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The Royal Danish Ballet is currently in the middle of a run of its own preferred Romeo and Juliet - Neumeier's - and last night's Juliet, Wilma Giglio, was promoted to the company's highest rank onstage during the curtain calls. It's five years since they had a new female principal and it was getting fairly obvious that she would be the next one. She comes from Argentina and had her early training there, arriving in Dnamark via the Prix de Lausanne and the Canadian Ballet School - she's been a soloist since 2018 and has already danced La Sylphide and Swan Lake. (And incidentally, checking the press relase on the RDB site, I notice that Nikolaj Hubbe's contract has just been extended for another 4 years.)

From the Company's website: With a new season just around the corner we are pleased to announce the following dancer promotions: Abigail Prudames becomes a Premier Dancer Minju Kang and Joseph Taylor both become Principal Soloists Sarah Chun and Riku Ito are promoted to Leading Soloist Lorenzo Trossello and Jonathan Hanks become First Soloists Heather Lehan becomes a Coryphée Archie Sherman becomes a Dancer We hope you will join us in congratulating these artists on their much deserved promotions. This season we also welcome two new dancers to the company, Kirica Takahashi and Katharine Lee. Following recent auditions, we'll be announcing more new joiners soon. Isabella Gasparini will also return to Northern Ballet as a Guest Artist for David Nixon OBE's Dangerous Liaisons at Leeds Playhouse. Isabella danced with us from 2007 - 2013 before joining The Royal Ballet in 2014.

From Instagram just now: We're delighted to announce promotions for The Royal Ballet’s 2020/21 Season and the forthcoming 2021/22 Season! @fumikaneko_ and @cesarcorrales926 are promoted to Principal with immediate effect and @maymagriofficial and @annaroseosullivan are promoted to Principal with effect from September 2021. @meaghangrace890, @nicol.edmonds and @calvin_richardson have been promoted to First Soloist with immediate effect. @ginastormjensen and @joseph.sissens have been promoted to Soloist with immediate effect. @leticiadias_, @marikosasaki448 and @harrychurches have been promoted to First Artist with immediate effect. Head to the link in bio to read the full announcement. A huge congratulations to all these dancers!

What a lovely way for Mr Hallberg to announce this year’s company promotions! Many congratulations to them all...especially Isobelle, who seems to have skipped a rank! 👏❤️ https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPFlhSUBoKA/?utm_medium=copy_link

After the COVID situation I was wondering about promotions at the end of the season. Do you have any predictions?

Tristan Dyer has today announced that he has left the Royal Ballet.

