Gibraltar International Dance Festival announces 2026 winners

The 24th Gibraltar International Dance Festival brought together 259 dancers from England, Gibraltar, Italy and Spain for a five-day event at the John Mackintosh Hall Theatre last week.

Organised by M.O. Productions, the festival ran from March 3 to March 7 and featured 18 sessions covering a range of dance categories.

The overall winner and recipient of the M.O. Productions Supreme Award was 13-year-old Carmen Infante Cohen from the Escuela de Danza Martina Tessaro in Spain for a Lyrical Solo performance.

A total of 168 soloists competed in the festival, with nine dancers selected by adjudicator Dr Nathan James to perform in the grand final. The bursary finalists were Mia Farley from England; Jayce Caetano, Lewis Llamas, Nina Mullins, Alexie Santos and Celine Floden from Gibraltar; Michelanxhela Mullisi from Italy; and Carmen Infante Cohen and David Rotaru from Spain.

Michelanxhela Mullisi from GMA Dance Academy in Italy was awarded the M.O Productions Best Female Dance of the Festival.

The M.O Productions Best Male Dancer of the Festival was awarded to Lewis Llamas from The Dance Collective in Gibraltar.

Jayce Caetano from the Mediterranean Dance School in Gibraltar received the M.O. Productions Sussex Award.

The M.O. Productions Best Choreographer award went to Genyka Celecia from the Mediterranean Dance School in Gibraltar for Avatar and Winter is Coming.

Sanna Payne from The Dance Collective in Gibraltar received the Lawrence Robles Award for the Most Promising Dancer.

The DSA Sequence Dance Award for Best Duet was awarded to Jayce Caetano and Julieanne Martin from the Mediterranean Dance School in Gibraltar for Avatar.

Festival organiser Alfred Rumbo said: “We are delighted to have been able to produce the International Festival for 2026 and proud we have been able to produce it for 24 years.”

“We are delighted by the support received from everyone who has taken part.”

“We are pleased with the high standards and quality of dance achieved and maintained throughout the festival and we look forward to our 25th anniversary edition in February 2027.”