Genée International Ballet Competition at Sydney Opera House, Joan Sutherland Theatre

The Genée International Ballet Competition is the annual flagship event of the Royal Academy of Dance, attracting the finest young dancers from around the world to take part. Candidates receive a unique opportunity working with renowned choreographers and teachers before competing for medals and other awards in the prestigious Final.

The Genée has taken place almost every year since 1931 and is now a truly global event. This year the competition is returning to Sydney where it last played host in 2002 to a record number of candidates, the first time the competition had been held outside London.

Following its success down under, the Genée has travelled to cities around the world. Athens hosted the competition as part of the Cultural Olympiad in 2004, Hong Kong welcomed the Genée in 2006, 2008 saw its North American debut in Toronto and in 2009, Singapore played host. The competition returned to London in 2010 and journeyed to Cape Town in 2011. Wellington hosted the competition in 2012, the following year saw the Genée return to the UK where Glasgow played host for the first time and in 2014 moved on to Antwerp. 2015 saw a very successful return to London's Sadler's Wells where the Final was live streamed online for the first time.

The decision to return to Sydney was made in recognition of Australia's long commitment to the Genée where it has produced outstanding candidates every year for the past decade. The 2002 competition was held to great success and saw the gold medal awarded to a young Sydney native, Steven McRae. Steven has since gone on to perform with some of the biggest companies around the world and is currently a Principal with The Royal Ballet in London.

The Genée, often referred to as the Olympic Games of ballet, has been a significant stepping stone to a career in the dance industry for many other Genée alumni. Past medallists have gone on to work with some of the best ballet companies around the world, including The Australian Ballet, The Mariinsky Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, English National Ballet and The Royal Ballet.