Press Release: English National Ballet announces promotions and new joiners for the 2017/2018 Season

[Juliet]

I stand by what I say.....ENB is a top tier company.  It's tough out there for dancers ATM.  If you are happy where you are ... You stay put.

[MellissaHuntsley]

No it's happened many times - just not here. Each time the growth rate is incredible ... so much to look forward to...

[Juliet]

No it doesn't happen here......we don't have that many companies in UK.....and the ones we do have....we cherish.

[FLOSS]

Melissa I am glad that you find so much to be positive about in the announcement of so many departures from ENB. A high regular annual turnover may be the norm in many companies across the world but in my experience it has not been part of ENB's corporate culture and experience. This number of departures from ENB is really unusual. ENB has a history of being a pretty stable company with a comparatively low level of turnover where most of the changes in personnel would be anticipated by the company's fans and clearly attributable to natural causes.This looks more like a mass exodus than anything else.

 

The ENB which Rojo took over from Eagling looked like a company in rude artistic health capable of tackling anything the director chose to stage. I am not sure that it looks like that at present with this number of departures. If a top tier company with an exciting innovative repertory and a history of stability as far as its personnel is concerned suddenly changes into one with a high turnover rate it suggests that the company's dancers are not happy being there. As has already been said in any other organisation this number of departures would  lead to serious questions being asked about management style, company morale and general working conditions. At the end of the day the AD is responsible not only for his or her choice of repertory but for fostering and maintaining working conditions in which everyone feels valued for the contribution they make to the company's success.

 

My experience is that in any organisation if people feel valued and believe that they are getting development opportunities they tend to stay where they are.If they don't feel valued they move.Unfortunately as far as ENB is concerned it looks as if it may suddenly have become interesting for all the wrong reasons

 

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by FLOSS

[MellissaHuntsley]

Or people are jealous that other people are getting promoted. Don't forget that part of it... 

[Juliet]

Mmmm.....from what I can see....principals are are on the move too.....you don't get higher than that.

[MAB]

5 minutes ago, MellissaHuntsley said:

No it's happened many times - just not here. Each time the growth rate is incredible ... so much to look forward to...

 

Would you kindly inform us which major company has lost so many dancers in such a short time frame?  Turnover in Russian touring companies can be high as dancers swap around to go on tours depending on length and venues, and acquiring male dancers is always a headache,  ENB doesn't have those problems.

 

Incidentally apart from the eye-watering number of dancer departures, all but one of the 'Artistic' team, teachers, repetiteurs etc. have left.   

[MellissaHuntsley]

Lead principal...

[Juliet]

Isn't Tamara a lead principal.....be interesting if she went too.

 

Anyway.....not sure if I can be bothered with this now....I think you're winding us all up.

[MAB]

1 minute ago, Juliet said:

Isn't Tamara a lead principal.....be interesting if she went too.

 

Anyway.....not sure if I can be bothered with this now....I think you're winding us all up.

 

The highest paid ballet AD in Britain, leave?  Highly unlikely!

[Juliet]

Very true MAB 

[Balletfanp]

17 minutes ago, MellissaHuntsley said:

Or people are jealous that other people are getting promoted. Don't forget that part of it... 

Sorry, but I find it hard to believe that all these dancers are leaving through jealousy... seriously??

 

Dancers get promoted all the time in all companies, but I don't think I am aware of any sudden mass exodus in other companies whenever there are promotions.

[MellissaHuntsley]

Just from this year:

San Francisco Ballet

Missing from last year's roster (some of these were already known, others are a bit of a surprise):

Principals:  Lorena Feijoo, Davit Karapetyan, Vanessa Zahorian, Taras Domitro, Carlos Quenedit, and Aaron Robison

Soloists:  Francisco Mungamba, Anthony VIncent

Corps:  Jordan Hammond, Lee Alex Meyer Lorey

 

Initial reaction:  Very surprised to see Francisco gone.  NIce to see Madison Keesler returning.  

 

Boston Ballet many times

ABT many times. 

 

[MAB]

Has SFB lost over half its dancers and almost all its teaching staff in under five years? 

[Balletfanp]

But the point is - as others have stated - this may be typical in some other companies, but is pretty much unprecedented, or at least highly unusual, for ENB.

[blackdove]

3 hours ago, MAX said:

No Mellissa I don't think the board will be pleased neither TR.

