70 dancers from 25 countries at HIBC 2009

 -We have been lucky to get again a very experienced jury. It is very important for the young dancers to have the possibility to show their standard. The competition could be seen as an audition, where the members of the jury, who also are leaders of famous ballet houses, can get a good picture of the rising stars, says Mr. Greve.

-The organizers have been ready to welcome the participants, says Ms Sari Lakso, General Secretary. -We have been working very hard to have everything in order, when the dancers come to Helsinki. This couldn't be possible without  a huge amount of volunteers, who are accustomed to help in big international events arranged in Finland. All arrangements have been made to meet the demands of the competitors. Our facilities are excellent, the HIBC takes place at the Finnish National Opera in the middle of the city, we accomodate our guests at a nearby hotel and it takes only five minutes walk to reach the Opera, says Ms Lakso.

Unfotunately we  also have sad news. We were earlier so happy to announce that  Marcia Haydee, one of the world's leading ballerinas,  will be in the jury. Now I am sorry to say  that she is not after all able to come to Helsinki due to her personal reasons, Ms Lakso regrets.

In the Jury of the Helsinki International Ballet Competition 2009 will be
Reid Anderson, Stuttgart Ballet, Germany
Kathryn Bennetts, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Belgium
Jorma Elo, choreographer, Finland
Zhao Ruheng, National Ballet of China
Kenji Usui, Japan Ballet Association
Makharbek Vaziev, La Scala, Milan

HIBC begins June 2 and  the winners will be announced after the finals at a press conference on June 11, at 10 am.