Dance & Singing Competition for Young Talents

Olaf Kollmannsperger began his dance career in Spain and was supported early on at the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance in Madrid. Instead of pursuing a career in football, he chose dance – with great success. He joined the Royal Swedish Ballet and Ballet Zurich, where he was appointed Principal Dancer in his first year, before spending almost ten years as Principal Soloist at the Staatsballett Berlin.

His signature roles include Romeo, Prince Siegfried, Mercutio, Désiré and Woyzeck. Today, Olaf dances with the Berlin Ballet Company with a focus on contemporary dance. He also works as a freelance photographer and videographer.

Worked with:

• Christian Spuck (Artistic Director of the Staatsballett Berlin)
• Kenneth MacMillan (British ballet legend)
• Mats Ek (Swedish choreographer)
• Jiří Kylián (Czech choreographer)
• William Forsythe (avant-garde American choreographer)
• George Balanchine (father of neoclassical ballet)
• Nacho Duato, Maurice Béjart, Sharon Eyal, John Neumeier, Alonzo King and many more

Silvia Tzankova was born in Bulgaria and received her first dance education at the National Opera in Sofia. Her career took her from the prestigious Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg to the Vienna State Opera. For more than two decades, she has shared her expertise as a ballet educator and rehearsal director.

• Trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg
• Soloist at the National Opera Sofia & dancer at the Vienna State Opera
• Performances in works by Balanchine, Neumeier, Nureyev, Zanella and many more
• Rehearsal and choreographic assistance for numerous ballet and opera productions
• Teaching experience at the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera & John Cranko School Stuttgart
• Jury experience at competitions in Germany, Austria, Greece and Cyprus

With international experience, an impressive artistic career and a genuine passion for supporting young talent, Andreas enriches our jury with vision, sensitivity and depth.

• Trained at the renowned Iwanson School in Munich
• Dancer for independent companies, the opera ballet of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich & Susann Quinn Dance Company in Salzburg
• Founded his own company, “Group95”, and created numerous choreographies
• Created works for the Iwanson School and the Kaewon School for Art and Design in Seoul
• Teaching assignments at the Orff Institute Salzburg, SEAD Salzburg and Iwanson School Munich & guest professorship at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul
• Co-director of Tanz Impulse München since 2003
• Ten years on the board of Tanztendenz München e. V. & co-founder of the Schwere Reiter stage for contemporary dance in Munich
• Juror at the Seoul International Dance Competition
• Jury member of the BLZT for the awarding of funding from the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts

Silke Kaiser teaches voice, vocal methodology and music education at the Berufsfachschule für Musik des Bezirks Schwaben and directs the school’s solo vocal ensemble. Since 2012, she has also been a lecturer in vocal didactics and methodology at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts.

Until 2018, she led her own voice class at the Trossingen University of Music, and until 2014 she taught voice and vocal methodology at the Rottenburg University of Church Music.

• Studied voice at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
• Master class in song interpretation at the Zurich University of Music with Irwin Gage
• Master classes with Elly Ameling and Hermann Prey, among others
• Guest contract at the Sanssouci Palace Theatre in Potsdam for baroque opera
• Concert appearances at the Brühl Castle Festival, Lake Constance Festival, Beethovensaal Stuttgart, Musikhalle Hamburg, Victoria Hall Geneva and Tonhalle Zurich
• Collaborations with NDR, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, l’arpa festante and La Banda
• Worked with conductors including Herbert Blomstedt, Armin Jordan, Helmuth Rilling, Christoph Spering and Andreas Spering
• Regular jury member at “Jugend musiziert”

Trained at the Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg and in Los Angeles.

• Leading roles in Joseph, Jesus Christ Superstar, Spamalot, Hair and West Side Story
• Death & Crown Prince Rudolf in Elisabeth (Japan, Shanghai, Italy, Zurich, Berlin and European tour)
• Shadow Man, King Ludwig II & Prince Otto in Ludwig² at Festspielhaus Neuschwanstein in Füssen
• Uncle Fester in The Addams Family
• Artistic Director of Gold & Silber Musikverlag
• Co-director of Ludwig² – The King Is Back in Füssen
• Director of Ludwig² – The King Is Back in Shanghai
• Solo show “I Love My Life” aboard Mein Schiff 2 (TUI Cruises)
• Voice actor for Disney & Marvel productions including Hawkeye, Once Upon a Studio, Wish and Fantastic Four

Juandalynn R. Abernathy is a soprano, opera and concert singer. Born in the southern United States, she is the daughter of Pastor Dr. Ralph D. Abernathy, co-founder of the U.S. civil rights movement and close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Alongside her international concert career, she works as a choir director, vocal coach and mentor for young talent.

• Bachelor of Music from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
• Master of Music with honours from Boston Conservatory of Music
• Scholarship from the Goethe-Institut Munich
• Two-time finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Competition in Boston
• Performances at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Varna Summer International Festival and Malta Culture Experience
• Opening concert for the German delegation at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
• Musical Director of the gospel choir Voices, Hearts & Souls e. V. in Balingen
• Children’s book author of Sing, Juandalynn, Sing!
• Mediator & ambassador for POC and intercultural understanding

The Brazilian-born dancer began her dance training in Rio de Janeiro and continued her education at the Mannheim Academy of Dance with a scholarship from the Birgit Keil Dance Foundation. Birgit Keil recognised her potential early on and invited her to join the Staatsballett Karlsruhe, where Bruna Andrade was appointed First Soloist in the 2012/13 season.

• Dance training in Rio de Janeiro
• Scholarship from the Birgit Keil Dance Foundation – Mannheim Academy of Dance
• Staatsballett Karlsruhe: promoted to First Soloist in the 2012/13 season
• Leading roles including Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and Giselle
• Performances in William Forsythe’s The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
• 2014 German Theatre Prize THE FAUST – Best Female Dancer
• Member of Gauthier Dance since the 2018/19 season
• Regularly nominated as Dancer of the Year, most recently in the tanz Yearbook 2025 for Infant Spirit by Marco Goecke
• Recognition for Infant Spirit in the Theaterhaus anniversary programme FireWorks in Stuttgart

Shawn Wu is a dancer, choreographer and choreographic assistant from Taiwan. He is currently performing with Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart and has worked with internationally renowned choreographers including Hofesh Shechter, Ohad Naharin and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Alongside his stage career, Shawn creates his own choreographic works and now brings his international experience to Spirit of Talents as both a jury member and ballet workshop teacher.

• Dancer with Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart since 2020
• Worked with internationally acclaimed choreographers
• Award-winning choreographic works in Taiwan
• Experience as a choreographic assistant and re-stager
• Trained at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, among others
• Participated in international intensives by Nederlands Dans Theater and Eastman
• 1st place at the Taipei International Ballet Grand Prix in 2016 & 2017