Emilia Gisladottir and Daan Vervoort in the duet from Carmen

Emilia Gisladöttir and Daan Vervoort (Compañía Nacional de Danza, Madrid) in the duet from Carmen, music by Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin, choreography by Johan Inger. Benois de la Danse 2016 Laureates Gala, shot on 17.5.2016 in Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Check out all galleries from 2016 Benois de la Danse Laureates Gala

Check out all galleries from 2016 Benois de la Danse Laureates Gala

Daan Vervoort is currently a soloist dancer with Compañía Nacional de Danza, Madrid, Spain. Born in Turnhout, Belgium, Daan Vervoort began his ballet training at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp. In 2004 he was selected for a dance project in New York to be directed by Chantal Yzermans and in 2005 he took part in a project called Katoennatie, choreographed by Sandra Dehertogh and Guy Pauwels. Vervoort was also invited to Japan to perform Solo, by Toru Shimazaki. In 2005 he was awarded the Gold Medal in the contemporary dance section at the International Dance Competition in Biarritz. Throughout 2006 he took numerous classes with the Nederlands Dans Theater 1 and 2, working personally with Jirí Kylián. He later joined the Introdans Ensemble for Youth. In September 2007 Daan Vervoort joined the Compañía Nacional de Danza and in September 2013 was promoted as a soloist dancer under the artistic direction of José Carlos Martínez.

Emilia Gisladöttir is currently a soloist with Compañía Nacional de Danza. Born in Reykjavík, Iceland. She began her studies at the National Ballet School of Iceland and completed her education at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Emilía started out as an apprentice with the Iceland Dance Company, directed by Katrín Hall in the fall of 2004, to become a member of the company a year later. She won the Gríman Awards in 2008 for Best Dancer of the year for her part in Kvart by Jo Strömgren presented by the Iceland Dance Company. She joined the Companía Nacional de Danza de España in September 2012 under José Carlos Martínez’s direction. Two years later, in 2014, she was promoted as a soloist dancer.

Photos by Jack Devant Ballet Photography with kind permission of the Benois de la Danse and Bolshoi Theatre, special thanks to Nina Kudriavtseva-Loory and Regina Nikiforova.