JUECES DE LA FINAL CLÁSICA 2025
2025

JUECES DE LAS FINALES DE 2025
JUECES CLÁSICOS
Artistic Manager, International Intensive Courses
Rachael Hunt

Rachael Hunt- International Artistic Manager of Intensive Courses at The Royal Ballet School
Rachael Hunt received her training at the esteemed Royal Ballet School. After graduating, she was invited to join the English National Ballet company, where she excelled in various roles spanning from corps de ballet to soloist and principal roles. She showcased her talents in a diverse repertoire, including iconic pieces such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Apollo, and Square Dance. Notably, Rachael had the privilege of having several pieces choreographed specifically for her, including works by renowned choreographers Robert North, Kim Brandstrup, and Mauro Bigonzetti.
Later, Wayne Eagling extended an invitation for Rachael to join the Dutch National Company, where she continued to showcase her versatility by performing works from choreographers such as William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Twyla Tharp, and Itzik Galili.
Transitioning from her successful dancing career, Rachael delved into the field of dance education. She pursued further training with the Royal Academy of Dance, earning distinction as a vocational teacher. Rachael gained international recognition as an esteemed educator, imparting her expertise to schools and companies worldwide.
Currently, Rachael serves as the International Artistic Manager at The Royal Ballet School, where she oversees auditions and intensive courses. Additionally, Rachael lends her expertise as an adjudicator for dance competitions on a global scale.
Senior Faculty at Canada's National Ballet School
Deborah Hess

Deborah Hess is an internationally renowned ballet teacher and coach. A senior faculty member at Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), she also leads NBS’ Student Exchange Program.
A native New Yorker, Hess is a frequent guest teacher at companies and schools around the world and is a sought-after juror for major international ballet competitions.
Hess began pursuing her passion for teaching as the Assistant to the Director at the San Francisco Ballet School, following a successful international performing career. She was fortunate to have danced a wide range of roles from Odette in Swan Lake to neo-classical works by choreographers such as Bronislava Nijinska and contemporary works by choreographers like Lar Lubovitch, to name a few. She performed throughout Europe, North America and South America with such luminaries as Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.
Greatly influenced by her own teachers, Valentina Pereyaslavec, Kathleen Crofton, Asaf Messerer and Anna-Marie Holmes, Hess values most highly the artistic possibilities of dance and strives in her teaching to bring out the individuality of each student, highlighting musicality, generosity of spirit and dynamic range, while respecting the purity of form.
She is delighted that many of the dancers she has trained are now dancing so successfully on stages around the world.
Artistic Director of English National Ballet School
Lynne Charles

Lynne Charles completed her training at Harkness House for Ballet Arts, the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Theater School in New York City.
As the creator and teacher of 4pointe, a somatic and mindful method of working on pointe. Lynne has taught 4pointe at English National Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Badisches Staats Theater, Ballet am Rhein Dusseldorf, Les Ballet des Monte Carlo, Royal Danish Ballet, Bundes Jugend Ballet Hamburg, San Francisco Ballet, as well as Royal Danish Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and Folkwang University of the Arts. She also works as a coach with professional dancers from around the world. Find out more at www.4-pointe.com
Lynne began her dancing career with American Ballet Theater 2nd Company and Geneva Ballet, before joining Hamburg Ballet in 1974. During her 12 years at the company, John Neumeier created multiple roles for her in his ballets The Legend of Arthur, The Sleeping Beauty, As You Like It, Petrushka, Giselle, Firebird, The Age of Anxiety and more. She also danced in Bejart Ballet Lausanne, the Ballet National Roland Petit de Marseille (Scheherazade (created for her), Coppelia, L’Arlesienne, Puss in Boots, The Devil in Love, Nutcracker) and as a guest with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Malmo Ballet in Sweden, Columbia City Ballet in the USA, and Aalto Ballet Essen (Germany).
Danced as a Guest Artist with ENB between 1991-1995, performing lead roles in Natalia Makarova’s Swan Lake, Ben Stevenson’s Four Last Songs, George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, John Cranko’s Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew, Rudolf Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet, and Harald Lander’s Etudes
Lynne Charles has worked as a Ballet Mistress, Guest Ballet Mistress and Guest Teacher in companies around the world, including Hamburg Ballet, Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf, San Francisco Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Les Ballet de Monte Carlo, Ballet Im Revier, National Ballet of China, Houston Ballet, Alonso King’s Lines Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, and more.
She has also created works for Finnish National Ballet, National Ballet of China, Slovenian National Ballet, Dortmund Ballet, Aalto Ballet Essen, Royal Danish Ballet School, Badische Staats Ballet and more.
Between 2014 and 2019, she was professor of Classical Ballet at the Folkwang University.
Artistic Director Swedish Royal Ballet School
Cecilia Selander Moss