English National Ballet Autumn 2020 Announcement English National Ballet to launch dedicated ENB at Home video-on-demand platform Emerging Dancer will be streamed live from ENB’s own production studio at London City Island A digital season of works for camera in development for Autumn 2020 Nine new commissions UK premieres of Tamara Rojo’s Raymonda and Creature by Akram Khan postponed Announcement of promotions within the Company and thanks given to those leaving Photo caption: The Emerging Dancer 2020 finalists (c) Photography by Laurent Liotardo, post production by Nik Pate English National Ballet today announces its revised plans for Autumn 2020, as the Company’s previously scheduled performances have been cancelled due to the continuing impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. An exciting new digital season of short works for camera from choreographers including Russell Maliphant, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Yuri Possokhov, Arielle Smith and ENB Associate Choreographer Stina Quagebeur will be created, rehearsed, and performed by Company dancers in English National Ballet’s studios within COVID secure guidelines. This marks the first time Cherkaoui and Smith have created work for ENB’s main Company, and the first time Possokhov has created work for a UK Company. Shown in a series of mixed bills, these new works will be available to rent via ENB at Home, a new video-on-demand service from English National Ballet. ENB’s digital season is currently in rehearsal and will premiere in November and December 2020. Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet said: “It is testament to the talent of our dancers and the spirit and reputation of our Company that we have such incredible choreographers working with us on our digital season. I’m thrilled that not only will we have new pieces by renowned choreographers to share with our audiences, but that even in these challenging times we are also continuing to support young talent too. I can’t wait to see what they create.” Following the cancellation of performances at Southbank Centre, English National Ballet will now perform and stream its 11th annual Emerging Dancer competition from its own production studio at London City Island. Celebrating the bright future of ballet and the excellence of the Company’s Artists, Emerging Dancer will see this year’s finalists Ivana Bueno, Carolyne Galvao, Miguel Angel Maidana, Victor Prigent, Emily Suzuki and William Yamada perform a classical pas de deux followed by contemporary pieces choreographed by ENB Lead Principal Jeffrey Cirio, ENB Associate Choreographer Stina Quagebeur and Mthuthuzeli November. We will also see performances by last year’s winners Julia Conway and Rhys Antoni Yeomans who will be dancing a new creation by Arielle Smith. Emerging Dancer is produced by First Soloist James Streeter as part of ENB’s new dancer development programme, Dance Leaders of the Future. The Emerging Dancer finalists are now back in the studio, being mentored by their peers and preparing to perform in front of a panel of eminent judges including Edward Watson, Kerry Nicholls and Kenneth Tindall, on 22 September. Audiences around the world will be able to pay to watch this live streamed event for a fee of £5 and for the first time, will also be invited to cast their own votes by text and select a People’s Choice winner. In all, English National Ballet will present nine new commissions this Autumn Season. The new ENB at Home on demand platform will not only host filmed performances of new works and events, but will also be a home for additional high-quality on-demand ballet content beyond the stage, such as performances including Le Corsaire and Akram Khan’s Giselle, both of which were recorded specifically for screen, and selections from the archives following the success of English National Ballet’s recent Wednesday Watch Parties. Building on the popular series of classes which ENB made available online during lockdown, the ENB at Home platform will continue to give people the opportunity to actively engage with ballet-based exercise from home with a subscription-based class programme. Opting for either a monthly or annual subscription, users will gain access to over 100 hours of material including ballet classes, yoga, and fitness sessions. The launch date for the ENB at Home digital platform will be announced shortly. English National Ballet’s planned UK premieres this Autumn of Creature by Akram Khan and the Company’s new version of Raymonda, choreographed by Tamara Rojo after Marius Petipa, have been postponed owing to the closure of venues, and the difficulty in achieving the original timeline for the creation of these two new large-scale ballets under lockdown. Creature will now have its premiere in September 2021 at Sadler’s Wells, whilst Raymonda’s premiere date is to be announced. Plans for English National Ballet’s Winter Season 2020/2021 will be confirmed in due course. With changes in government guidance related to the COVID-19 pandemic now allowing indoor performances with socially distanced audiences, English National Ballet is exploring options with partner venues. Tamara Rojo commented: “Our artform is vital to the millions of people whose lives are enriched by the performing arts. No matter how difficult the situation, I truly believe ballet can bring people together and be a part of the solution to this crisis. Whilst it is with great sadness that we have had to delay some of our planned Season, I’m so pleased that through our new digital season and ENB at Home service we have found a way to continue to create, challenge, and inspire our audiences and, we hope, go some way in boosting the morale of the country.” Patrick Harrison, Executive Director of English National Ballet continued: “Like so many of our colleagues around the country, we have experienced a devastating effect of the coronavirus crisis on our operations, losing over two-thirds of our income. The continued closure of the theatres in which we perform, cancellations of national and international tours and the ongoing uncertainty about when we may be able to return to full performance or vital commercial activity means we have to scale back our organisation to protect it for the longer term. We continue to create where we can and are investing in the areas