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Royal Ballet Promotions, Leavers, Joiners 2017/2018


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An announcement has been published:

 

Yasmine Nagdhi promoted to Principal dancer.

The Royal Ballet announces Company promotions and joiners for the 2017/18 Season.

 

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, announces that Yasmine Nagdhi has been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company. O’Hare comments, ‘I’m delighted to promote Yasmine Nagdhi to Principal. She has had an extraordinary year, making successful debuts in a number of classic and contemporary ballets, and I look forward to this new chapter of her career and the opportunities that await.’

 

Born in London, Yasmine Naghdi joined the Company in 2010 after training at The Royal Ballet School. Yasmine's extensive repertory includes Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Olga (Onegin) and the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker). Her contemporary work includes Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, David Dawson’s The Human Seasons and Balanchine’s Tarantella’. Yasmine’s first performance as a Principal will be in The Royal Ballet’s special presentation ‘Opening the New’ in September as part of the Hull UK City of Culture celebrations. Yasmine will perform with Hull-born Xander Parish, First Soloist with the Mariinsky Ballet, alongside Principals and Soloists from The Royal Ballet.

 

Kevin O’Hare has also made the following promotions within the Company:


Christina Arestis, Bennet Gartside, Kristen McNally and Thomas Whitehead are promoted to Principal Character Artist.


Matthew Ball and Marcelino Sambé are promoted to First Soloist.
 

Reece Clarke, Benjamin Ella and Anna Rose O’ Sullivan are promoted to Soloist. As previously announced, William Bracewell joins the Company as a Soloist from Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Hannah Grennell, Calvin Richardson, Gina Storm-Jensen, and David Yudes are promoted to First Artist.

Giacomo Rovero, Francisco Serrano and Charlotte Tonkinson become Artists, after joining the Company at the start of the 2016/17 Season as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers. This programme provides recently graduated dancers a year’s contract to work and perform alongside the corps de ballet of The Royal Ballet. In the 2017/18 Season the Company welcomes six graduates from The Royal Ballet School who join as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers: Joonhyuk Jun, Joshua Junker, Sae Maeda, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Aiden O’Brien and Amelia Palmiero.

Stanislaw Wegryzn joins the Company as Prix de Lausanne dancer for the 2017/18 Season.

First Soloist Melissa Hamilton returns to the Company after a leave of absence performing with Semperoper Dresden.

 

The following dancers leave the Company:

Matthew Golding will leave The Royal Ballet after three years as Principal dancer. Golding joined The Royal Ballet in January 2014, having danced with the Company the previous Season as Guest Principal.

 

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet comments ‘Matthew gave many fine performances during his time with The Royal Ballet and danced a number of leading roles from across our repertory in ballets including Manon, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Dream, Onegin and Romeo and Juliet. We wish him well for the next stage of his performing career.’

 

As previously announced, Principal dancer Zenaida Yanowsky leaves after 23 years with the Company. First Soloist Valeri Hristov joins the artistic teaching faculty at The Royal Ballet School after 15 years with the Company. First Soloist Johannes Stepanek retires after 17 years with The Royal Ballet to progress a new career within opera and dance. First Artist Hayley Forskitt retires from dance and Artist Solomon Golding leaves to join San Francisco Ballet.

 

 

ENDS —

 

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52 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

An announcement has been published:

 

Yasmine Nagdhi promoted to Principal dancer.

The Royal Ballet announces Company promotions and joiners for the 2017/18 Season.

 

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, announces that Yasmine Nagdhi has been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company. O’Hare comments, ‘I’m delighted to promote Yasmine Nagdhi to Principal. She has had an extraordinary year, making successful debuts in a number of classic and contemporary ballets, and I look forward to this new chapter of her career and the opportunities that await.’