Cecilia started her professional career in the Gothenburg Ballet under the direction of Ulf Gadd, choreographer and dancer who reformed the modern dance theatre in Sweden. She stayed in the company in Gothenburg as a dancer for 18 years. Performing a classical repertoire with modern creations. In 1994 the company moved more into the contemporary field. Under the direction of Robert North, Cecilia created many roles in his ballets and later when the company was directed by Anders Hellström new works by Jacopo Godani, Martino Muller and many more.
Cecilia took on the role as Ballet Master for 2003-2014 working with choreographers such as Jirí Kylian, Izik Galili, Didy Veldman, Mats Ek, Javier de Frutos, Alexander Ekman, Tero Saarinen and others.
In later years she moved into producing and tour direction for the Göteborgsoperans Danskompani.
Since 2017 Cecilia is the artistic director of The Royal Swedish Ballet School where she once graduated. A vocational education divided into two programmes, Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance.
Cecilia has since joining the school initiated an extensive international apprentice programme with Erasmus funding.
The school is affiliated with The Royal Swedish Ballet and situated in the heart of Stockholm.
Partner school of the Prix de Lausanne.
Director of Mosa Ballet School
Olivier Patey

Olivier Patey studied at the Ecole de Danse de l’Opéra national de Paris, then at the Royal Ballet School in London.
At the age of sixteen he joined the Paris Opera Ballet and was soon given soloist roles. He has worked with George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins and Roland Petit, among others. In 1983, Olivier Patey was promoted to Premier Danseur and was chosen by Rudolf Nureyev to interpret Franz in Coppélia.
In 2000, he became Deputy Artistic Director and Chief Ballet Master of the Staatstheater Braunschweig, and in 2013, he became Master of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.
During his career as a dancer, Olivier Patey has shared the stage with the greatest stars: Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Ekaterina Maximova, Natalia Bessmertnova and Nina Ananiashvili of the Bolshoi, who recently invited him to Tbilisi to teach at the National Ballet of Georgia.
Olivier Patey has been a member of numerous international competition juries since 1995 (Moscow, Paris, Tokyo).
It is on his initiative that Pathé-Live provides live broadcasts of the Bolshoi ballets to more than a thousand cinemas around the world.
Dutch National Ballet Academy
Simona Ferrazza

Simona Ferrazza followed her ballet education at the National Ballet Academy in Rome and graduated at the Royal Ballet School of London.
As a student, she often participated in several productions with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, before taking her first contract as a professional dancer with English National Ballet, where she entered as corps de ballet and was promoted to Demi Soloist.
After eight years with the English National Ballet Simona joined the Dutch National Ballet, where she extended her classical repertoire to the neo-classical and modern pieces that characterise this company, such as, Balanchine, Hans Van Manen, Ted Brandsen, David Dawson, Krzysztof Pastor.
After leaving the stage, she followed the Vaganova Course taught by pedagogue, Pieter Silkin and Grigori Tchitcherine. In 2012 Simona started teaching at the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam, with the role of classical ballet teacher, for ballet class, pointe work, repertoire and stretching. Simona has taught as a guest teacher for several schools in Europe and represented the Dutch National Ballet Academy as a judge in multiple competitions.
Rambert School Representative
Jason Mabana

Rehearsal and Production Director | International Relationships Coordinator | Contemporary Tutor at RAMBERT SCHOOL
Jason Mabana is a contemporary dance lecturer, choreographer, and performer. Born and raised in Belgium, he moved to London to pursue his training, earning a BA (Hons) from the Rambert School and a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance from The Place.
As a choreographer, Jason has created works for leading dance companies, conservatoires, and international events, including Holstebro Dance Company, Conny Janssen Danst, Hamburg Contemporary Company, BalletBoyz, SpringBoard, Royal Ballet School, Stella McCartney, and De Beers. He is also the founder of Jason Mabana Dance, where his work has been recognized with nominations for Best Choreography in Denmark, the Asian Arts Awards, and the Amnesty International Freedom of Speech Awards—attesting to his creativity and powerful voice as an artist.
Jason is a sought-after guest teacher at conservatoires worldwide, having taught at institutions such as Juilliard, Taipei National University of the Arts, NAFA, University of the Arts Amsterdam, Korea National University of Arts, and the Royal Ballet School. His distinctive teaching and choreographic style emerges from his fusion of contemporary and hip hop.
As a performer, Jason has danced with world-renowned companies including Akram Khan Company, Wayne McGregor, Shobana Jeyasingh, Saju Hari, and Candoco Dance Company. His repertoire spans works by Trisha Brown, Yasmeen Godder, Alexander Whitley, Jerome Bel, Thomas Hauert, and Hetain Patel. This extensive performance experience continues to inform his teaching and choreography, grounding his artistry in both innovation and deep technical understanding
Director of Delattre Dance Company
Stephen Delattre

