Bettes places second at Prix de Lausanne competition

Hannah Bettes. Photo from the Prix de Lausanne.

Congratulations to Next Generation Ballet new artist Hannah Bettes who recently placed second in the prestigious Prix de Lausanne international competition in Switzerland.

Bettes also received the “Prix du Public” (audience favorite) award.

The Prix de Lausanne is a pre-professional competition which draws top talent from around the world. Among the 80 participants chosen to compete, she was one of six representing the United States, and the only American to be a prize winner, said Stacey Bettes, Hannah’s mother.

“I was very happy to have been accepted into such a prestigious international competition and would never have thought that I would have been selected as a prize winner,” said Hannah. “I was amazed all week by the talented group of dancers that I met and danced with.”

Hannah, 15, has been training with Peter Stark and Ivonne Lemus at the Patel Conservatory for nearly two years. She moved to Tampa from Deland to train with Stark, who joined us full-time as the dance department chair in 2010.

Bettes was one of the first apprentices of the Patel Conservatory and Straz Center’s pre-professional dance company, Next Generation Ballet (NGB). In its short one-and-a-half-year history, the ballet company has lived up to its vision to be a stepping stone for great talent.

The dance program has grown exponentially, and some NGB performers have been awarded scholarship opportunities at prestigious ballet schools worldwide including the Royal Ballet School of England and The School of American Ballet. Alumni have also received employment with ballet companies including Missouri Ballet and National Ballet of Canada.

Bettes has been a leading performer with NGB. She was a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) in New York in 2009, 2010, and 2011, winning the Gold medal in the junior women's division and silver medal in the pas de deux division in 2011. She also received the silver medal at the World Ballet Competition in 2008 and 2011.

Later this month, she’ll compete in the Cape Town International Ballet Competition in South Africa, and she qualified to compete in the 2012 YAGP finals in New York City in April.

With her most recent accomplishment in Switzerland, Bettes has won a full scholarship and stipend to attend her choice of participating ballet schools, some of the finest in the world, including the Royal Ballet School of England.

“I was very proud to receive both awards, but was most honored to receive the audience choice award,” said Hannah. “I couldn't be happier.”