 

Born in London, Yasmine Naghdi joined the Company in 2010 after training at The Royal Ballet School. Yasmine's extensive repertory includes Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Olga (Onegin) and the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker). Her contemporary work includes Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor, David Dawson’s The Human Seasons and Balanchine’s Tarantella’. Yasmine’s first performance as a Principal will be in The Royal Ballet’s special presentation ‘Opening the New’ in September as part of the Hull UK City of Culture celebrations. Yasmine will perform with Hull-born Xander Parish, First Soloist with the Mariinsky Ballet, alongside Principals and Soloists from The Royal Ballet.

 

Kevin O’Hare has also made the following promotions within the Company:


Christina Arestis, Bennet Gartside, Kristen McNally and Thomas Whitehead are promoted to Principal Character Artist.


Matthew Ball and Marcelino Sambé are promoted to First Soloist.
 

Reece Clarke, Benjamin Ella and Anna Rose O’ Sullivan are promoted to Soloist. As previously announced, William Bracewell joins the Company as a Soloist from Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Hannah Grennell, Calvin Richardson, Gina Storm-Jensen, and David Yudes are promoted to First Artist.

Giacomo Rovero, Francisco Serrano and Charlotte Tonkinson become Artists, after joining the Company at the start of the 2016/17 Season as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers. This programme provides recently graduated dancers a year’s contract to work and perform alongside the corps de ballet of The Royal Ballet. In the 2017/18 Season the Company welcomes six graduates from The Royal Ballet School who join as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers: Joonhyuk Jun, Joshua Junker, Sae Maeda, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Aiden O’Brien and Amelia Palmiero.

Stanislaw Wegryzn joins the Company as Prix de Lausanne dancer for the 2017/18 Season.

First Soloist Melissa Hamilton returns to the Company after a leave of absence performing with Semperoper Dresden.

 

The following dancers leave the Company:

Matthew Golding will leave The Royal Ballet after three years as Principal dancer. Golding joined The Royal Ballet in January 2014, having danced with the Company the previous Season as Guest Principal.

 

Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet comments ‘Matthew gave many fine performances during his time with The Royal Ballet and danced a number of leading roles from across our repertory in ballets including Manon, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Giselle, The Dream, Onegin and Romeo and Juliet. We wish him well for the next stage of his performing career.’

 

As previously announced, Principal dancer Zenaida Yanowsky leaves after 23 years with the Company. First Soloist Valeri Hristov joins the artistic teaching faculty at The Royal Ballet School after 15 years with the Company. First Soloist Johannes Stepanek retires after 17 years with The Royal Ballet to progress a new career within opera and dance. First Artist Hayley Forskitt retires from dance and Artist Solomon Golding leaves to join San Francisco Ballet.

 

 

ENDS —

 

 

So pleased for Yasmine - and for the new soloists too.  I wonder if Vincenzo de Primo (last year's Prix dancer) is staying with the company - good news for David Yudes to First Artiste though.

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Delighted re Naghdi, Ball and Clarke, of course (and congratulations to all), but particularly pleased for Arestis, McNally, Gartside and Whitehead; given reports of KOH's concerns over appointing Principal Character Artists it's very good to see talent and loyalty rewarded (earlier in this topic there has been some discussion as how a long serving artist who was not obviously classical material could achieve promotion).

 

Sad but not entirely surprising re Matthew Golding. He never quite seemed a fit, although I was taken aback at some of the almost vitriolic responses to his work posted on here, and a shame that his "last" season was lost entirely to injury.

 

Neverthelss, I'm sure that these promotions will be a great boost to company morale at the end of a long season: it is so good to see internal development acknowledged and rewarded.

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No surprises for me on the list, which i think is well considered.  Huge congratulations to all. I am so thrilled that Yasmine's extraordinary talent and contribution have been recognised.

 

Best wishes to the company for a fun and restful summer break.

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Yes, I agree with James.  Relieved that there is no need for Naghdi fans to chain ourselves up outside the ROH :D - a hugely deserved promotion and not before time.  Delighted too for Ball and Clarke and especially pleased to hear the promotions to Principal Character Artist, given our concerns about whether KO'H would retain this very important rank.

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This is indeed a lovely round of promotios and I'm thrilled to bits about Naghdi and the principal character artists - the RB wouldn't be the same without these dancers and it's lovely to see them acknowledged.

