Ballet competition for youth concludes

The third edition of Ailian Youth Grand Prix concluded with a grand gala at Beijing's Tianqiao Theater on Sunday.

Winners received awards from veteran ballet artists, including Feng Ying, a former ballerina and now the president of National Ballet of China; Peggy Dursort, the former ballerina of the Paris Opera; and Dirk Badenhorst, founder and CEO of South African International Ballet Competition.

Launched in April, the competition attracted nearly 700 applicants and 162 people competed in two groups — professional and amateur.

The competition was launched in 2022 and is named after Dai Ailian (1916-2006), widely considered "the mother of Chinese dance".

Dai, born in Trinidad, learned ballet at the age of 5 and at 14, her mother sent her to London to receive training. After Japan launched its invasion of China in 1937, Dai took part in benefit performances to raise funds for the Hong Kong-based China Defense League headed by Soong Ching Ling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen, Chinese revolutionary leader. She then decided to move to China.

With the help of Soong, Dai arrived in Hong Kong in 1940. Dai combined ballet she learned in the West with traditional Chinese folk dance. She was named the first principal of the Beijing Dance Academy, when it was set up in 1954. When the National Ballet of China was established in 1959, Dai was appointed its first president.