The Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance 2022

Each year, 2nd Year students at The Royal Ballet School are invited to perform solos of their choice for the Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance. These are performances they’ve prepared on their own, without any coaching. The students danced the pieces for Dame Monica Mason and Kevin O’Hare, former and current Directors of The Royal Ballet.

The Award was established in 2000 by Nina Finburgh in honour of the great Lynn Seymour, one of our most celebrated dramatic ballerinas. This award is not about the students’ technical vocabulary. It’s about how they embody characters, create scenes and meaning, and all the things that distinguish an athlete from an artist.

It was a joy to see the students make such bold and varied solo choices and watch them commit to the pieces so fully. Dame Monica and Kevin both commented that they enjoyed their mature selections and that the students danced more like Pre-professionals than 2nd Years.

Congratulations to our 2022 Lynn Seymour Award winners:

Joint 1st place:

Tianie-Finn Grainger, The Lady of the Camellias, Manon Lescaut solo, John Neumeier

Katie Robertson, Nocturnes, John Neumeier

Joint 2nd place:

Maia Rose Roberts, Ashes, Jason Kittelberger

Rebecca Stewart, Imprint/Maya, Dwight Rhoden

Joint 3rd place:

Emile Gooding, Lacrymosa, Edward Stierle

Francesca Lloyd, The Mother, Arthur Pita

Jana Faye Teruel, Carousel, Louise’s solo, If I Loved You pas de deux, Kenneth MacMillan/Jane Elliot

Commendations:

Liberty Fergus, Medusa, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Alejandro Muñoz, Manon, Act II, Des Grieux’s solo, Kenneth MacMillan