Principal Maia Makhateli elected ‘Dancer of the Year’ 2020

Maia Makhateli, principal with Dutch National Ballet, has been elected ‘Dancer of the Year’ 2020 by the readers of the internationally leading magazine Dance Europe.

Maia Makhateli is praised by the jury for her "heartbreaking" leading role in the ballet Frida, inspired by the life story of Frida Kahlo, a role for which she also received much praise in the (inter)national press, and for her "masterful and stylish" interpretation of the ballets of George Balanchine.

Out of a list of twelve nominated international top dancers, Makhateli received the most votes from the readers of Dance Europe and is therefore the winner of the audience award. Among these nominees were dancers from The Royal Ballet, Ballet d'Opéra national de Paris, Staatsballett Berlin, Stuttgarter Ballett and National Ballet of Japan, as well as Qian Liu, who is a principal with Dutch National Ballet as well.

The nominees were selected by a twelve-member jury of editors who write for Dance Europe and other international (dance) publications. The jury compiled a Critic's Choice list of twelve dancers who, according to them, have performed outstandingly well in the 2019-2020 dance season, after which readers of the magazine could vote.