Meet the Dancers Representing the U.S. at the 2025 Prix de Lausanne
Updated 1/30/25 to include additional competitor information.
Each year, hundreds of dancers from around the world apply to compete at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland. This year’s competition will take place February 2–9 at the Beaulieu Theatre in Lausanne, and, as always, the competitors will attend numerous classes, rehearsals, and performances as they put their best foot forward for the chance to win awards or scholarships. All participating dancers have the opportunity to be seen by directors from international schools and companies through the Prix’s Networking Forum.
The 2025 competition will cap off on February 9 with its third annual Rising Stars performance, which showcases guest stars, past winners, freshly named awardees, and more. This year’s guest artists are Bayerisches Staatsballett dancers and former Prix competitors Margarita Fernandes and António Casalinho. The Prix will also livestream the competition for free on the competition’s website, YouTube, and social media channels, as well as via ARTE Concert.
Out of the 445 international applicants who submitted video audition materials this year, 75 dancers were chosen to participate. Eleven candidates were preselected, for a grand total of 85 competitors in 2025, hailing from 23 countries.
Here, get to know the competitors representing the U.S. at this year’s Prix:
Julia Bellantoni
Age: 18
Hometown: Cocoa Beach, FL
School: The Rock School for Dance, West Chester (Chester County, PA)
In addition to training at The Rock School, West Chester, Julia Bellantoni is a full-time online student at the University of Florida majoring in criminology. Her former teachers include Zoica Tovar and Andres Estevez at BalletMet, where Bellantoni enjoyed the chance to perform in Edwaard Liang’s Romeo and Juliet and as a member of the swan corps in her favorite ballet, Swan Lake. “Being selected as a participant in the Prix de Lausanne is the realization of a lifelong dream,” she tells Pointe over email.
Mu Yan Fei
Age: 18
Home country: United States
School: The Affiliated Secondary School of Beijing Dance Academy (People’s Republic of China)
Mu Yan Fei currently trains at The Affiliated Secondary School of Beijing Dance Academy in the People’s Republic of China. Her previous competition experience includes participating in the Asian Elite Dance Competition. “I’m very excited to go to the Prix de Lausanne and look forward to meeting you,” she says in her introduction video on the competition’s YouTube page.
Age: 18
Hometown: San Clemente, CA
School: Tanz Akademie Zürich (Switzerland)
Rhyan Foerster started dancing at 4 years old and is already familiar with Switzerland; when she was 15, she moved there to begin her professional training at Ballettschule Theatertanz Basel, then joined Tanz Akademie Zürich. “My main goal in this competition is to be myself and show who I am through this art form,” she writes. “I want to share my love for ballet. It will be such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to meet everyone and enjoy every second of the week.”
Max Berg
Age: 18
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
School: Elite Classical Coaching (Frisco, TX)
Max Berg will be returning for his second run at the Prix, which also marks the second birthday he will celebrate in Lausanne. This year, he will be performing the Basilio variation from Don Quixote for his classical selection. “I am so honored and excited to visit Switzerland, perform in the beautiful theater, and meet so many new and amazing people,” he writes.
Age: 18
Hometown: Honolulu, HI
School: John Cranko School (Germany)
Ryan Handa began dancing at age 7 at Honolulu Classical Ballet and now studies at the John Cranko School in Germany. At the Prix, he will dance Solor’s variation from La Bayadère, his favorite ballet, as well as Jorma Elo’s Plan to B. “Joining Prix de Lausanne has been one of my dreams since I started ballet,” he writes, “so I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to take this next step toward making that dream a reality.”
Age: 18
Hometown: Lakeland, FL
School: Princess Grace Academy (Monaco)
Before moving abroad to study at the Princess Grace Academy, Hector Jain trained at Ballet Conservatory Dance Centre in Winter Haven, FL, and Next Generation Ballet in Tampa. He started out as a competitive gymnast, then began studying ballet at age 8. His favorite production is Swan Lake, and at the Prix he’ll dance Prince Désiré’s Act III variation from The Sleeping Beauty and Quinn Bates’ Groovin’.
Tatiana Chen
Age: 17
Hometown: Naperville, IL
School: A&A Ballet (Chicago, IL)
Tatiana Chen began her serious ballet training at age 8, but a love of the art form runs in the family; Chen’s mother, Anna Spelman, danced with American Ballet Theatre. In addition to A&A Ballet, Chen has studied at Chicago Ballet Conservatory and Faubourg School of Dance. At the Prix, she will be performing Don Quixote’s “Queen of the Dryads” variation as well as a solo from Jorma Elo’s 1st Flash. “I am extremely excited and lucky to have been chosen,” she writes. “I’ve never been more grateful.”
Clark Hopgood
Age: 17
Hometown: Telluride, CO
School: Joffrey Ballet School (New York, NY)
Colorado native Clark Hopgood grew up skiing and danced at Weehawken Creative Arts before moving to New York City to continue at Joffrey Ballet School, where he is now a trainee. “I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity to connect with people from all over the world,” he writes. “I’m approaching the competition with an open mind, using it as a platform to learn and absorb as much knowledge as I can.”
Isak Sorenson
Age: 17
Hometown: Duluth, MN
School: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School (Pittsburgh, PA)
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Graduate Program student Isak Sorenson is halfway through his third year at the PBT School. He says that one of his career highlights to date was performing the role of Waltz Boy in George Balanchine’s Serenade in the school’s May 2024 spring performance. At the Prix, he’ll perform Albrecht’s Act II variation from Giselle and the second solo from Jorma Elo’s 1st Flash. “I want to say a huge thank-you to all of my teachers for helping me through this process,” he writes. “And another thank-you to my family for the constant support.”
