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Meet the Awardees From Ballet’s Winter/Spring Competition Season

May 27, 2025

Late winter and early spring brought opportunities for dancers to showcase their skills at ballet competitions. After spending weeks in preparation for their moment in the spotlight, the top participants walked away with prizes, scholarships, and even company contracts.

Here are some of the medalists and scholarship recipients from the upper age divisions at the Miami International Ballet Competition, the National Ballet Competition, ADC | IBC Finals, and the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition. Congratulations to all the winners and to every dancer who participated this year.

Miami International IBC | National Ballet Competition | ADC IBC Finals | Valentina Kozlova IBC

Miami International Ballet Competition

  • A teenage ballerina in a gold tutu and tiara does a grand jeté in croisé with her back leg in attitude. She opens her arms into second position and smiles towards the audience.
    Jada Brown won first place in the Division 3 category as well as the Vladimir Issaev Award. Photo by Patricia’s Photography, courtesy MIBC.
  • A male and female dancer perform a pas de deux onstage; both pose in tendu croisé derriere in plié, on opposite legs. They turn their upper bodies to look at each other and smile. The ballerina wears a bright red tutu and her partner wears black tights and a red bolero jacket.
    Division 4 gold medalist Zoila Pena (right) and her non-competing partner Kaique Barbosa won gold in the pas de deux category. Photo by Patricias’ Photography, courtesy MIBC.
  • A teenage ballet student does a piqué first arabesque on pointe onstage during a performance. She wears a short, light blue dance dress with pink flowers on the bodice.
    Third Division Bronze medalist Alicianna Rodriguez. Photo by Patricia’s Photography, courtesy MIBC.

Held January 23–26 in North Miami Beach, Florida, the MIBC awarded 120 scholarships to schools and summer intensives in Europe, South America, Asia, and the U.S. For a full list of award winners, including Division 1 (ages 9–11), pas de deux, ensemble, special awards, and scholarships, click here. (Score placement does not necessarily coincide with medal placement.)

Division 2 (ages 12–14)

  • First/Silver: Tristynn Collins, USA
  • Second/Silver: Elle Martinos, USA
  • Third Place/Silver (tie): Alicianna Rodriguez, USA; Chiara Marambio, Peru

Division 3 (ages 15–18)

  • First/Silver: Jada Brown, USA – also received the Vladimir Issaev Award
  • Second/Silver: Katie Haigh, USA
  • Third/Bronze: Nora Soli, USA

Division 4 (ages 19–25)

  • First/Gold: Zoila Pena, Venezuela

National Ballet Competition

  • A female teenage dancersits on the floor with her left leg bent and tucked and her right leg extended behind her. She bends her right knee so that her lower leg lifts off the floor and opens her arms, looking up towards her raised left hand. She wears a black biketard.
    Pre-professional division gold medalist Julia Bellantoni. Photo by Tisa Della Volpe, courtesy NBC.
  • A young ballerina in a long blue romantic tutu with a peasant top, does a penché onstage with her right leg up and her left leg in plié. She wears pointe shoes and flowers in her hair.
    Senior division gold medalist Chloe Fischer. Photo by Tisa Della Volpe, courtesy NBC.
  • A teenage boy dancer lunges onto his left knee during a performance, with his left hand on his hip and his right arm up, palm up. He wears black tights, a white blouse, and a red vest, and smiles confidently for the audience.
    Senior division silver medalist Kyle Cloutier. Photo by Tisa Della Volpe, courtesy NBC.
  • A young ballerina in a long gold and white tutu and sparkly tiara does a saut de chat onstage with her arms in third position.
    Junior gold medalist Tessa Palmer. Photo by Tisa Della Volpe, courtesy NBC.

Founded in 2018, NBC, which ran February 28–March 2 at Wilmington, Delaware’s elegant Grand Opera House, awarded $668,919 in scholarships this year to schools in the U.S. and Europe. For a full list of award winners, including preparatory division, ensemble division, and other awards, click here.

