:

Lili Németh (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Participation in the International Ballet Competition Belgium 2024:

50% scholarship:

Ezgi Toydemir (8^th grade, teacher: Katalin Volf)

20% scholarship:

Iza Fašun (7^th grade, teacher: Eszter Kazinczy)

Gvendolin Nagy (graduated, teacher: Márta Fodor Molnár)

A Special thanks to the masters and students for their excellent work and performance at the BBGP bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

The international classical ballet competition to be held at the end of November has already organically attracted more than 110 entries from all around the world.

In the meanwhile, it has turned out that the president of the jury will be a real world star. The jury, composed of distinguished and internationally renowned artists, will be chaired by South Korean Suejin Kang, former principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet and Artistic Director of the Korean National Ballet.

At the event, not only the dancers will represent world-class quality, but the jury as well. This is one of the reasons why the organisers of the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix will hold a joint press conference on 24 October titled “One month before the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix” with the main sponsor MOL-New Europe Foundation.

The competition to be organised for the first time by the Hungarian Dance University will be held at Müpa and the National Dance Theatre in Budapest. Dancers to participate at the event represent 22 nations including Brazil, Canada, Australia, Ukraine and Russia, among others.

The Budapest Ballet Grand Prix to take place between 21 to 24 November will be an event with very diverse and world-class dancers.

From the very beginning, the organisers’ aim was to make the event, organised by the Hungarian Dance University, an institution with a 75-year history, a real meeting point for the dance arts in Europe and the world. Seeing the interest shown in the competition, this can be achieved.

Read more details on the competition website bbgp.eu.

A World-class jury and more than 110 participants expected at the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

The European Dance Competition held in Brno was open to students of dance conservatories and professional ballet schools from all over Europe from 12 years of age up to graduation.

At the event, all HDU competitors managed to make it to the second round, and then they all competed in the finals with the exception of Réka Papp-Fekete, competing in her first international competition and who is only finishing her fourth year.

Emőke Lászlóffy, a modern dance major prepared by head teacher and coach Tamás Csizmadia, and ballet student Júlia Precup (on the cover photo) mastered by Katalin Volf and coached by Noémi Kulcsár, won 4th and 5th place in the modern category.

Márton Balogh, a third-year student, coached by head of the class Edina Dorkó, won his category and took first place.

Congratulations to all the competitors and their masters. We wish them all a happy summer.

A HDU success at the European Dance Competition Brno 2023 bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

As known, the first Budapest Ballet Grand Prix (BBGP) will take place in Budapest between 21^st and 24^th November, 2023. As a side event of BBGP, Master Classes will be held by prima ballerina Anita Magyari . The renowned artist have impressive careers of which you can find a short summary below.

From the archive of Anita Magyari

Anita Magyari

Anita Magyari graduated at the State Ballet Institute, Budapest in 1978. She spent a year on scholarship in Moscow. She was a member of the Budapest Opera House between 1979 and 1982. She got married in Italy and has lived there since then. She has been a member of the Scala Ballet Company in Milan and a private dancer since 1985.

She has danced many important roles in the classical repertoire such as the royal princess in „The Wooden Prince”, Odette/Odilia in „Swan Lake”, Bianca in „The Taming of the Shrew”. She also acted in Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Manon by MacMillan or in Cranko-Tchaikovsky-Stolze’s Onegin.

Anita Magyari was starring in Dolin’s Pas de Quatre, Hans van Manen’s Adagio Hammerklavier and Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial. She has partnered many world-famous ballet artists during her rich career, including Rudolf Nureyev at la Scala in Milan.

Currently she is managing a private ballet school in Milan.

A Anita Magyari to hold Master Class sessions during BBGP bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

HDU nominated twelve dancers in the Vienna event. The youngest competitor is a third-year student while the oldest one is in the eighth-year at HDU. Eleven of HDU’s contesters reached the finals, which is an excellent result. If we add to this the six students who took part in the Gala, we can see that those who did not win prizes also represented a truly high standard.

As mentioned earlier, HDU’s student Saito Hiraku won the top prize both in the Classical Ballet II category and the Senior Outstanding Performance. He was coached by József Medvecz.

Janka Dobra and Kamill Kökény-Hámori, coached by Mónika Barna and József Medvecz, respectively, won second place in the classical ballet junior II category. Tamás Solymosi, member of the jury of the VIBE competition, Ballet Director of the Opera House, offered scholarships to both students at the award ceremony.

Rozi Szabó and Sámuel Gáspár, coached by Tamás Csizmadia, won a one-week scholarship at the Milano Contemporary Ballet, Milan, Italy.

Congratulations to all.

A HDU students achieve success in Vienna bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.

Based on the decision of the professional jury, 78 pieces made it to the finals which were held on 30 March at HDU’s Jr. Nagy Zoltán Theatre Hall. The final round was judged by an external jury that was chaired by Adél Orosz, Kossuth and Ferenc Liszt Prize winning Hungarian dance artist. The jury also included two students of the university, namely Gvendolin Nagy and Dávid Borka, graduate students of Classical Ballet.

“I think it was a really high-quality competition, we enjoyed it very much. It was a special experience to see the students from the little ones all the way up to the ones visiting the eighth grade” – said David Borka.

Gvendolin Nagy also explained the criteria on which the performances were judged.

“Obviously we took into account the technical aspects, but I think the performance style and what the choreography could give us was very important.”

After the in-house competition, Emőke Lászlóffy, university student and first prize winner of the choreography competition talked about her feelings on stage and gave an insight into what goes on behind the scenes during such a big competition.

“I’m glad to have shown myself, I feel very good about the whole process and the performances. I like to express my emotions through dance because it’s the easiest way for me” – said the HDU student, who presented her own choreography to the jury of several judges.

Emőke also talked about her preparation.

“There is a personal preparation behind the piece I put on stage. The choreography is my own creature, there was no preparation ritual as time went by, and when I had the time to work on it, I tried to constantly build on it and polish it. That’s how I came up with what I presented.”

The final results can be read here at the bottom of the page.

A High-quality in-house competition and gala at the Hungarian Dance University bejegyzés először MTE-én jelent meg.