Running the gauntlet in the LVMH Prize for Young Designers and the ANDAM Awards this year had Alain Paul thinking back to his first dance audition as a nervous eight-year-old freshly at the Marseilles opera ballet.

“On the other side of the table were [choreographers and dancers] Roland Petit, Marie-Claude Pietragalla and Dominique Khalfouni. The impression of the moment left a mark on my whole life,” he said backstage before his spring show, titled “The Audition.”

In a recreated jury room with long tables set with clipboards with evaluation grids, pencils and bottled water neatly set in impeccable alignment, models, which included Paris Opera ballet principal dancer Germain Louvet and choreographer Imre van Opstal, walked by wearing variations on the dancer-off-duty look.

Some opte

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