Stéphen Delattre is an international choreographer and artistic director of the Delattre Dance Company and the Evolution Dance Platform. Known for blending classical and contemporary vocabularies into a dynamic and emotionally authentic style, he has created works for leading ensembles and institutions worldwide, including Balletto di Milano, Split National Ballet, Staatsoper Ballett Hanover, Elmhurst Ballet (UK), the National Dance Academy Beijing, and the Conservatoires of Lyon, Cannes, and Marseille.
In 2012, he founded the Delattre Dance Company in Mainz, which has since presented over 20 productions and celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Mainz State Theatre. He has also choreographed for international stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, English National Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, and more.
Delattre has received numerous awards, including the Critics’ Prize at the Hanover International Choreographers’ Competition, Sweden’s ilDance Choreography Prize, and Italy’s Premio delle Eccellenze della Danza. In 2021, he was named Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Through the Evolution Dance Platform, launched in 2022, he also supports the next generation of professional dancers in Germany and Europe.
Principal of Northern School of Contemporary Dance
Sharon Watson MBE

Sharon Watson is CEO and Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, she was one of the first female Principal Dancers invited to join the all-male award winning Phoenix Dance Company, touring with the company from 1989 to 1997 where she choreographed Never Still and Shaded Limits. Having left Phoenix to pursue a number of other ventures including setting up her own company ABCD, Sharon returned in 2009 as the new Artistic Director.
During her tenure at Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sharon received several awards and accolades: In 2010, she was named as one of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s ‘Women to Watch’, a list of 50 influential women working in arts and culture in the UK. She was awarded The Sue Ryder ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement in Business Award’ and named ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’ in 2016. She recently received the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts’ Companionship Award from Sir Paul McCartney and was recognised as one of ‘100 faces of a vibrant economy 2017’ by Grant Thornton. Acknowledged at the 2017 Northern Power Women Awards as part of the very first ‘Top 50 Power List’, in 2018 Sharon won the First English Woman’s Award for Arts and Culture. In 2018 choreographing the award winning Windrush: Movement of the People
In November 2020, Sharon was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Queens Honours
Sharon is a trustee of factory International and Leeds 2023. She is committed to improving diversity within the arts by supporting the creative voices of women and Black, Asian, and ethnic minority artists.
Artistic Programme Leader Bachelor of Dance at Codarts Rotterdam
Sanja Maier - Hasagic

