Gergő Ármin Balázsi has won the Prix Benois de la Danse, one of the most prestigious awards in the ballet world, in the category of male soloist. The ceremony was held on 25 June 2024 at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. In the 33-year history of the award, a Hungarian ballet dancer has been nominated and awarded for the first time.
Ármin Balázsi Gergő has been a member of the Hungarian National Ballet since 2014. The principal, a recipient of the Junior Prima Award and the Hungarian Bronze Cross of Merit, was also named Étoile of the ensemble in the 2022/23 season. Ármin Gergő Balázsi was nominated for the award for his performance in last year's production of The Pygmalion Effect. He shares the prize with Artemiy Belyakov, principal of the Bolshoi Theater. The two winners won over the principals of such prestigious institutions as St. Petersburg's Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky Theatres or La Scala, Milan.
In its history, it is the first time that artists of the Hungarian National Ballet have been nominated for the prize named after the renowned visual artist and art critic Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois. Tatyjana Melnyik, who has been a principal of the Hungarian National Ballet since 2015, was nominated in the ballerina category, and has also been named Étoile twice, in the 2019/20 and 2023/24 seasons at the Hungarian State Opera.
The seven-member jury chaired by Svetlana Zakharova, legendary prima ballerina of the Bolshoi and La Scala consisting of ballet dancers, choreographers and artistic directors included Tamás Solymosi, artistic director of the Hungarian National Ballet this year. After a hiatus of 18 years, the jury included a leading figure of Hungarian ballet. Earlier, in 2006, Gyula Harangozó Jr., director of the Vienna State Ballet was invited to participate as a juror.
Founded in 1991 by the International Federation of Choreographers, the Prix Benois de la Danse is awarded annually to the artists who have achieved the most outstanding performance in the field of dance in the previous calendar year. In addition to the best choreographers, ballet dancers in male and female categories, lifetime achievement awards are regularly awarded, and the work of designers and composers is also recognized.
