After registration had been closed, it turned out that the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix is on the right track to “branding” itself as the new and leading ballet competition in Hungary and Central Europe. Within two years, the organising committee that was set up at the Hungarian Dance University has managed to raise the profile of the event, its international reputation and the number of participants.
This is important because it gives the students of the university the opportunity to participate in a high-quality competition in a domestic environment, believes János Kiss, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for the Hungarian Dance University and Co-Chairman of the BBGP Organising Committee.
The Kossuth Prize-winning ballet artist, Vice-President of the Hungarian Academy of Arts and former director of the world-famous Győr Ballet said that there are many important reasons why such a high-quality ballet competition is needed in Hungary, but the first one, as in everything, is the interest of the students, the young ballet and dance artists.
“As in everything, we have to take into account our students’ interest because we are here for them, we work for them, but in the case of the competition, it is also about our guests. One of the most important aspects of the university’s state-recognised degree course is to ensure that young people have access to as many opportunities on stage as possible and to meaningful, diverse professional feedback. When we created the BBGP, our main concern was to ensure that young people could perform and compete in the broadest possible field in front of an acknowledged international jury, while they can listen to the opinion of renowned professionals and learn about international trends. These young competitors may not be that young anyway, most of them are ballet dancers already. But the condition for learning and making progress is always to gain experience. A competition like the 2nd Budapest Ballet Grand Prix is an excellent opportunity to do that.”
János Kiss has worked with many excellent masters during his career, he knows a number of great artists, choreographers and talented people, but in connection with the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix, he remembers a phrase often heard at the Győr Ballet, which expresses the importance of talent.
“We’ve always said that there’s a lot going on, a lot of things you hear and do, but when you are on stage, there’s only one thing that’s there: talent. It needs to be nurtured, polished, cherished. If we manage our talent properly, we will not be harmed. This is why we started to organise the Budapest Ballet Grand Prix! We want everyone to have the opportunity to polish or showcase their talents in a great environment, with serious professional support. Let the talented shine!”