Sanja Maier Hasagic. Internationally renowned modern dancer, choreographer and dance teacher Sanja Maier-Hasagic started performing at an early age in her native Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since then, her work has taken her around the world – both on and off stage, and as a much sought-after dance teacher and competition juror. In 2005, she started working as a coordinator, teacher, rehearsal director and creative / study coach at the Bachelor in Dance department at her alma mater, the renowned Codarts Rotterdam University of the Arts, where she received the 2018 Teacher of the Year Award.
Her innate curiosity for all aspects of the arts has taken her to initiate and lead various multidisciplinary
projects and collaborations with composers, rock bands, visual artists, architects, photographers, film makers and fashion designers, as well as renowned orchestras and ensembles in the Netherlands, like the Radio Chamber Phiharmonic Orchestra and the Doelen Ensemble. She helped to lay the ground work for the development of contemporary dance in Bosnia and Herzegovina as one of the founders and artistic directors of Zvrk – International Dance Festival in Sarajevo. She now internationally teaches classes in improvisation, composition, contemporary techniques, creative coaching, and ballet, and has been invited by The Ailey School (New York City / USA),Eifman Dance Academy( Saint Petersburg/ Russia), Le Centre International de Danse Rosella Hightower (Cannes / France) as Artistic coach at COMMA Co-creation of Movement Masters of Arts (Netherlands), A.E.D. (Livorno / Italy), RASL Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL), the Hacettepe University Ballet Department (Ankara / Turkey), Axe ballet (Pistoia / Italy), Tanzelarija and the National Ballet school (Sarajevo), and the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Cracow/Bytom (Poland), among others.
Sanja Maier Hasagic
Since graduating from the National Ballet school of Sarajevo, the Dance specialization at Centre de Danse
International Rosella Hightower (Cannes / France), and completing her two Majors in Dance and Choreography at Codarts, as a dancer she worked with companies and choreographers from Europe and America, like The National Ballet Sarajevo, Dansgroep Krisztina de Chatel (The Netherlands), Jeune Ballet International (France), Lieber Gorilla, Gato Bizar, Bodies Anonymous, Samuel Wuersten, Conny Janssen, Christina Binder, Sascha Engel, Cie Jasmina, Dick Hauser, and other freelance productions in The Netherlands and abroad. She was a principal dancer and dance captain for Charleroi Danses (Belgium) at the EXPO 2000 in Hannover / Germany, with more than 500 performances in six months. Her choreographic work has been performed regularly in the Netherlands and abroad, and has been granted residencies and guest performances on International Festivals.
Sanja Maier Hasagic has received scholarships from the DanceWeb ’99 (sponsored by Rudolf Nureyev), Rosella Hightower and the Corrie Hartong Fonds for her dance education, as well as from the Van Beek-Donner-Stichting for her choreography studies. In 2001, she was awarded an honorary mention by the NPS webd@ns competition for her collaboration in the interactive dance film Can Jar Last Jam In.
She also works regularly as a jury member at International Dance Competition Spoleto,TeramoDanza –
Concorso Internazionale Città di Teramo, and Concorso Novara in Danza in Italy. Between 2010 and 2013, Sanja Maier Hasagic also worked closely with Jiří Kylián as a coordinator of the Jiří Kylián research project “One Of A Kind”.
Sanja Maier Hasagic resides in Schiedam / The Netherlands.
Director of Undergraduate Performance and International Development – The London Contemporary Dance School
Baptiste Bourgougnon

Baptiste graduated from the National Conservatoire in Paris in 2000. His professional career began with Nye Carte Blanche in Norway before returning to France to work with Luc Petton and Gilles Schamber. In 2002 he joined Scottish Dance Theatre where he took part in numerous creations with choreographers including Ruy Horta, Didi Veldman, Janet Smith and Liv Lorent. In June 2006 he returned to France for a second time to begin working with Maryse Delente, to rejoined Luc Petton's company with whom he toured Jordan and Slovakia, and to work with companies mixing dance and circus including L'eolienne and Acronote. He has worked with Ballet Lorent and with Company Chameleon as a rehearsal director. He joined the faculty of LCDS in 2012 and has recently taken on the new role as the Director of the Undergraduate Course and International Development.
Director of Copenhagen Contemporary Dance School
Lotte Sigh

Giuseppe Canale is currently the Artistic Director of GCDANCEVENTS and a former international dancer. He began his training in Italy at ArtGarage under Emma Cianchi and later pursued advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden. Professionally, Canale has danced with several world-renowned ballet companies, including: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (Canada) West Australian Ballet (Perth, Australia) Sofia Opera and Ballet (Sofia, Bulgaria) Israel Ballet (Tel Aviv, Israel) National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (Ostrava, Czech Republic) Throughout his career, he has collaborated with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Mauro Bigonzetti, and Marcia Haydée. In 2019, he founded GCDANCEVENTS, an international dance agency dedicated to guiding dancers through the audition process and securing professional opportunities worldwide.
The agency represents prominent choreographers such as Garrett Smith and Ken Ossola, promoting their creations globally, as well as acclaimed principal dancers for international opportunities. The agency also organizes audition events, galas, and artistic interventions during major festivals in Italy, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Canada, and the Philippines. As Artistic Director of GCDANCEVENTS, Canale works closely with prestigious academies and companies worldwide, serving as an international recruiter to identify and promote talented dancers for study and employment opportunities.
Folklore Specialist
Arancha Carmona

