The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition

Tuesday September 24^th 2024

Throughout the school year, Elmhurst students never cease to amaze the artistic and academic staff.

At the start of the school term, the Royal Academy of Dance’s The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2024 announced its winners, and Elmhurst student Alfie-Lee Hall was awarded a bronze medal.

Originally named after Adeline Genée (and popularly known simply as ‘the Genée’), the Royal Academy of Dance’s annual international competition has been running since 1931, initially for females only, with male dancers first appearing in 1938. The gold medal still retains the Genée title.

For most of its 93 years, the competition has been held in London but following a first overseas date at the Sydney Opera House in 2002, it now travels the world.

Back in London this year, the event proved an emotionally charged evening at His Majesty’s Theatre, with the packed house clapping and cheering for their preferred competitors.

From 66 semi-finalists from 14 countries, 12 made it through to the finals, including two Elmhurst students- Alfie-Lee Hall and Chelsea Potter. Each finalist performed three short pieces: Holberg Variation or Granados Variation (new choreography by Andrew McNicol), a ‘Dancer’s Own’ piece created by themself, their teacher or a friend; and a variation from the ballet repertoire.

Judges Darcey Bussell, Alessandra Ferri and Kevin O’Hare awarded one of two bronze medals to Alfie-Lee Hall, who has trained at Elmhurst since 2017 and has just started in the graduate year with Elmhurst Ballet Company.

Alfie-Lee said, “Winning the bronze medal at The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition is an honour that fills me with immense gratitude and pride. This experience has been a journey of self-discovery and growth, and the opportunity to learn from such experienced coaches and to share the stage with incredibly talented, likeminded dancers has been invaluable. While I am thrilled to have achieved bronze, the true reward lies in the lessons learned and the inspiration gained from this competition. I’m forever grateful and thankful to the Elmhurst faculty for their support towards the competition and to all the RAD members and staff for making this competition such an amazing experience for dancers.”

We would like to offer our sincere congratulations to Alfie-Lee, and we can’t wait to watch his graduate year at Elmhurst and his dance career unfold.

The 2025 Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition will be at the Auditorio Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil.