Jason Beechey

The Prix represents for me a celebration of all that we could wish for young dancers. The chance for all involved, to grow and learn, to explore and discover, of new opportunities and to unite through a dance world, where we learn from one another, celebrate our differences, foster artistry and grow together. Having a chance to share ideas, to connect with like-minded people to ensure a dance education world that will nurture and celebrate the talents for generations to come.

Jason Beechey is the director of the Zurich Dance Academy and the Head of Dance at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).
Prior to this, he was the Rector of the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz Dresden for 18 years, from 2006 – 2024. Having trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg and the School of American Ballet in New York, he danced as a soloist for the London City Ballet and then fifteen years with Charleroi/Danses in Belgium.  Parallel to this, he was the Pedagogical Director for the Choreographic Centre of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, founded and ran his own studio, The Loft, and was the creator/coordinator of the D.A.N.C.E. Program under the Artistic Direction of Frédéric Flamand, William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor and Angelin Preljocaj.  Joining the Prix de Lausanne as a Member of the Artistic Committee in 2009, he is now continuing his commitment as live streaming commentator.

I accept the role of commentator because it is fun to do! For the first Live Stream, I was at the Prix as a member of the Artistic Committee with other duties and a few minutes before the first Live Stream was starting they realized there was no one to do the Commentary. The Assistant came running up to me and asked me if I would be willing to jump in and be the host, so I said sure, let’s try. I guess it went alright and I have been hosting it ever since. I have the best seat in the house during the whole week, so I really get a chance to see the candidates work, to get to know them, to meet them and I try my best to bring the excitement and feeling of the week to the viewers.