Educational Background and Experience: Tenured member of the Music and Performing Arts Teachers Corps since 2002. Professor of Folklore in the professional dance program at the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance “Mariemma” in Madrid, where she has also taught Dance History. She has also taught Escuela Bolera and Folklore at the “María de Ávila” Higher Conservatory of Dance, where she has supervised undergraduate research projects in the latter subject. She regularly gives masterclasses in Folklore at conservatories and institutions in Spain and Portugal, and is invited as an expert to conferences, roundtables, and forums on the methodology and pedagogy of traditional dances, their costumes, traditions, and accompanying instruments.
Professional Choreographic Experience: Choreographer for the National Ballet of Spain with Sorolla, she has created choreographies for Dance Conservatories (Ibero, Albacete; Del Camino de Lugh a Finis Tearre, Ribarroja; E’nmich de la mar for the Conservatori Professional de Música i Dansa de Mallorca). For LARREAL of the RCDM (Amor y punto and Rosa de invierno) and for various dance professionals (the show 3 DE UNO, by dancer Emilio Ochando; E’nmig de la Mar from the show Terra by the Valencian company Danza Mediterráneo). She has been a guest choreographer at the Jerez Festival.
Institutional Relations and Projects: Since 2018, she has been the Director of the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance of Madrid, where she previously served as head of production. Member of the Expert Commission on Traditional Dance (Ministry of Culture, General Directorate of Heritage and FEAF). Coordinator and artistic advisor for the Forum summer courses Musicae in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where she teaches masterclasses. She is an advisor and collaborator in various training courses at the CAP (Center for Professional Development) in Madrid.
Among her publications are the article in issue no. 17 of Torre de Babel (Tower of Babel) by CIOFF – Spain, entitled "Let's Not Forget Folklore"; "Las Seguidillas de Membrilla: Descriptive and Axiological Analysis," published in Cuadernos Castellano-Manchegos de Etnografía (Castilian-Manchegan Ethnography Notebooks) by the Castilian-Manchegan Federation of Folklore Associations, presented at the conference held in Toledo on November 15, 2009; and the presentation of the book "Las Gañanadas" by Rafael Cantero Muñoz at the Casa de Castilla-La Mancha in Madrid in January 2009.
Artistic Director of Contemporary Ballet Studies and Director of Professional Career Development
Bradley Shelver

Bradley Shelver (South Africa) trained at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg and at The Ailey School in New York. He has danced with the Ailey II, Elisa Monte Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, The Francesca Harper Project, Limón Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theater (UK), and in projects with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co., Lar Lubovich Dance, The Universal Ballet, Radio City Music Hall, and in productions with the Mark Morris Dance Group. He is in his 13th season as a principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Mr. Shelver is an international touring solo artist and has choreographed works for companies in the USA, Israel, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, and Italy, including; Big Muddy Dance Company, Graham 2, Richmond Ballet, Ailey II, Ballet Austin, Lustig Dance Theater, Compania Rio Danca, New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble, Cape Dance Company, Cedar Lake 2, Sobers & Godley Dance, as well as creating works for The Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet Schools, Joffrey Ballet School, Central Ballet School (London) The Ailey School, Boston Conservatory, and Long Island University and Purchase College. He is the founder of Bradley Shelver Contemporary Dance Theater.
He was co-producer and curator for the annual REVERBdance Festival from 2010-2016. From 2013-2016, he was the Artistic Director of the STEPS Repertory Ensemble and the Production Director for Steps on Broadway. Mr. Shelver is on the faculty of schools and universities worldwide including ABT/JKO, Limòn Institute, Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Ballet Schools, Ateballeto, Company teacher for Mathew Bourne’s “Adventures in Motion Pictures”, The Ailey School, La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts, Joffrey Ballet School, Bikuratim (Israel), Pan American Modern Dance School (Brazil), Hinton Battle Academy. (Tokyo) DAR Jazz Academy (Russia) among others. He is a certified ballet teacher with the ABT National Training Curriculum. He was a contributing writer for Dance Spirit Magazine and His book, “Performance Through the Dance Technique of Lester Horton” is available worldwide.
Head of Dance at Tring Park School
Lorraine Jones

Lorraine trained at Doreen Bird College, where she gained her teaching qualifications and danced
professionally for many years in the UK and abroad until joining Tring Park in 1990. In 2006, she was
appointed Head of Modern Dance, and in 2017, she became the Deputy Director of Dance 2017.
Lorraine is currently Director of the Dance Course and Head of Dance and is also part of the team of
Senior Assessors in lesson observations.
As a well-known choreographer and innovative teacher, Lorraine has worked alongside many other
professional choreographers throughout her career. She is in much demand by the industry, having
worked on many productions including Moby Dick, Chicago, Half a Sixpence and Sweet Charity.