which will be key to the post-crisis recovery. We have furloughed over 85% of our colleagues through the UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and have introduced pay restraint across the organisation, whilst protecting the salaries of lower earners. I want to sincerely thank everyone in the organisation for their ongoing dedication and the sacrifices they are making during this time. ENB was successful in its application for a grant from the Arts Council of England’s Emergency Fund, which secures our survival through September. Despite this and in the face of continued uncertainty, we must reduce the scale of our activity and organisation in order to see our way through the current crisis.” English National Ballet also today announces promotions and changes within the Company. Our 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons have been greatly affected by the unexpected advent of the global pandemic. Our repertoire has been reduced, and our costs must be reduced as well. The Company are delighted to acknowledge members of the company with promotions this year, but sadly say goodbye to others who following discussions have chosen to leave English National Ballet to pursue other projects. Francisco Bosch, 8th Year Artist, after 17 years with the Company Fernando Bufala, First Soloist, after 7 years with the Company Barry Drummond, First Artist, after 10 years with the Company Shevelle Dynott, 8th Year Artist, after 15 years with the Company James Forbat, First Soloist, after 15 years with the Company Daniel Kraus, Junior Soloist, after 16 years and 11 months with the Company Adela Ramirez, First Soloist, after 22 years with the Company Maria Jose Sales, 8th Year Artist, after 6 years with the Company Jia Zhang, First Artist, after 11 years with the Company Earlier this year, ENB also said goodbye to First Soloist Crystal Costa and 8th Year Artist Joshua McSherry-Gray after 12 and 11 years with the company respectively. Jane Haworth, who joined us as a dancer in 1983 and then became Character Artist and Artistic Coordinator, retired in June. Artist of the Company Maeve Nolan also leaves at the end of the current Season. Tamara Rojo said: “I want to offer heartfelt thanks to these dancers for their contribution and dedication to the Company. Their talent and artistry will be missed by all, colleagues and audiences alike. I wish them all the best for the future.” Lead Principal Jurgita Dronina, who previously split her time between ENB and National Ballet of Canada, will not return to ENB next Season. Jurgita will continue to dance in Canada. Tamara Rojo notes that “we certainly hope to work with Jurgita again in the future.” Jurgita Dronina said: “During my time with English National Ballet, I have shared some of my best performances, and been able to witness and be part of the historical change and accomplishments the Company has achieved so far. I wish English National Ballet the best possible future in these difficult times, and I am looking forward to hopefully finding a different way to continue my association with the Company when times are more certain.” ENB also announces the following promotions which have been made within the Company: Gabriele Francesco Frola has been promoted to Lead Principal. Daniel McCormick has been promoted to Soloist. Precious Adams, Julia Conway, Anjuli Hudson and Erik Woolhouse have been promoted to Junior Soloist. Emily Suzuki has been promoted to 8th Year Artist of the Company. Matthew Astley, Noam Durand, Rhys Antoni Yeomans, Victor Prigent and Miguel Angel Maidana have been promoted to 6th Year Artist of the Company. Carolyne Galvao and Rentaro Nakaaki have been promoted to 5th Year Artist of the Company. Tamara Rojo said: "Congratulations to all of our promoted dancers, this recognition is well-deserved and I’m looking forward to seeing them all continue to develop and flourish in the Seasons to come.” -ENDS- Notes to Editors English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. The following English National Ballet performances have been cancelled this Autumn due to the impact of COVID-19. Ticket buyers will be contacted by the relevant box offices. Emerging Dancer 2020 – Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre (22 Sept 2020). Replaced by live stream. Creature by Akram Khan – Sadler’s Wells, London (11-14 Nov 2020); Bristol Hippodrome (18-21 Nov 2020). Raymonda - Palace Theatre, Manchester (15-17 Oct 2020); Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (21-24 Oct 2020); Milton Keynes Theatre (28-31 Oct 2020) Amended listings for English National Ballet’s Autumn 2020 Season: Emerging Dancer 7pm, 22 September 2020 www.ballet.org.uk/emerging Details remain subject to change. For the latest information, please visit www.ballet.org.uk About English National Ballet English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet's growth and evolution ever since. English National Ballet brings world class ballet to the widest possible audience through performances across the UK and on eminent international stages including The Bolshoi Theatre and Palais Garnier; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet's Dance for Parkinson's. Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo CBE, English National Ballet has introduced ground-breaking new works to the Company's repertoire whilst continuing to honour the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history with a move into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in East London which brings a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk About Arts Council England Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people's lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries - from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk About NatWest, Principal Partner of English National Ballet NatWest serves customers in England and Wales, supporting them with their personal, private, and business banking needs. NatWest helps customers at all stages in their lives, from opening student accounts, to buying their first home, setting up a business, and saving for retirement. Alongside a wide range of banking services, NatWest offers businesses specialist sector knowledge in areas such as manufacturing and technology, as well as access to specialist entrepreneurial support.

