Marco Mascari, a 17-year-old Princess Grace Academy student, has taken out the prestigious Prix de Lausanne 2020 for best overall dancer, as well as the top spot for contemporary interpretation.
Eight dancers were deemed the best of the best last Saturday at the Prix de Lausanne dance competition in Montreaux. Each will be receiving scholarships to allow them to continue their studies in some of the world’s most prestigious schools or ballet companies.
A total of 77 dancers from 25 different countries were selected to take part. The 47 girls and 30 boys were kept under the watchful eyes of world-class teachers and coaches. They spent a full week preparing, working on both classic and contemporary variations before going in front of the judges.
Twenty-one were finally chosen to move onto the next level. The finalists were from 10 countries, with China having six candidates, the most for any nation, followed by three each from Australia and the United States.
The event was streamed live for six hours each day, and the semi-finalist selection and grand finals were broadcast in their entirety on the Prix de Lausanne website and Arte Concert. The viewership nearly doubled from the previous year, with 1.1 million views compared to 560,000 the previous year.
In the end, it was Monaco’s Marco Masciari who won the day. The seven other winners hailed from the USA, Brazil, China, South Korea, Romania and Portugal.
Buhurt Prime, the final tournament of the Historical Medieval Battle season, comes to the Big Top in Fontvieille to determine which team is the best of the best.
In order to get a clear understanding of what a major event this is, think of Buhurt Prime as the Champion’s League for Medieval fighting teams. Twelve teams meet on the battlefield using completely authentic and historically accurate replicas of medieval armour and weapons in a fight to the “death” to determine the ultimate winners.
Monaco’s local team, the Grimaldi Milites, will be joined by top teams from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine, and Czech Republic for all out action on 15th February.
In addition to the competition, there will be a medieval fair offering replicas of knight’s actual weapons, jewellery, toys and leather accessories, a photozone where aspiring knights, princesses and jesters can get a picture of themselves in period garb, and an interactive zone where experts teach visitors how to shoot a bow and arrow. There will be special kid-friendly armour and weapons made just for the younger guests to give it a go, as well.
Scarpa wines, who is partnering in the event, offers a glass of wine to visitors as they meander around the scene, as well as wine tastings where their special edition wines will be on sale.
In this entry, Monaco’s Irina Peterson learns more about the plastic pollution on the Galapagos and dives below the surface.
February 7th: The lesser known side of Galapagos
This wasn’t the usual “tourist request” for a visit. I went today to see the recycling centre in Santa Cruz, Galapagos, and met Jorge, an everyday hero, who together with his team are recycling the plastic and trash of the island.
After the beautiful images I shared with you these last days, it may be hard to look at this but it’s important to know it exists. These paradise islands are becoming more and more victims of plastic and garbage arriving from the ocean and landing on the pristine beaches.
We need to do something about it at the source, any careless action in our day to day consumption behaviour will certainly end up here and other places. The nature miracle called Galapagos belongs to all of us, and to our children, we are all responsible for its protection.
Another everyday hero I met here is Carolina, a dedicated marine biologist who – together with her husband – is working hard to save one of the endangered birds of Galapagos. In addition to working on this amazing scientific project and being a busy young mother, Carolina found the time and passion to bring the “precious plastic” project to the island.
It is a movement created to help recycle plastic in remote areas using an easy to assemble machine and various metal moulds to re-shape the recycled plastic in beautiful objects: key holders, trays, cups and even jewellery. Her idea in creating these beautiful pieces is to have tourists buy them as souvenirs and take some of the plastic away from the island in the process.
Also, these recycled pieces (which could be recycled over and over again) can be a reminder for all of us, when we go back to our lives, to be more responsible about our plastic usage. I received this beautiful tortoise, which will be my token from today onwards to make myself more accountable about my day-to-day behaviour affecting the environment!
I am truly hopeful that collectively we can do so much good and that every little action counts.
