Prix Ludmilla 2026 - Spotlight on the winners

The excellence and motivation of our students were on full display at the 10th edition of the Ludmilla Awards, held at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec on February 20 and 21, 2026! During this annual competition, 81 students from the Intermediate, Advanced, and Superior cycles performed a classical variation before a jury of professionals composed of:

• Pierre Lapointe, former principal ballet master of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and jury president.
• Maude Sabourin, ESBQ graduate and principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
• Catherine Toupin, ESBQ graduate and dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens

This year, Kiana Uemura-Baron (Inter II) and Maïté Ribeiro Vargas (Inter III) stood out in particular and won the 2026 Ludmilla Prize!

© ESBQ - Éléonore Lussier-Thuot

For this edition, five Jury's Choice awards were given to Elias Shanski (Inter I), Sophianne Lalonde (Inter II), Nahla Desrosiers-Ouassif (Inter III), Valentina Agoshkov Klopova (Advanced I), and Victoria Villegas Azuaje (Advanced II).

© ESBQ - Éléonore Lussier-Thuot

Some twenty other students also received commendations for their musicality, interpretation, arm carriage, lower-leg work or technical skills.

Musicality Award
- Elias Ahmad - (Intermediate I)
- Beatrice Levesque - (Intermediate II)
- Maxime Coulombe - (Intermediate III)
- Nida Gökkaya - (Advanced V)
- Sarah Bernard - (Advanced II)

Honorable Mention for Interpretation
- Emiko Addleman - (Intermediate I)
- Elisabeth Gallagher - (Intermediate III)
- Rosemarie Brousseau - (Advanced IV)

Honorable Mention for Port de bras
- Roméo Gault - (Advanced V)
- Valéria Matte-Milosserdov - (Superior I)

Honorable Mention for Lower Leg Work
- Rose-Emmanuelle Ethier Perron - (Intermediate III)
- Alicia Hinojosa - (Advanced I)
- Héloïse Léveillé - (Advanced II)

Honorable mention for Technical work
- Marianne Fau - (Intermediate I)
- Jasmine Bort - (Intermediate I)
- Princesse Rose Gonzalez Escudero - (Intermediate III)
- Alice Fortin - (Advanced IV)
- Niina Matsuura - (Advanced IV)
- Nanoha Masuda - (Superior I)
- Ana Louisa Collazo Kelly - (Superior II)

Photo credit: ESBQ - Éléonore Lussier-Thuot