Pre-professional Year student Shani performs in the 2025 Prix de Lausanne Partner School Choreographic Project

The 53rd annual Prix de Lausanne was held in Switzerland earlier this month, featuring a week of classes, rehearsals, and performances designed to discover, promote and support exceptional young dancers from around the world to pursue a career in dance.

Continuing the School’s relationship with the esteemed competition since its conception, Pre-professional Year student Shani Moran-Simmonds represented The Royal Ballet School in the seventh year of the Partner School Choreographic Project.

The Choreographic Project is an initiative that brings together students from 26 partner schools to learn and perform a collective choreographic creation with a renowned choreographer.

In this year’s edition, the students worked with choreographer Jessica Lang and Assistant Choreographer Kanji Segawa to create Our Common Fate, an original piece by Lang.

In just one week, the original choreography was staged and subsequently performed in front of audiences at Lausanne’s Beaulieu Theatre for a public rehearsal during the Soirée Chorégraphique, before being shown as a world premiere during the Finals’ interlude on Saturday 8 February, and during the Rising Stars closing event on Sunday 9 February.

We caught up with Shani when she returned to Upper School to hear about the experience.

Pre-professional year student shani performs in the 2025 prix de lausanne partner school choreographic project

What did a typical day at the Prix look like for you?

A typical day at the Prix started with a ballet class in one of the studios at the Beaulieu Theatre. The studio that we rehearsed in for most of the days had a mountain view and was so beautiful! After class we would have rehearsals followed by lunch, and more rehearsals followed by dinner.

Can you explain to us what Jessica Lang’s was piece about?

The piece is called Our Common Fate, and it was about unity and togetherness. The music by David Lang featured different lines from every country’s national anthem, which felt very fitting considering that all the students that performed the piece came from different countries.

What was it like working with Jessica and what did you learn from her?

I really enjoyed working with Jessica. Not only is she an amazing choreographer but a lovely and kind person too! Something that I learnt from her is that everything is a process. If something wasn’t working out, she would leave it and come back to it the next day and then think of something even better than the idea that she had before! I found that really inspiring.

How did you find working with other dancers who you hadn’t met before?

I found it so fun working with people I hadn’t met before. On the first night we had a welcome dinner altogether which was so nice! I found it really interesting seeing everyone’s different training styles, and I found that I learnt a lot from that. I was so inspired by everyone and it was very hard saying goodbye, but I’m sure we will all keep in touch. It was such a lovely group to work with and be a part of.

I’m so grateful to our Artistic Director Iain Mackay for giving me this incredibly rewarding opportunity, I will treasure the experience forever.