 

Part of being a good artistic director is the ability to create a nice atmosphere of work, it seems that Kevin O'Hare is better than Tamara Rojo concerning this aspect.

 

(Sorry for my english...)

 

That statement is completely out of order unless you have some evidence to support it.

[MAX]

yes you are right blackdove that's why I wrote "it seems", it is just (and only) a personal impression

[blackdove]

3 hours ago, MAX said:

Come on if you are glad with a company and a director you don't move !   No it is a bad sign.

 

So if you are a soloist and offered a principal position with a bigger company you turn it down because you like your current artistic director?

[aileen]

Well, from an outsider's point of view I speculate that there is some natural churn (some dancers are moving or have moved onto other projects), some 'doubling up' as the result of couples moving together and some dancer dissatisfaction. It's not really fair to put everyone who has left since TR took over in the 'dissatisfied' camp.

 

I think that ENB's huge corps of artists is part of the problem. Many dancers are never promoted at all in terms of rank. A tiny number move up rapidly through the ranks. The others do get promoted but may have to wait several years to reach even the rank of first artist let alone a soloist rank. Some dancers are happy to remain as artists - and there's nothing wrong with that - but others will move on after a few years if opportunities to dance featured and soloist roles and promotions are not forthcoming. Looking at the dancers who are departing, a number of them have been in the company for about three years and I would say that in most fields that's about the length of time that people give to a job before moving on if career progression is important but is not forthcoming.

 

IMO, the other part of the problem is TR's policy of focussing on a small number of favoured dancers at the expense of the rest. This is a risky policy as the favoured dancers get injured, go on maternity leave or leave for pastures new which leaves the company in a precarious position as other dancers have not been brought on in sufficient numbers - plus it's very bad for company morale. Bringing in guests then becomes a necessity (and an expensive one at that) rather than an artistic choice and again this is bad for morale and does not solve the underlying problem which will persist for as long as the policy of developing only a small number dancers continues.

 

 

[MAX]

14 minutes ago, blackdove said:

 

So if you are a soloist and offered a principal position with a bigger company you turn it down because you like your current artistic director?

In that case yes, maybe, but none of the "non principal" leavers has been offered a principal position with a bigger company... 

Edited July 29, 2017 by MAX

[blackdove]

That's true but it's also a fact that Acosta will have opportunities to dance roles in Bavaria he would be most unlikely to have at ENB. Taming Of The Shrew and Onegin being two.

[tabitha]

This seems to be another one of those cases which crop up from time to time on balletco. where there are people on here connected with the ballet world who KNOW what is going on at ENB but can only hint at it on a public forum and others who are not so connected who are understandably putting forward reasoned, rational but speculative argument based on little fact. 

 

Therefore unless anyone who knows is willing to state publicly, it might be better leave the speculation aside for now?

[capybara]

I was intending to hold back from this thread as I am such an avid supporter of ENB 

 

However, I feel that some comments have been rather unfair to the dancers who are leaving and this makes me want to mention two things

 

If I am remembering correctly, 9 of the leavers have been Emerging Dancer Finalists – 4 of them twice. In addition, Acosta won both the Emerging Dancer and the People’s Choice Awards, Zhang won Emerging Dancer, Lukovkin won the People’s Choice Award, as did Summerscales (twice)! These successes speak volumes! These wonderful artists and the others who have decided to go have contributed enormously to the achievements of the Company and I send them a great big “THANK YOU” and best wishes for the future.

 

Of course, everyone seeks to progress in their careers but, even though so many of ENB’s dancers are at the Artist level (something like 64% this year, I believe), they rejoice when their peers do well and when they see talent, hard work and artistry rewarded with promotion. 

 

[Anna C]

I agree, tabitha.  I think most of us can agree that such a high number of leavers IS very unusual, if not unprecedented.  People-Management is possibly underrated in some companies just as it is in organisations outside the ballet world.  All we can hope for is that ENB's board does its utmost to learn why such an exodus has taken place, and if there are lessons to be learned, that these ARE learned - and soon.    The relatively large number of what should be First Artists - or at the very least a new rank of "Senior Corps" - whose long years of experience is so important (but seemingly unrewarded) is a case in point. 

 

Of course it's important to have an interesting and varied repertoire with which to publicise the company and get bums on seats, but if you don't have motivated and happy (or at least satisfied and motivated) dancers, you'll struggle to actually perform said repertoire to the expected standard.  

