Wim Vanlessen, International star dancer and former Principal Dancer with Royal Ballet Flanders, was born in Belgium and trained at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp. After winning the Prix De Lausanne he joined The Royal Ballet of Flanders in 1994.
He received much media attention for his outstanding performances in many of the classical and neoclassical repertoire. He was chosen to dance Bejart’s masterpiece ‘Bolero’, Spartacus and Giselle by Akram Khan.
With Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as an artistic director he was able to show his wide range and versatility as an artist.
Wim is frequently invited as a guest dancer and as a guest teacher. He is a well respected judge and won numerous prestigious awards. He performed in Paris, New York, Tokyo, The Gala of the Prix De Lausanne and in 2014 he starred as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet at the famous Sydney Opera House.
Wim was nominated as best dancer at The Bolchoï Theater during the 'Benois de la Danse'. He has been honoured with Dance Europe Magazine's 'Best Male Dancer of the year’ multiple times. In 2015 Vanlessen got knighted to become Chevalier in the order of Leopold for his undeniable contribution on the cultural field and he is also the author of his book “Dancer,” a memoir and visual history which traces the arc of his career.
