Prize Winner 2025

SIMON ADAMSON-DE LUCA

Simon Adamson-De Luca began creating his first choreographic works while still training at the National Ballet School of Canada. In 2018 and 2019, he presented early pieces as part of the Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Workshop. His work Infinite Ache (2023) was created for the school’s Company Life Program and was performed both at the Betty Oliphant Theatre and at Fall for Dance North at Union Station.

From the 2023/24 season onward, Adamson-De Luca was a member of the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich. At the invitation of Ivan Liška, he created a new work for the ensemble, Return to Innocence, which was presented as part of the Autumn Matinee series in 2024. This commissioned work marked not only the foundation’s strong commitment to supporting young choreographic voices, but also Adamson-De Luca’s first professional choreographic commission. Beginning with the 2025/26 season, Adamson-De Luca continues his career as a member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal.

Preisträger 2023

Varvara Lobanova

Varvara Lobanova, 19 years old, is from Kharkiv (Ukraine), where she began dancing. From 2020 until the outbreak of the war, she studied ballet in Kyiv. After the war began, she left her homeland and has been studying at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala since autumn 2022. At the award ceremony on December 3, 2023, she performed a variation from Act I of Giselle in the version by Jules Perrot.

PRIZE WINNER 2023

SERHII ZHARIKOV

Serhii Zharikov is 19 years old and comes from Krasnyj Lyman (Ukraine). He began his lessons at the ballet school in Kiev at the age of 15. On February 22, 2022, he won third place in his first dance competition “Tanzolymp” in Berlin. Two days later the war began. Thanks to the placement of Youth America Grand Prix, he was able to continue studying at the John Cranko School. For the award ceremony he danced “Sonata” together with Kaela Tapper, a pas de deux by Uwe Scholz set to music by Sergej Rachmaninoff.

PRIZE WINNER 2018

Gabriel Figueredo

Gabriel Figueredo was born in Novo Hamburgo (Brazil) and grew up in Taquara and São Paulo. He began his ballet training at the school Andanças de Rita Candemil in Taquara before he went to Pavilhão D in São Paulo in 2010. In 2013 he won the Youth Grand Prix at the Youth America Grand Prix where he met Tadeusz Matacz, Director of the John Cranko Schule. Upon his invitation he continued his training at the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart as of 2014 and graduated in 2019. Already as a student he was dancing with the Stuttgart Ballet. In 2017 Demis Volpi created the role of Tadzio in the opera-ballet-coproduction Death in Venice for him.

Gabriel Figueredo has already won numerous prestigious prizes. In 2018 he won the first prize in the Classical Dance Category at the Youth America Grand Prix in Barcelona as well as the Heinz-Bosl-Prize. In the following year he was awarded the prize as the best male dancer at the Prix de Lausanne 2019. He also won the Grand Prix and the Dance Europe Magazine Award at the Youth America Grand Prix 2019.

In the 2019/20 season Gabriel Figueredo became a member of Stuttgart Ballet’s Corps de ballet.He was promoted to Demi-Soloist at the beginning of the 2021/22 season.

PRIZE WINNER 2018

Koyo Yamamoto

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Koyo Yamamoto started dancing when he was 5 years old. From the age of 11 began training at the Acri-Horimoto Ballet Academy before being accepted at the Tanz Akademie in Zürich where continued his studies for another three years. During this time he won 1st Prize at the Talinn International Ballet Competition in Estonia and the 4th Prize at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne. In 2020 he joined the Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company and in 2022 was promoted to the main company as an Élève.

PRIZE WINNER 2018

Justin Rimke

Justin Rimke was born in Berlin and trained at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin. With the beginning of the 2016/17 season, Justin Rimke danced with the Bavarian Junior Ballett Munich as a scholarship holder of the Heinz-Bosl-Foundation. Since 2018 Justin has been a member of the DJKT Ballet Company in Pilzen, Czech Republic, where he has performed as Pepe in «House of Bernarda Albe», The Prince in «The Sleeping Beauty», Konrád & Ali in «Le Corsaire», Lucenzio in «The Taming of the Shrew», The Prince in «Gold Star Prince», Fate in «Anastasia – the last daughter of the Tsar», The Prince in «Swan Lake» and Espada in «Don Quixote» amongst others.

