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New Dancers to join Royal Ballet for 2017/18 Season


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Taken from the ROH web-site.

 

 

 

A number of dancers will join The Royal Ballet for the forthcoming 2017/18 Season.

William Bracewell will join as a Soloist. Born in Swansea, Bracewell trained at the Pamela Miller Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School. In 2007 he won the Young British Dancer of the Year Award and was awarded the Grand Prix at the 2010 Youth America Grand Prix. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010 and was promoted to Soloist in 2014. Bracewell was awarded the Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Performance (classical) in 2015.

Also joining the Company as Artists will be Giacomo Rovero, Francisco Serrano and Charlotte Tonkinson, members of the 2016/17 Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme and former students from the Royal Ballet School.

Five further dancers will join The Royal Ballet as part of the Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme 2017/18. This year-long contract for young graduates will be taken up by Joonhyuk Jun, Joshua Junker, Sae Maeda, Nadia Mullova-Barley and Aiden O’Brien.

Stanislaw Wegrzyn will join the Company as Prix de Lausanne dancer for the 2017/18 Season.

Details of promotions for the forthcoming Season will be announced in due course.

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2 hours ago, alison said:

William Bracewell where he ought to have been in the first place, IMO.

 

From the first time I saw him, in Lilac Garden at the Linbury, I thought "Could this be the next Edward Watson?"  (From the dramatic point of view rather than anything else :) )  I was always surprised that the RB hadn't snapped him up.  Or perhaps they tried :)  But I could see him relishing the RB's rep.

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2 hours ago, alison said:

Yes!!!!  William Bracewell where he ought to have been in the first place, IMO.  Very sorry for his BRB fans, though :(

 

As a BRB regular and fan of William Bracewell I find this remark slightly offensive as though all young talented dancers should only go to the Royal Ballet and other companies only deserve second best. Anyway the Royal haven't always appreciated what they have got, Xander Parrish being a good example.

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2 hours ago, alison said:
2 hours ago, jules_skichick said:

Good news indeed re William bracewell

Yes!!!!  William Bracewell where he ought to have been in the first place, IMO.  Very sorry for his BRB fans, though :(

 

Devastated

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Will is on record as saying he had a number of offers,  presumably including the RB, but BRB was his first choice and that is where he went.

 

Devoted though I am to BRB I cannot blame him for jumping given that the future of the RB is guaranteed which,  unfortunately, cannot be said of BRB.  

 

I would also point out that we have now lost Bussell, Yoshida and Campbell to the Royal.  However, every one of them has spoken very warmly of their time at SWRB/BRB and came back to guest.  I very much hope Will will continue in this tradition.  I am sorry he didn't get to dance Belyaev and I feel he is a natural for De Grieux so he should be given his chance in both roles.

Edited by Two Pigeons
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  • Ian Macmillan changed the title to New Dancers to join Royal Ballet for 2017/18 Season
2 hours ago, Pulcinella said:

 

As a BRB regular and fan of William Bracewell I find this remark slightly offensive as though all young talented dancers should only go to the Royal Ballet and other companies only deserve second best.

 

I'm sorry you felt that.  As my post immediately above yours suggested, it was solely because I thought the Royal's dramatic ballets would suit him to a T, more so perhaps than BRB's.

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Very good news (except for BRB...)


So this year, no current RBS students are joining RB with a full contract? Of course the Aub Jebsen programme is wonderful for giving opportunities and funding to help young dancers join RB. But when it started, there was some concern that it might lead to top, company-ready graduate students having to wait an extra year for a long term contract and 'proper' salary. 

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1 hour ago, Yaffa said:

So this year, no current RBS students are joining RB with a full contract? Of course the Aub Jebsen programme is wonderful for giving opportunities and funding to help young dancers join RB. But when it started, there was some concern that it might lead to top, company-ready graduate students having to wait an extra year for a long term contract and 'proper' salary. 

 

It has been said (by Kevin O'Hare and others) that the Aud Jebsen scheme also provides the RB with the flexibility it needs to fill vacancies as they arise without 'raiding' the final year of the RBS, as used to happen. In its first year, some apprentices did not get full contracts, last year all did and, this year again, there are three young dancers going elsewhere or currently auditioning. The last two RBS students to get full contracts on leaving the school were Chisato Katsura (2015) and Joseph Sissons (2016).

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I think the stand out graduates will always get full contracts and the others get a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their ability and readiness further through Aud Jensen apprenticeships. If the apprenticeship system didn't exist then it may be that only 1 or possibly 2 would be given a contract, or perhaps none as happened occasionally before (from RBS), and the others would have to go elsewhere. With more and more companies only offering apprentice positions in Europe, there are few opportunities elsewhere for full contracts either. Devastating for the 3 apprentices that haven't been offered full contracts but sure they would rather have had this opportunity than not and it puts them in a great position for auditioning elsewhere.

 

I think the apprentice salaries are pretty good as well and comparable to full time entry level salaries in smaller companies.

Edited by tabitha
Clarity
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37 minutes ago, tabitha said:

Devastating for the 3 apprentices that haven't been offered full contracts but sure they would rather have had this opportunity than not and it puts them in a great position for auditioning elsewhere.

 

Yes - including, it would appear, obtaining contracts at a higher level elsewhere.

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

Yes - including, it would appear, obtaining contracts at a higher level elsewhere.

 

Yes a much higher level in another prestigious company. Just illustrates how very subjective it is at AD level. Their choices continue to flumax me on a regular basis.

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As on of those BRB fans I'm selfishly very disappointed for myself, but I very much wish Bracewell all the best on joining the Royal Ballet, and thank him for the splendid performances in which I saw him live at the Lowry in Salford in Swan Lake, Cinderella, and Coppelia. I only saw him in one lead role in Cinderella but his artistry was always particularly impressive and memorable to me. I hope to see him dance again although it is much less likely now.  

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1 hour ago, Don Q Fan said:

I'm so sad that I wont see William Bracewell with BRB as King Louis In the The King Dances ever again.   Good move for him but I was really hoping to see that ballet again.  Have it recorded but not the same as live.

 

Lewis Turner was also excellent as the King.

 

I'm very sad that William Bracewell is moving over to the Royal but I wish him all the best.

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10 hours ago, Don Q Fan said:

I'm so sad that I wont see William Bracewell with BRB as King Louis In the The King Dances ever again.   Good move for him but I was really hoping to see that ballet again.  Have it recorded but not the same as live.

 

....agree- the moment he emerged at the end clad all in shimmering gold is one of my treasured ballet images.

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