The 11th edition of the Cannes-Croisette Competition will take place on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20, 2026.

Wim was born in Belgium and studied at the Royal Ballet school in Antwerp then joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders where he quickly became Principal.

He is regularly invited to perform at International Galas such as the Hivernales de la Danse, “Le Gala des Etoiles” in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Nagano (Japan), at the “Prix de Lausanne”, at the “Benois de la danse”, where in 2003, he was nominated in the “Best Male Dancer of the Year” category on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Wim Vanlessen received the “Critics Prize” from “Ballet 2000” magazine in Cannes in 2000. He was also honored with the title of “Best Dancer of the Year” by “Dance Europe” magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005 , 2006 as well as the title of “Best Partner” with Aki Saito in 2007 and 2009.

Wim said goodbye to the Ballet de Flandre in 2019 with Le Boléro by Béjart. After 25 years of dance career, Wim is also the author of his book “DANCER” retracing a large part of his life and career. In Belgium he appears on the jury of “Dancing with the Stars”

With Aki Saito, they formed an exceptional star couple and danced together for nearly 25 years and as such they received the title of Knights of the Order of Leopold for their cultural contribution to Belgium.

He is the founder and artistic director of Time To Dance, a non-profit organization which organizes a major international dance gala each year and which supports young dancers at the start of their professional careers.

Wim is a member of the jury for the Prix de Lausanne 2025.

Aki Saito began her ballet training in Japan. In 1990 she won the first prize at the Japanese Competition for Young Dancers and in 1991 was awarded a scholarship at The Prix de Lausanne which allowed her to train at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp. She won the gold medal at the Concours International de Danse in Houlgate, France and in 1994 joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders as a demi-soloist. In 2004 she was promoted to the rank of principal dancer. During that time, she danced the leading roles in the company’s various repertoire. She has appeared as guest artist to various international ballet companies and performances, including Ballet de Santiago, Hong Kong Ballet, the Gala des Etoiles Paris, The Gala of Prix de Lausanne, Dance Salad Houston, The Prague Ballet Gala, Aoyama Ballet Festival Tokyo, Les Hivernales. In 2018 Aki danced Akram Khan’s Giselle as her farewell performance with the Royal Ballet of Flanders, earning her a nomination for “Dancer of The Year” by DANCE EUROPE.

As an internationally recognized teacher, she has been invited notably by the Opera Ballet of Flanders, the Ballet Malandain de Biarritz, ART of, Les Hivernales, Jeugd en Dans. Aki was a member of the Prix de Lausanne jury in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2017 and 2024.

In 2016 she got knighted to become Chevalier in the Order of Leopold, a very prestigious recognition in Belgium, for her outstanding work in the field of dance.

She is currently a faculty member at the Royal Ballet School Antwerp, giving classic class and repertoire class to the final year students.

Julien was a professional dancer in the cabaret world on stages such as La Nouvelle Eve and the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

He also had the opportunity to dance on TV sets (Dancing with the Stars, NRJ Music Awards, etc.) and it was at this time that he discovered the production professions. It was following an injury that he took this path.

For 10 years, he has worked as a casting director on artistic programs such as The Dancers, Got to Dance, France Has Incredible Talent…and for 9 years he has been the casting director of Dance with the Stars. He introduced the general public to dancers like Ines Vandamme, Elsa Bois, Anthony Colette…and judges like François Alu. He was a judge in the program Qui Dansera avec les Stars alongside Chris Marques who revealed dancers like Calisson Goasdoué and the winner Pierre Mauduy.

He also works as an artistic coordinator on various projects or events and accompanies or has accompanied artists like François Alu or Fauve Hautot.

He was also manager of the event artistic recruitment team at Disneyland Paris.

Passionate, Julien loves discovering and supporting emerging artists!

Julia is considered today as one of the figures of dance in France and Europe. After solid training and during her 13-year career between Paris and London, she collaborated with the greatest artists, Sia, Pink, Céline Dion, Mika, Matt Pokora, Johnny Hallyday, Alain Chabat, Oxmo Puccino, Big Flo and Oli. She has also danced and choreographed for the most prestigious television shows, World of Dance U.S, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars, Eurovision, X factor, NRJ Music Awards, So you think you can dance… and others film projects…

In addition to her career in the spotlight, Julia is also passionate about teaching and performing arts. She developed her own choreographic signature, and schools around the world asked her for intensive training or the creation of pieces.

Described by her colleagues and students as “an artist with a big heart and an extraordinary style”, she is one of the most respected artists of her generation.