PRIZE WINNER 2024

Elisabeth Tonev

The Berlin-born dancer was surrounded by ballet from an early age, as both of her parents are former ballet dancers. Her mother is from Spain and her father from Bulgaria. Elisabeth Tonev received her training at the State Ballet School Berlin and appeared in numerous classical productions of the Berlin State Ballet while still a student. In 2019, she was engaged by Deputy Artistic Director Rachel Beaujean to join the Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet. In the main company, which she joined in 2020, she rose from élève to soloist within three years. For the 2025/2026 season, she was engaged by Ballet Director Laurent Hilaire as a Principal Dancer with the Bayerisches Staatsballett.

In the classical repertoire, during her time in Amsterdam Elisabeth Tonev danced, among others, the roles of Kitri in «Don Quixote» (in the version by Alexei Ratmansky), Clara in «The Nutcracker» (in the production by Wayne Eagling & Toer van Schayk), and Aurora in «Sleeping Beauty» (in the version by Peter Wright). In the contemporary repertoire, notable roles include performances in works such as «Trio Kagel» (Alexei Ratmansky), «The Four Seasons» (David Dawson), «Four Schumann Pieces» (Hans van Manen), «Blake Works I» (William Forsythe), and «Jewels» (George Balanchine).

PRIZE WINNER 2022

Raffaelle Querioz

Rafaelle Queiroz is from Brazil. She received her training in Rio de Janeiro and at the Akademie des Tanzes in Mannheim, where she received a scholarship from the Tanzstiftung Birgit Keil. She was a finalist at the «Prix de Lausanne» and won the Langham Award at the Youth American Grand Prix 2009. She was a member of the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe from 2009 to 2019, where her roles included Odette/Odile in Christopher Wheeldon’s «Swan Lake», Myrtha in Peter Wright’s «Giselle», the title role in Peter Schaufuss’ «La Sylphide», Katharina/Bianca in Cranko’s «The Taming of the Shrew», Juliet in Kenneth MacMillan’s «Romeo and Juliet», and the title role in Jiří Bubeníček’s «Rusalka». In addition, she appeared in choreographies by Hans van Manen, Heinz Spoerli, Davide Bombana and Reginaldo Oliveira.  She joined Ballett Zürich in the 2019/20 season.

PRIZE WINNER 2019

Jacopo Bellussi

Jacopo Bellussi was born in Genoa and trained at the Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milano and the Royal Ballet School in London. He then went to Munich to join the first generation of what is now the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich, when it was still under the leadership of Konstanze Vernon. In 2012, he joined the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier. He became a soloist in 2017 and was promoted to principal at the beginning of the 2019/20 season. Working with John Neumeier, he created the role of A figure from the romantic novels Tatiana loves to read in «Tatjana», The Soldier’s Friend (Annunzio Cervi) in «Duse» and a solo in «Beethoven-Projekt». His repertoire in ballets by John Neumeier includes Alexej Vronski in «Anna Karenina», the title role in «Romeo and Juliet», Leonid Massine in «Nijinsky», Gaston Rieux and Des Grieux in «The Lady of the Camellias» and solo roles in «The Song of the Earth» and «Saint Matthew Passion». In 2016, the dance magazine Danza & Danza named him “Best Italian Dancer Abroad”.

PRIZE WINNER 2017

Jonah Cook

Jonah Cook was born in England and began his dance training at Liberatus Dance in Swindon. He graduated from the Royal Ballet Upper School in London and went on to dance with the Royal Ballet in «Manon», «Romeo and Juliet» and «The Nutcracker», among other ballets. Jonah Cook joined the Bavarian State Ballet II (now Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich) as a trainee in September 2012 and was promoted to the ensemble of the Bavarian State Ballet at the beginning of the 2013/2014 season. A year later, he was promoted to soloist. He was promoted again in the 2016/2017 season (to first soloist) and became a principal at the beginning of the 2017/2018 season. He left the ensemble in 2019 to join Ballett Zürich in Switzerland. With the beginning of the 2020/21 season, Jonah Cook returned to the Bavarian State Ballet for two seasons, until July 2022. In June 2022 he showcased his first choreographic work, «Played», in an evening entitled “Heute ist morgen” (Today is tomorrow).

PRIZE WINNER 2015

Ivy Amista

Ivy Amista was born in São Paolo in Brasil, where she trained professionally at the Camilla School of Ballet. After participating and winning the gold medal at the IX Seminario Internacional de danca in Brasilia in 2001, she received a scholarship to complete her training in Munich at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung. After graduating, she became a member of the Bavarian State Ballet. In 2004, she was made demi-soloist, followed by a promotion to soloist in the 2007/2008 season. At the beginning of the 2014/2015 season, Ivy Amista was made principal. She announced her retirement from the stage in June 2020 and now devotes herself to her new role as Ballet Mistress with the Bavarian State Ballet.