The promotions list is out! Just seen it on Facebook. I don’t know how to put it here but many people will be pleased here. Can an admin move this please?

https://www.abt.org/2019-promotions-announced/ Pleased for the talented Aran Bell.

Brandon Lawrence To Principal Kit Holder To First Soloist Rory Mackay To First Soloist Valentin Olovyannikov To First Soloist Laura Day To Soloist Beatrice Parma To Soloist

Just to note that Esteban Hernandez is a RBS grad and brother to Issac Hernandez of ENB fame and Madison Keesler was herself formerly with ENB. Look forward to seeing them at Sadler's Wells. Congratulations to all.

It looks as though the Company are preparing the release of information. I can see the headline on the website but no detail. I’m out with my dog so if anyone sees it before me, please feel free to post on this thread.

The Royal Ballet announces promotions for 2018/19 Season Matthew Ball is promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company. BY MEL SPENCER (SENIOR EDITOR (SOCIAL MEDIA)) 13 JULY 2018 AT 7.30AM Matthew Ball as Albrecht in Giselle, The Royal Ballet © 2018 ROH. Photographed by Bill Cooper The Royal Ballet has announced promotions for the 2018/19 season. Matthew Ball been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company. Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, comments: ‘I’m delighted that Matthew Ball will be a Principal dancer from the start of the 2018/19 Season. He has had a tremendous year with some very exciting debuts in both classical and contemporary ballets across the repertory as well as creating roles in the new works. It is wonderful that Matthew has achieved so much since he joined the company from the Royal Ballet School and I eagerly look forward to watching this next chapter of his career.’ Born in Liverpool, Matthew Ball joined the Company in 2013 after training at The Royal Ballet School. His repertory with the Company includes Albrecht (Giselle), The Prince (The Nutcracker), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Armand (Marguerite and Armand), Lensky (Onegin) and Romeo (Romeo and Juliet). His contemporary work includes Obsidian Tear, Woolf Works and Yugen by Wayne McGregor, Corybantic Games by Christopher Wheeldon and Symphonic Dances by Liam Scarlett. Matthew’s first major role as a Principal will be in La Bayadère as Solor. He will feature in Alastair Marriott’s new work, The Unknown Soldier, which premieres on Tuesday 20 November and commemorates the centenary of the end of the First World War. In December, he will perform with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures at Sadler’s Wells, dancing the role of The Swan in Swan Lake. Kevin O’Hare has also made the following promotions within the Company: William Bracewell, Tierney Heap, Fumi Kaneko, and Mayara Magri are promoted to First Soloist. Calvin Richardson has been promoted to Soloist. Téo Dubreuil and Joseph Sissens are promoted to First Artist. Stanisław Węgrzyn, who was Prix de Lausanne dancer for the 2017/18 Season, becomes an Artist. Sae Maeda, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Joonhyuk Jun, Joshua Junker and Aiden O’Brienalso become Artists, after joining the Company at the start of the last Season as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers, a programme which provides recently graduated dancers a year’s contract to work and perform alongside the corps de ballet of The Royal Ballet whilst receiving mentoring and coaching. Details of leavers and joiners will be announced in due course.

This item was on BA: (Janet - did you get such a release? Grateful if you could confirm for us). According to an e-mail just sent out by English National Ballet, Jeffrey Cirio is joining as Lead Principal. No indication of whether he will continue an affiliation with ABT. "Joining the Company Following his recent guest performances with the Company in Song of the Earth, La Sylphide, and Akram Khan’s Giselle, Jeffrey Cirio, currently Principal at American Ballet Theater, joins English National Ballet as Lead Principal."