Junior Division

  • Gold: Tessa Palmer, The Rock School for Dance Education–West Chester, PA
  • Silver: Ethan Ross, Metropolitan Ballet Academy, PA
  • Bronze: Madison Backstrom, The Rock School for Dance Education–West Chester, PA

Senior Division

  • Gold: Chloe Fisher, The Dance Academy, MD
  • Silver: Kyle Cloutier, The School of First State Ballet Theatre, DE
  • Bronze: Bennett Dunlap, Ballet Virginia, VA

Pre-Professional Division

  • Gold: Julia Bellantoni, The Rock School for Dance–West Chester, PA, and University of Florida, FL
  • Silver: Kaelynne Moore, The School of First State Ballet Theatre, DE
  • Bronze: Kaela Backstrom, The Rock School for Dance Education–West Chester, PA

ADC | IBC Finals

  • A male dancer does a cabriole derriere onstage with his arms in first arabesque. He wears lack tights and ballet slippers, a white blouse, and a black vest.
    Ellison Ballet student and Grand Prix recipient Nagisa Tagawa in a variation from Satanella. Photo by Star Action Shots, courtesy ADC | IBC.
  • A male and female dancer perform a classical pas de deux together onstage. The woman wears a black tutu and does an Italian pas de chat towards upstage left, while her partner—in black tights and a white blouse and black vest—does a cabriole derriere towards her. They look at each other with big smiles.
    Senior gold medalist Hinano Kondo and Senior Grand Prix recipient Nagisa Tagawa perform the pas de deux from Satanella at ADC | IBC. Photo by Star Action Shots courtesy ADC | IBC.
  • A teenage male dancer performs as assemblé devant in effacé with his arms in fourth position. He wears white tights and ballet slippers and a white tunic with gold trim.
    Senior gold medalist Santino Benjamin Herrera dances the ACT II variation from The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Star Action Shots, courtesy ADC | IBC.

This year’s ADC | IBC Finals, held March 29–April 4 in St. Petersburg, Florida, celebrated a major milestone: the competition’s 20th anniversary. In 2025, ADC | IBC collectively offered a total of 1,602 scholarship and professional opportunities. For a full list of award winners, including primary division, and ensemble division, special awards, and scholarship/contract recipients, click here.

Grand Prix: Sachi Oza, Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC

Women

  • Gold: Maymei Morrison, Inspired Movement Ballet Conservatory, CA
  • Silver: Helena De La Houssaye, independent, AZ
  • Bronze: Jocelyn Cramer, Runqiao Du Ballet Coaching, MD

Men

  • Gold: Owen Chambers, Kansas School of Classical Ballet, KS
  • Silver: Jackson Babanats, Next Generation Ballet, FL
  • Bronze: Cristiano Tempfli, Beyond the Barre, OH

Senior Division

Grand Prix: Nagisa Tagawa, Ellison Ballet, NYC

Women

  • Gold: Hinano Kondo, Ellison Ballet, NYC
  • Silver: Sakura Natorigawa, Ellison Ballet, NYC
  • Bronze: Miharu Kikuchi, International City School of Ballet, GA

Men

  • Gold: Santino Benjamin Herrera, Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC
  • Silver: Jadon Mychael Branner, Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC
  • Bronze: Charlie Baldwin, Cary Ballet Conservatory, NC

Valentina Kozlova IBC (Classical Competition)

A side-by-side photo collage shows two child dancers in costume during a dance competition. On the left, a boy ina. red harlequin costume poses on his left knee with his arms out and hands flexed. On the right, a girl in a pink tutu and tiara stands in b-plus and raises her right arm up.
From left: Owen Tang, junior division silver medalist; Seo Woo Cho, student division gold medalist. Photos courtesy VKIBC. Photo courtesy VKIBC.

Helmed by star ballerina Valentina Kozlova, the VK IBC took place April 7–12 at New York Live Arts in New York City. A new category, free-style dance, was introduced this year alongside contemporary and classical. For a full list of winners, including the pre-youth division, youth division, contemporary prizes, and scholarship and contract recipients, click here.

Grand Prix: Da Young Ryu, Korea National University of Arts, South Korea

Student Division

  • Gold: Seowoo Cho, Korea National University of Arts, South Korea
  • Silver: Marianna D’Orazio, Brazil

Junior Division

  • Gold: Romina Rubio, coached by Tatiana Makarova, Panama; and Kelly Zhong, coached by Xiana Chan, USA
  • Silver: Samyra Abbas, Brazil; Sophia Witherly, Canada; Owen Tang, Canada                                      
  • Bronze: Anna Li, Canada; Pedro Napoleão, Brazil

Senior Division, Group 1

  • Gold: Chaeeun Park, Korea National University of Arts, South Korea; Andre Zwieskowski, coached by Adriana Assaf, Brazil

Senior Division, Group 2

  • Gold: Hui Jeong Ryu, Korea National University of Arts, South Korea
  • Silver: Jacqueline Bertault, USA; Hyunmo Koo, South Korea           
adc ibc Miami International Ballet Competition National Ballet Competition valentina kozlova ibc