 

It's also nice to see a promotion for Benjamin Ella who joined as artist a fair few years ago, it showed that you can grow as a dancer at any point in your career.

 

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Well what a great news to wake up too!

 

Absolutely thrilled to see Mr Kevin O'Hare has promoted Yasmine Naghdi to Principal of The Royal Ballet. She full deserves it. In a matter of 1 season she jumped from Soloist to First Soloist to Principal. Her Juliet, Rose Fairy, Mathilde Kschessinska, Sugar Plum Fairy, Aurora, Symphonic Variations,...to name just a few, were nothing short of stunning. Mr O'Hare clearly recognises her outstanding classical talent, as well as her beautiful musicality and dramatic talent, and he nurtured her in a matter of a few years all the way to the top. 

 

Also delighted for Matthew Ball, Marcelino Sambe, Reece Clark, Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Benjamin Ella, each one outstanding in their own right. Congrats to the new Principal Character Artists, and corps dancers for their promotion to First Artist.

 

The Royal Ballet truly gave us many amazing performances this Season, giving me great joy in this somber world. Wishing all the dancers a wonderful holiday, thank you all for your hard work, and thank you Mr'O'Hare for driving the company to new and great heights. Wishing you a wonderful holiday too!

 

 

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Biggest well done to Kevin O'Hare who continually 'gets it right.'  The Royal Ballet is in peak condition and. I regard myself as incredibly lucky to be able to see them so regularly.  Visits truly are the highlight of my life and bring great joy.

 

Hugely deserving Congrats to Yasmine who thrills with her beautiful dancing.  And to everybody else, you do us proud.

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3 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Delighted re Naghdi, Ball and Clarke, of course (and congratulations to all), but particularly pleased for Arestis, McNally, Gartside and Whitehead; given reports of KOH's concerns over appointing Principal Character Artists it's very good to see talent and loyalty rewarded (earlier in this topic there has been some discussion as how a long serving artist who was not obviously classical material could achieve promotion).

 

Sad but not entirely surprising re Matthew Golding. He never quite seemed a fit, although I was taken aback at some of the almost vitriolic responses to his work posted on here, and a shame that his "last" season was lost entirely to injury.

 

Neverthelss, I'm sure that these promotions will be a great boost to company morale at the end of a long season: it is so good to see internal development acknowledged and rewarded.

James - I never saw anything that could be termed vitriolic.  I think you have described the situation well by saying Matthew didn't quite fit.  He is a lovely dancer with a statuesque elegance and princely presence, but his particular talents seemed to lie in a different direction to RB.  Clearly he will be a magnificent addition to a company of the right style.  I wish him onwards and upwards.

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I too am sorry to see Matt Golding's career at the RB end like this: his technical qualities were very much needed to address deficiencies in the men's principal ranks, but either the repertoire selected didn't play to his strengths or he was injured at times when he would have made a greater impression, I think.  I recall that many of us were pleasantly - and unexpectedly - surprised at his Onegin, though.  I hope he finds somewhere better suited to his undoubted talents.

 

Glad, too, to see that KOH has relented on the Principal Character Artists front: there does need to be somewhere for particularly gifted dance actors to move to as they move out of actual dancing roles - and it frees more space for younger dancers to move up the hierarchy.

 

Really, I can't see anything at all to object to in this year's promotions :)  Congratulations to all the promotees, and particularly to Yasmine Naghdi.  May she illuminate the rank of Principal for years to come.

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Interesting post, Alison.  As a novice poster, can I would be interested to learn more about the technical deficiencies and why this is.  Yes, I was also impressed with Onegin but the Romeo and Juliette with Francesca did not work for me.  Would I be right in assuming Matthew was cast in the Ashton Triple bill?

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I think "technical deficiencies" is not the best way to describe it.  Some dancers just have a different style because of where they came from and it just doesn't fit.  I remember reading about members enjoying his Basilio, especially with the lady from DNB.  Although he spent some time at RBS US, according to the RB website his career prior to RB was ABT and DNB.  Perhaps with his injury issues he just didn't have time to subsume to RB style.