For immediate release 11 June 2018 Northern Ballet announces promotions and joiners for 2017/18 season Northern Ballet will welcome ten new dancers for the 2018/19 season and has also announced promotions for existing members of the Company. Joining the Corps de Ballet are: Ayça Anil (Central School of Ballet); Adam Ashcroft (Estonian National Ballet); Harris Beattie (Central School of Ballet); Helen Bogatch (Estonian National Ballet); Kyungka Kwak (Universal Ballet, Korea); George Liang (The National Ballet of Canada); and Nina Queiroz da Silva (Ballet Nacional Sodre, Uruguay). Matthew Morrell joins as an Apprentice from the Academy of Northern Ballet’s Professional Graduate Programme, alongsideformer Professional Graduate student Julie Nunès who joins from the corps de ballet at The Phantom of the Opera, Stockholm, and Oscar Ainscough from Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. In addition, a number of Northern Ballet’s existing company dancers have been promoted: Mlindi Kulashe, Ayami Miyata, Abigail Prudames and Joseph Taylor to First Soloists; Nicola Gervasi and Matthew Koon to Soloists; Sarah Chun, Riku Ito, Minju Kang and Dominique Larose to Junior Soloists; and Filippo Di Vilio to Coryphée. This year the Company will also be saying goodbye to the following dancers: Dreda Blow is returning to her native Canada to study physical theatre and pursue acting, teaching and creating her own work; whilst Giuliano Contadini and Victoria Sibson have retired from the stage; the three have collectively been performing with Northern Ballet for over 35 years. Mathilde Lambert leaves to join Columbia Classical Ballet, USA; Jesse Milligan has joined the West End cast of The King and I at the London Palladium; Liam Morris is joining Estonian National Ballet; Alexander Yap is joiningBirmingham Royal Ballet; Archie James leaves to study Sports and Injury Therapy; and Kiara Flavin, Thomas Holdsworth, Darragh Hourrides, Carlotta Pini and Ailen Ramos Betancourt are also moving on to new things. Northern Ballet’s new season will commence in September with a new Mixed Programme in Leeds and Doncaster followed by the return of David Nixon OBE’s The Three Musketeers and The Nutcracker which will both tour nationally.For details see northernballet.com/whatson -ENDS- Notes to Editors Northern Ballet – Company List 2018/19 Premier Dancers Pippa Moore Javier Torres Leading Soloists Hannah Bateman Antoinette Brooks-Daw Ashley Dixon First Soloists Mlindi Kulashe Ayami Miyata Abigail Prudames Joseph Taylor Soloists Nicola Gervasi Rachael Gillespie Matthew Koon Kevin Poeung Junior Soloists Sean Bates Sarah Chun Riku Ito Minju Kang Dominique Larose Matthew Topliss Coryphée Filippo Di Vilio Jonathan Hanks Dancers Miki Akuta Eneko Amorós Zaragoza Ayça Anil Adam Ashcroft Harris Beattie Helen Bogatch Abigail Cockrell Ommaira Kanga Perez Natalia Kerner Kyungka Kwak Heather Lehan George Liang Harriet Marden Gavin McCaig Nina Queiroz da Silva Dale Rhodes Mariana Rodrigues Teresa Saavedra Bordes Andrew Tomlinson Lorenzo Trossello Apprentices Oscar Ainscough Matthew Morrell Julie Nunès Northern Ballet Artistic Director – David Nixon OBE Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s leading ballet companies and the widest touring ballet company in the UK. Bold and innovative in its approach, Northern Ballet is prolific at creating new full-length work with a unique blend of strong classical technique and world-class storytelling. Northern Ballet’s repertoire embraces popular culture and takes inspiration from literature, legend, opera and the classics, pushing the boundaries of what stories can be told through dance. A champion for the cultural exports of the North, Leeds-based Northern Ballet is dedicated to bringing world-class story ballets to as many people and places as possible, under the leadership of Artistic Director David Nixon OBE. Northern Ballet’s Company of 44 dancers performs a combination of its full-length ballets and specially created ballets for children at almost 50 venues annually. For more details of Northern Ballet's tour, on sale dates and booking information, please visit northernballet.com/whatson National Tour Sponsor

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 —

Good to see the following promotions of Lantratov and Smirnova, which were announced today: "Vladislav Lantratov is promoted from the Leading Soloist to Premier, Olga Smirnova — from the First Soloist to the Leading Soloist, Denis Rodkin — from Soloist to the First Soloist. Anna Okunyova, Yanina Parienko, Artemy Belyakov & Anton Savichev became Soloists."

