The 12th International Competition for young ballet students is set to start in the Cuban capital on Tuesday, April 22nd, as part of the 20th International Ballet Academies Encounter gathering in Havana more than 650 participants from all over the world.

The competition that is scheduled to wind up on Saturday, April 26th, includes four categories: a children’s category, comprising 12 to 13 year- old students;  a teenaged category for 13-14 year olds; an intermediate level category for 15-16 ballet students and another category for advanced pupils from 17-19 years of age. The competition includes pas de deux or variations (solos) and the parameters to be evaluated are technical and artistic performance, musicality and physical proportions.     

Students from different ballet academies from around the world, but above all, Latin America, will compete for the coveted prizes that would include a Grand Prix, the Competition Revelation Award, Best Couple and Best Individual Performance and old, silver and bronze medals in each category.

The jury is made up of Cuban National Ballet School Director, Ramona de Saa, Cuban National Ballet Company prima ballerina, Viengsay Valdés, and members of different academies from Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, South Africa and the United States.