 

I remember a lady dancer a long time ago who came to BRB.  She was a technical whizz but she just did not have the BRB style and stuck out like a sore thumb.  Fortunately she only stayed the one season.  I think most dancers have to work hard at fitting into a different company style. 

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I don't think that Golding was a natural fit for the RB but he was dogged with injury in his three years with the company and that can't have helped his artistic development or with casting in repertoire which played to his strengths. I wonder what he will do next. No other company is mentioned in the press release.

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Having seen Matthew Golding with Frankie Hayward in R and J i must say I was impressed by both his dancing and his partnering. I wonder if the problem is that he does not find being on stage and having to act and project a character comfortable. The ROH Is a large space to fill. We have grown accustomed to our dancers having good acting ability, our actors having at least decent singing and dancing skills and our opera singers being competent actors.  So the dancer, actor or singer who cannot provide the complete package has difficulties.

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2 hours ago, MAB said:

That may be true, but much that was written about him was way out of order.

It's too hot to argue, but I never saw anything that was unkind or malicious.  If people feel passionately about something, they are going to want to express their feelings on a messageboard that devotes itself to that subject matter.  Additionally, the board would be a dull place if all we said was variations on 'that was nice.'

 

'Out of order' implies that criticism or critiques are unacceptable.  I am not knowlegable enough to comment on Matthew Golding's technical skills but I have to presume they were of a very high standard or he would not have been a Principal at one of the world's leading ballet companies.  I admired his Onegin, was disappointed by his R&J and thought he made an excellent partner in Swan Lake.  But he never moved me and, possibly spoiled for choice, I expect that from RB dancers.  End of.

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Is this the first year that the RB has not taken any students from the RBS straight into the company? Is this the shape of things to come ie that promising dancers will join the Aud Jebsen programme before being taken into the company?

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26 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

It's too hot to argue, but I never saw anything that was unkind or malicious.  If people feel passionately about something, they are going to want to express their feelings on a messageboard that devotes itself to that subject matter.  Additionally, the board would be a dull place if all we said was variations on 'that was nice.'

 

'Out of order' implies that criticism or critiques are unacceptable.  I am not knowlegable enough to comment on Matthew Golding's technical skills but I have to presume they were of a very high standard or he would not have been a Principal at one of the world's leading ballet companies.  I admired his Onegin, was disappointed by his R&J and thought he made an excellent partner in Swan Lake.  But he never moved me and, possibly spoiled for choice, I expect that from RB dancers.  End of.

 

Unfair criticism is what I have a problem with, for example when it  takes the form of continuous sniping at a dancer even in a season when that dancer barely stepped  foot on stage.

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1 hour ago, aileen said:

Is this the first year that the RB has not taken any students from the RBS straight into the company? Is this the shape of things to come ie that promising dancers will join the Aud Jebsen programme before being taken into the company?

 

I think so, looking at the Promotions 2014-2015 and 2015-2016.

 

No student/graduate from the Royal Ballet School was given a contract to join the Company this Season.

 

Six dancers do join as "Aud Jebsen" dancers giving them a year of experience to work alongside the corps de ballet. Some may be lucky to be offered a contract by the of Season but this is not guaranteed. 

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http://www.roh.org.uk/news/yasmine-nagdhi-promoted-to-principal-dancer

 

Fabulous news; virtually everyone's wish list in one (apart from promotion for James Hay) Congratulations to Yasmine, the Royal's newest principal dancer; really well deserved; couldn't happen to a nicer person or better dancer.

 

Marcellino and Matthew too; hopefully their next step on the way to principal.

 

Re previous discussion on the role of principal character artist apparently it does exist as several have been promoted to it including Bennett Gartside, Thomas Whitehead, Christina Arestis and Kirsten McNally.

 

Matthew Golding is leaving the Company so leavers are mentioned as well.

 

Many congratulations to all these and everyone promoted. it's been such a wonderful year for the company it is a pity everyone can't be promoted; they all deserve it!

 

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