Emmanuel Thibault is retiring from the Paris Opera Ballet. I vividly remember watching Paquita at the Garnier, my companion was seeing Thibault dance for the first time, he was so excited at what he saw, he nearly went over the parapet. He is, unsurprisingly, a huge admirer of Lopatin too. Thibault had an army of admirers, his first leading role was in Don Q., conveniently a matinee, that had fans from across Europe congregating in Paris for the event, Clement Crisp and John Percival were sitting together in the front row of the stalls. The atmosphere was very special and the POB students chanted his name 'Manu!, Manu! at the curtain calls. I had hoped that reception would have made the POB management reconsider his position within the company but it wasn't to be. Apart from Don Q. his only other lead role was Colas in Ashton's Fille and unsurprisingly he was the best in the role I've ever seen. I sincerely hope he gets an opportunity to pass on his skills to the next generation.

Dancers joining the Bolshoi Ballet corps this season are: Alyona Kovaleva, Olga Ladina, Alyona Ledyakh, Anastasia Strakhova, Elizaveta Khokhlova, Ilya Vladimirov, Artem Kalistratov, Andreï Koshkin, Modeste Skorodumov, Jacapo Tissi (ex-La Scala) and Kamil Yangurazov (ex Mariinsky & Stanmus). The last is married to Yulia Stepanova who seems to be the only dancer promoted thus far. (Bolshoi often announces promotions in waves rather than all at once.) In case anyone hasn't heard, Stepanova was moved up from soloist, past first soloist and leading soloist, to principal dancer. Pretty much unheard of from what I can tell. Hopefully Vaziev is only waiting for an opportune moment to promote Anna Tikhomerova, Slava Lopatin and maybe even Igor Tvirsko, to mollify those who feel that Bolshoi style is at risk with the spectacular promotion of yet another Vaganova grad (Smirnova, Obraztsova and Zakharova being the other 3). I have my fingers crossed that nobody is considering the broken glass in the pointe shoes revenge strategy described by Mary Allash in Bolshoi Babylon -- there are bound to be a lot of dancers unhappy with Stepanova's elevation after only one year with the company. Yet, that is Vaziev's style (remember Alina Somova's meteoric rise under Vaziev's guidance at Mariinsky) so they probably should just get used to it. Speaking of revenge, no sign of Dmitrichenko yet. It's hard to tell which dancers have left. The website is in flux and sometimes the English and Russian content offers quite a bit. For example Merkuriev no longer appears on the company list in either language, but his Russian bio can be found and he is still listed in the Don Q cast. Hopefully this will be straightened out soon.

ABT PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED Three ballerinas — Sarah Lane, Christine Shevchenko and Devon Teuscher — have been promoted to the rank of principal dancer at American Ballet Theater, the company announced on Friday (today) Calvin Royal III, a member of the corps de ballet who has been in the spotlight with solo roles, was promoted to soloist. (New York City Times)

