Wim
Vanlessen

Benois de la Danse nominee

Wim Vanlessen studied at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp, Belgium. He won the silver medal at the international dance Сompetition in Houlgate (category superieure 1992) and the 1993 Prix de Lausanne professional prize. He was noticed as a student by Robert Denvers, artistic director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders, who invited him to join the company in 1994.

In 1995 he was promoted to demi-soloist. His diversity in classical as well as in modern ballets made him a soloist in 1998. Wim's remarkable talent of partnering was acknowledged by his casting in such ballets as Sonate by Maurice Bejart, Return to the Strange Land by Jiri Kylian and Theme et Quatre Variations by Jean-Christophe Malliot. Denvers chose him to dance the leading role of Prince Desire in Sleeping Beauty, a part in which he was able to show the accuracy of his classical technique as well as his noble presence. For this production he was coached by Monique Loudiere. His promotion to first soloist in 2000 was assured by his interpretation of Albrecht in Giselle and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. His repertoire as a leading dancer also includes a wonderful interpretation of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and feature roles in The Three Musketeers and The Nutcracker.

He is regularly invited to take part in major international galas such as The Aoyama Ballet Festival (Tokyo}, the gala of the Prix de Lausanne and the gala of The Olympic Games in Nagano with dancers like Vladimir Malakhov, Evelyn Hart, Jan Broeckx and Lucia Cara.

Wim Vanlessen's artistic qualities and technique were put on show and fully explored by the Royal Ballet of Flanders, guest choreographer Xing Peng Wang who created for him the role of the Poet in Death and Fire, that led to his nomination for The Benois — 2003.

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