At the end of its Finals, the Prix de Lausanne will award Cuban dancer and Birmingham Royal Ballet Director Carlos Acosta. Gold Medalist of the 1990 Prix de Lausanne, Carlos Acosta is one of the true success stories of our competition. Since his consecration in Lausanne, his career has literally taken off, as an international artist with the Royal Ballet but also as a guest artist with prestigious companies such as the American Ballet Theatre, the Houston Ballet, the English National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, where he was appointed Artistic Director in 2020.To be handing him the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award while celebrating our 50th anniversary truly holds a particular emotion.
Carlos Acosta learned to dance in Cuba, his native country. While studying at the National Ballet School of Havana, he participated in the Prix de Lausanne in 1990 where he was awarded a Gold Medal. Although this distinction no longer exists today, it marked for him and many others a talent that was judged “almost out of competition” 1. Since his consecration in Lausanne, his career has literally taken off, as an international artist with the Royal Ballet but also as a guest artist with prestigious companies such as the American Ballet Theatre, the Houston Ballet and the English National Ballet. After guesting also with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, he became its Artistic Director since 2020.