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/promotions-and-joiners-at-the-royal-ballet-for-201617 "Promotions and joiners have been announced for the 2016/17 Season. Director Kevin O’Hare has made the following promotions for the forthcoming Season: Alexander Campbell, Francesca Hayward, Ryoichi Hirano and Akane Takada have been promoted to Principal, the Company’s highest rank. Claire Calvert, Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell are promoted to First Soloists.Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri are promoted to Soloists. Tierney Heap was promoted to First Artist mid-season and is also now promoted to Soloist. Reece Clarke, David Donnelly, Benjamin Ella, Isabella Gasparini, Anna Rose O’Sullivanand Demelza Parish are promoted to First Artist. Joining the Company at the start of the Season will be Joseph Sissens from The Royal Ballet School. All the 2015/16 Aud Jebsen Young Dancers - Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød, Harry Churches, Leo Dixon, Isabel Lubach and Julia Roscoe - will join the Company from The Royal Ballet School on permanent contracts as Artists. The Royal Ballet welcomes seven dancers to the Company for the 2016/17 Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme. The programme provides an opportunity for recently graduated dancers to receive a year’s contract to work alongside the corps de ballet of The Royal Ballet. In addition the dancers are offered mentoring and coaching and have the opportunity to perform with the Company. Next Season’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers are Joseph Aumeer, Estelle Bovay, Maria Luisa Castillo Yoshida, Arianna Maldini, Giacomo Rovero, Francisco Serrano and Charlotte Tonkinson, all from The Royal Ballet School. Vincenzo Di Primo joins the Company as Prix de Lausanne dancer. Charlotte Edmonds will continue with The Royal Ballet for the 2016/17 Season for a second year on The Royal Ballet Young Choreographer Programme mentored by Kevin O’Hare and Wayne McGregor. The Young Choreographer Programme is a position for an emerging choreographer to shadow Royal Ballet and visiting choreographers and utilize the Company resources to create work." Very well deserved promotions. Congratulations to them all!

MEDIA RELEASE: Monday 4 July 2016 BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET ANNOUNCEMENTS 2016 At the end of the 2015/2016 season, Birmingham Royal Ballet is able to announce the following: Samara Downs is promoted from First Soloist to Principal. Céline Gittens is promoted from First Soloist to Principal. Delia Mathews is promoted from Soloist to First Soloist. Yijing Zhang is promoted from First Artist to Soloist. Feargus Campbell is promoted from First Artist to Soloist. Brandon Lawrence is promoted from First Artist to Soloist. Valentin Olovyannikov is promoted from First Artist to Soloist. Yaoqian Shang is promoted from Artist to Soloist. Reina Fuchigami is promoted from Artist to First Artist. Jade Heusen is promoted from Artist to First Artist. Max Maslen is promoted from Artist to First Artist. Lachlan Monaghan is promoted from Artist to First Artist. The following dancers will join the company: Gabriel Anderson, graduate of the Royal Ballet School, will join as an Artist. Tim Dutson, graduate of English National Ballet School, will join as an Artist. Aitor Galende, graduate of the Royal Ballet School, will join as an Artist. The following dancers leave the company: Elisha Willis leaves Birmingham Royal Ballet after thirteen years with the Company, twelve of those years as a Principal. Elisha is retiring from ballet and is going to pursue a career in costume making. Jonathan Caguioa leaves Birmingham Royal Ballet after fourteen years with the Company, four of those years as a Soloist. Jonathan is returning to London to undertake a Pilates teaching course. Steven Monteith left Birmingham Royal Ballet earlier this season after eighteen years with the Company, six of those years as a Soloist. Steven is currently studying for the Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma at the Royal Academy of Dance. Oliver Till leaves Birmingham Royal Ballet after nine years with the Company. Oliver was promoted to Soloist earlier this season. He is now moving to the United States to pursue different opportunities. Leticia Dias Domingues leaves Birmingham Royal Ballet after a year with the Company. Leticia is joining the Royal Ballet as an Artist. Luke Schaufuss leaves Birmingham Royal Ballet after three years with the Company. Luke is joining Scottish Ballet as a Soloist.

Just wondering what people's predictions for promotions at the Royal Ballet might be? Carlos Acosta is about to retire soon, which leaves a gap in the principal ranks and Deirdre Chapman also retired this season, leaving a gap in the first soloists too! I personally think Matthew Ball, Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambe will promoted up the ranks. Also Akane Takada, seems a firm favourite at the Royal Ballet after her debut in Swan Lake, so she might be promoted to Principal alongside Alexander Campbell maybe? What are people's thoughts?

BRB have announced their end-of-season promotions, leavers and joiners: http://brb.org.uk/Announcements-2014.html