February 10th: In Cousteau’s footsteps
Ever since watching Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s underwater documentaries every Sunday as a child, I wanted to be able to see for myself these mesmerising worlds. The legendary explorer helped me escape into a world of wonder, and despite the tiny black and white TV I was watching it on at home, in my mind these amazing marine creatures were vividly coloured.
At 18, I got my diving license even before my driving license, and along the years I had the chance to dive in some of the most incredible places: Great Barrier Reef, Red Sea, Indonesia, Mexico. What I started to notice though, over the space of 10 years, is the increasing impact that humans had in the destruction of corals and marine life, and pollution. Galapagos is still one of the places where nature is winning, where animal wildlife and marine species have a fair chance. Although, talking with the diving master and his crew, they are seeing more and more plastic debris arriving from all sorts of places.
The two dives I did today were special – one was a wall dive allowing us to explore the rich marine life, and the second dive in North Seymour had a deep sandy bottom and some current, bringing large school of fish to our attention.
Diving is not something which comes natural to me. I have to push my boundaries every time I go down, there is always a little panic and self questioning whether I can follow this through. It is not in the absence of fear that I am l doing it, but overcoming it with each calming breath I take underwater, acknowledging my intrusion in this sacred space and respecting its rules.
Javier, our diving master, was not only very knowledgeable but also a sunny personality which helped create a relaxing ambiance on the boat.
Cousteau’s documentaries gave me an incredible gift, to see through eyes of wonder the beautiful underwater world and for this, I will be eternally grateful. And it is now time to pay it forward. With my Ocean Amazon documentary, I hope to contribute in giving more generations the gift of dreaming of adventures in exploring the oceans and discovering its beauty. Just like that little girl, on a Sunday morning. Yours, Irina aka Ocean Amazon
Ambassador presents credentials to King of the Belgians
Isabelle Berro-Amadeï has presented His Majesty the King of the Belgians with her credentials accrediting her as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Monaco.
The official ceremony took place on 6th February at the Royal Palace of Brussels and was followed by a private meeting, during which His Majesty the King underlined the excellent relations between Belgium and the Principality of Monaco and wished that they continue to develop in the same spirit.
The Principality’s proactive policy in favour of a sustainable city and the progress of the urbanisation project at sea were notably mentioned.
The Ambassador assured His Majesty the King of her commitment to continue and deepen the ties that have united the two countries for many years.
The New National Museum is hosting Luminous Decors, an exhibition by artist Eugène Frey, a true pioneer from the early days of cinema and shadow theatre, and of João Maria Gusmão, whose work is inspired by the “magic lanterns” of old.
Luminous Decors is a celebration of the work of painter-cum-visual artist Eugène Frey. Frey was born in Brussels in 1864 and found himself immersed in the world of the theatre and burgeoning cinema industries that were quickly changing the way people were being entertained.
Near the turn of the 20th century, he developed a unique process of “transforming light sets” that soon became the gold standard for theatre and operatic stages. Using an elaborate system of projection lanterns that simultaneously diffused light onto a series of painted glass paintings, he created the first moving decoration, a completely innovative thing at the time.
He was soon scouted by Raoul Gunsbourg from the Monte-Carlo Opera, and they continued their work together for the next quarter century.
Portuguese artist Gusmão has long been fascinated by the old techniques using magic lanterns for projection. Using his works and Frey’s combined, the Chief Curator of the New National Museum, Célia Bernasconi, has brought both artists creations together to put on this event.
The exhibit spans three full floors of the museum and will give the public a glimpse at various Frey productions, from shadow theatre to major works for the Monte-Carlo Opera, notably huge hits of the time such as ‘Valkyrie’ and ‘La Damnation de Faust’, all dialoguing with the colourful projections of Gusmão.
Galapagos is still one of the places where nature is winning, where animal wildlife and marine species have a fair chance. Although, talking with the diving master and his crew, they are seeing more and more plastic debris arriving from all sorts of places.