Macie Miersch
Age: 16
Hometown: Sarasota, FL
School: The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory (Sarasota, FL)
Macie Miersch, currently a trainee with The Sarasota Ballet, started dancing at the age of 2. She is an American Ballet Theatre National Training Scholar and has enjoyed performance opportunities with The Sarasota Ballet, including the role of the Young Girl in Johan Kobborg’s La Sylphide. “This has been a long-held dream of mine, and I truly cannot believe it is becoming real,” she wrote in a recent Instagram post.
Morgan Taylor
Age: 16
Hometown: South Bend, IN
School: Southold Dance Theater (South Bend, IN)
Competing at the Prix will be Morgan Taylor’s first time traveling abroad. “I’m so grateful to be able to attend, as it has been a dream of mine,” she writes. Taylor has been training at Southold Dance Theater for 12 years, beginning at age 4. She will be performing the third Shade variation from La Bayadère in Lausanne and looks forward to meeting her fellow dancers and working with the competition’s faculty and coaches.
Jane Woodford
Age: 16
Hometown: Frisco, TX
School: The Rock School for Dance Education (Philadelphia, PA)
Jane Woodford currently trains at The Rock School in Philadelphia, and she is a former student of The Dallas Conservatory and Texas Ballet Theater School. She began dancing at age 8 and loves the ballet Romeo and Juliet. In Lausanne, she will be performing a variation from The Awakening of Flora. “I am so grateful and excited for this wonderful opportunity,” she writes. “I can’t wait to meet everyone in Switzerland!”
Caelan Gagnon
Age: 16
Hometown: Jupiter, FL
School: The Rock School for Dance Education (Philadelphia, PA)
Caelan Gagnon started out as a gymnast but swapped the gym for the ballet studio at age 7. Gagnon placed first this year in the senior classical division at YAGP’s Philadelphia semifinal, but he says his career highlight to date has been being selected to compete in Lausanne. He has been watching the Prix and following its dancers for years, he writes. “It truly is a dream come true to be a candidate.”
Aubrey Daniels
Age: 15
Hometown: Houston, TX
School: Vitacca Ballet & School for Dance (Houston, TX)
In addition to being a talented dancer, Aubrey Daniels is also an accomplished musician and plays the piano, oboe, and English horn. This will not be her first time dancing abroad; last summer, she attended The Pôle National Supérieur de Danse Rosella Hightower’s summer intensive in Cannes-Mougin, France. Daniels’ favorite ballet is Giselle, and she will perform its Act 1 variation at the Prix.
Minori De Silva
Age: 15
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
School: Morningstar Dance Academy (Johns Creek, GA)
Minori De Silva is also familiar with dancing abroad. Since 2022, she has been an International Scholar with the Royal Ballet School, training at its White Lodge location in the UK for several weeks each year. De Silva began dancing at age 7, and her favorite ballet is Don Quixote. At the Prix, she will be dancing Le Corsaire’s Gulnare variation and Christopher Wheeldon’s You Turn Me On I’m a Radio.
Chloe Helimets
Age: 15
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
School: Bayer Ballet Academy (Mountain View, CA)
Ballet runs in Chloe Helimets’ family: Her grandmother, Ann Goldstein, danced with New York City Ballet, and her parents, Tiit Helimets and Molly Smolen, were both principals in Europe and with San Francisco Ballet. Last summer, Helimets danced a pas de deux in Festival Ballet Theater’s Gala of the Stars alongside some of her ballet idols. While her dream role is Juliet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, at the Prix she’ll be dancing the third Shade variation from La Bayadère and Christopher Wheeldon’s You Turn Me On I’m a Radio.
Angelina Tan
Age: 15
Hometown: Dallas, TX
School: Elite Classical Coaching (Frisco, TX)
Angela Tan began dancing ballet when she was 11. Two years later, she was the 2024 junior division grand prix winner at the YAGP semifinals in Nashville, TN. She went on to place first in the senior classical division and second in contemporary at YAGP’s competition in Vicenza, Italy, this past summer. “Little me would’ve never thought that she’d be able to attend such a prestigious competition as the Prix de Lausanne,” Tan writes. “It will definitely be a week to cherish for a lifetime!”
Eric Poor
Age: 15
Hometown: Fairfax, VA
School: Cary Ballet Conservatory (Cary, NC)
Eric Poor has hoped to compete in the Prix since he started his serious ballet training. “It’s a surreal feeling for me to go to Switzerland this year after so many years of watching the livestreams at home,” he writes. In his spare time, he enjoys memorizing facts about sports and music and learning yo-yo tricks. Last November, he was named a 2025 YoungArts scholar with distinction in Dance/Ballet. He’ll be dancing the male variation from José Martinez’s Delibes Suite in Lausanne.
Other Familiar Faces
You may also recognize Santino Herrera, who trains in the U.S. but was born abroad:
Age: 17
Hometown: Salta, Argentina
School: Cary Ballet Conservatory (Cary, NC)
Argentinian-born Santino Herrera, who will be representing his home country at the Prix, began dancing at age 13 at Salta’s Danza Andrea Montero. Two years later, he moved to the U.S. to train at Cary Ballet Conservatory in North Carolina. Herrera, who hopes to become a principal dancer some day, enjoys dancing on pointe and listens to variation music in his free time. He’ll dance Sleeping Beauty’s third-act Prince Desiré variation at the Prix.