 

 

[Anna C]

Capybara, that's such a good point.  The ENB dancers come across as an incredibly close knit family.  They do seem to genuinely rejoice when one of their members is promoted.  Of all the possible reasons why so many have left, I really don't think it's professional jealousy in any way. 

[li tai po]

No-one seems to have mentioned Irek Mukhamedov (Character Artist).  I am under the impression that he is also leaving at the end of this week.  Maybe I am wrong.

 

The total number of departures this season is 18 so far, close to a churn of 30% of the dancers.

Ksenia Ovsyanick - Berlin - left at the beginning of the season, after two weeks of class at Jay Mews

Max Westwell - An American in Paris

Anton Lukovkin - to pursue a career in opera

Juan Rodriguez - retired

Makoto Nakamura - retired

Madison Keesler - San Francisco

Grant Rae - to retire at the end of the week

Yonah Acosta - Munich

Laurretta Summerscales - Munich

Alejandro Virelles - Munich

Yoko Callegari - Munich

Jinhao Zhang - Munich

Jeanette Kakareka - Munich

Emilio Pavan - Munich

Vitor Menezes - Copenhagen

Daniele Silingardi - Stuttgart

Tamarin Stott - Scottish Ballet

Irek Mukhamedov

 

The press release referred to Tamarin Stott rather contemptuously as leaving to pursue other interests.  My understanding is that she is to be ballet mistress at Scottish Ballet.

 

Whilst ENB may not yet be disintegrating, there appears to be considerable unease and insecurity amongst the dancers.  The clever PR has attempted to repackage the current situation as a triumph of recruitment and to manipulate the numbers by being economical with the truth.  The ungracious manner in which ENB management and its Development Department allowed Max Westwell and Anton Lukovkin to leave without comment (both of them with around 10 years' service to the company as dancers) is symptomatic of the current malaise within the company.

 

I do not know how human resources is perceived in Boston Massachusetts, but the situation as outlined above must certainly be a concern for dancers and audience alike in London.

 

[aileen]

Yes, I'm not suggesting that professional jealousy was a factor here. However, many dancers seek promotions for artistic, financial and other reasons and, naturally, will move if the opportunities are not forthcoming at their current company. Nancy Osbaldeston was never promoted beyond first artist (and that only very latterly) and is now a principal at RBF. Ksenia Ovsyanick was only promoted to soloist right at the end of her time at ENB (despite dancing soloist and principal roles for several years) and moved to take up a principal position in Berlin. TR has many strengths as a director but dancer development does not appear to be one of them unless you are one of the tiny group of favoured dancers. Of course not everyone can be promoted but, IMO, there are too many dancers who never move out of the artist rank and it's not surprising that some of them will become dissatisfied. Perhaps money is a factor here and the company can't afford to make many promotions. 

[MAB]

I was aware that Mukhamedov is said to be leaving, but rather hoped that wouldn't be the case.

 

Thank you for raising the graceless handling of the leaving of the highly popular Max Westwell, Anton Lukovkin (who although never raised to the rank of principal, nevertheless danced a large number of principal roles) and company stalwart Tamarin Stott, one of the very finest exponents of MacMillan's Rite of Spring.  Artists such as those three  gave so much to the company.  In my opinion they deserved some public thanks.

[aileen]

That's a blow that Mukhamedov is leaving. I thought that his was an inspired appointment and he seems to have been very appreciated by the dancers.

[bridiem]

18 minutes ago, aileen said:

That's a blow that Mukhamedov is leaving. I thought that his was an inspired appointment and he seems to have been very appreciated by the dancers.

 

Yes, I'm so sorry if he really is going.

[capybara]

Irek Mukhamedov is primarily Principal Ballet Master.

[Pas de Quatre]

Another hypothesis is that some of the dancers may not like all the repertoire.  Just because the critics and the audience like a work, it doesn't mean the dancers enjoy performing it.  

[Legseleven]

If money is a factor, then perhaps what appears to be an overly excessive salary for Ms Rojo should be pruned. Yes, she is still dancing but not as far as I know choreographing - and yet her salary, as AD of a company apparently known not to pay its dancers well, is huge. I don't believe that the disparity between her salary and that of Kevin O'Hare at the RB, where there seems to be a conspicuous contrast with the mass exodus at ENB, can be reasonably explained.