Nina G. 1,629 Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) 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. Edited July 9, 2017 by Nina G. spelling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AlisonS35 19 Posted July 9, 2017 What brilliant news on promotions! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmhopton 1,711 Posted July 9, 2017 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! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rachelm 158 Posted July 9, 2017 Excellent result regarding promotions! Congratulations to all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Springbourne3 296 Posted July 9, 2017 10 hours ago, capybara said: Unfortunately, it appears not. OVER THE MOON FOR ALL THE PROMOTEES. CONGRATULATIONS! Strange that there is no mention of him (de Primo) as leaving as previous Prix dancers usually get a mention if they are given a contract or if they move on to other companies etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wulff 350 Posted July 10, 2017 Very glad to see that Ben Ella has made it to soloist. He was in the same year in the RBS as Vadim and showed great promise as a student, but his subsequent career has been held back by a series of injuries, so it's great to see that he has at last won through. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Melody 1,555 Posted July 10, 2017 Lovely to see this list. I remember seeing Yasmine Naghdi dancing in the Shakespeare Live programme with Matthew Ball, and she looked every inch the principal dancer already. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnS 2,392 Posted July 10, 2017 Delighted to see all the promotions - congratulations to all and so well deserved. Wonderful to see how Kevin O'Hare and all at the Royal Ballet nurture and reward such talent. I would just hope that the new Principal Character Artists will continue to have opportunities to delight audiences in a range of roles - for example I'd love to think that we'll see Benn dance Leontes and I still dream that he may reprise Rudolph having missed his earlier performances. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kameliendame 43 Posted July 10, 2017 Very pleased with this season's promotions!! Just like everyone else im thrilled to see Naghdi in the highest rank, she doesnt deserve anything less. Also very very happy with Sambé as First Soloist. First noticed him about four years ago, and I remember being aboslutey shocked he was still in the corps de ballet, as I thought hed be soloist at least by the look of his dancing! ive been following his career ever since and this promotion to First Soloist is a huge achievement and well deserved! It seems like its over and out for Choe, then. Considering her age I dont think a promotion will be given to her anymore. A pity for us Choe fans, but at least she is properly cast in leading roles! Quick question: does anyone happen to know what happened to Rupert Pennefather? He left a few seasons ago and I havent heared anything from him since. Is he officially retired? 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fonty 3,592 Posted July 10, 2017 Good to see that the wish list for many has been fulfilled! All richly deserved . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Macmillan 4,177 Posted July 10, 2017 I can't say about other papers, but Yasmine's promotion got a fair splash in today's Times, here. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
loveclassics 739 Posted July 10, 2017 Yes, and the Evening Standard has a paragraph about her too - mainly that's she the first English principal for a while. Linda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
penelopesimpson 3,370 Posted July 10, 2017 1 hour ago, loveclassics said: Yes, and the Evening Standard has a paragraph about her too - mainly that's she the first English principal for a while. Linda Would that be since Francesca Hayward? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capybara 9,825 Posted July 11, 2017 8 hours ago, loveclassics said: Yes, and the Evening Standard has a paragraph about her too - mainly that's she the first English principal for a while. Linda 6 hours ago, penelopesimpson said: Would that be since Francesca Hayward? I think that they are speaking of Yasmine having been born in the UK. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nina G. 1,629 Posted July 11, 2017 27 minutes ago, capybara said: I think that they are speaking of Yasmine having been born in the UK. The Evening Standard article: "Yasmine is the first Principal dancer from London in more than 25 years" and the article in The Times: " She is the first Londoner to become a Principal dancer at the Royal Ballet since Darcey Bussell in 1989" 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fonty 3,592 Posted July 11, 2017 Am I missing something here? Is there something special about her being a Londoner? As far as I am concerned, it is far more interesting that we now have two new female principals who have come right the way through the RB school from White Lodge, to join the two existing ones. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
penelopesimpson 3,370 Posted July 11, 2017 53 minutes ago, Fonty said: Am I missing something here? Is there something special about her being a Londoner? As far as I am concerned, it is far more interesting that we now have two new female principals who have come right the way through the RB school from White Lodge, to join the two existing ones. Hear, hear. Is Francesca not British, then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bridiem 6,270 Posted July 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Fonty said: Am I missing something here? Is there something special about her being a Londoner? As far as I am concerned, it is far more interesting that we now have two new female principals who have come right the way through the RB school from White Lodge, to join the two existing ones. I think the point is that this is the London Evening Standard reporting, so they're going to take a London angle. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alison 11,013 Posted July 11, 2017 I too was wondering what I might be missing. After all, it's not as if we celebrated Lauren Cuthbertson's being the first Devon-born principal since ... Jonathan Cope? ... or Ed Watson being the first Bromley-born one since, I'd guess, Antoinette Sibley (or Lesley Collier if you stretch a point slightly) - not in the national press, anyway. I also wonder why on earth The Times found it at all necessary to post a picture of her with her boyfriend at all, let alone the one they posted - which looked as though it had been taken from her Facebook account or similar: surely they could have found another professional one somewhere - it's not as if she doesn't have enough of a portfolio already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beryl H 1,249 Posted July 11, 2017 1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said: Hear, hear. Is Francesca not British, then? She certainly is, she was brought up in Worthing which is as traditionally British as it's possible to be 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pas de Quatre 2,798 Posted July 11, 2017 I think it is just that the Evening Standard is a London newspaper, so they are highlighting the success of a Londoner. Presumably there is still a newspaper in Hull, so no doubt it will have lots of articles about Xander Parish. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
capybara 9,825 Posted July 11, 2017 I would like to think that we can now 'relax' about the newspaper coverage and simply rejoice in, and enjoy, the news of Yasmine's promotion 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colman 1,034 Posted July 11, 2017 4 minutes ago, capybara said: I would like to think that we can now 'relax' about the newspaper coverage and simply rejoice in, and enjoy, the news of Yasmine's promotion I'm sorry, you must be new to the Internet. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alison 11,013 Posted July 11, 2017 21 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said: I think it is just that the Evening Standard is a London newspaper, so they are highlighting the success of a Londoner. I was referring to The Times' coverage, though. I hadn't expected it to be that parochial Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bridiem 6,270 Posted July 11, 2017 15 minutes ago, alison said: I was referring to The Times' coverage, though. I hadn't expected it to be that parochial Well I suppose London being the capital city does have a certain national significance too... Though I suspect if she'd come from somewhere else that might also have been used as the angle. They just choose a peg to hang the story on and Londoner is as good as any. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
penelopesimpson 3,370 Posted July 11, 2017 2 hours ago, bridiem said: Well I suppose London being the capital city does have a certain national significance too... Though I suspect if she'd come from somewhere else that might also have been used as the angle. They just choose a peg to hang the story on and Londoner is as good as any. Obviously Worthing doesn't do it for them! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nina G. 1,629 Posted July 11, 2017 (edited) 7 hours ago, Fonty said: Am I missing something here? Is there something special about her being a Londoner? As far as I am concerned, it is far more interesting that we now have two new female principals who have come right the way through the RB school from White Lodge, to join the two existing ones. Fonty, I agree with you but I can't imagine Evening Standard readers getting excited about a headline reading: " Former Junior Associate and ex-White Lodger has been promoted to Principal at The Royal Ballet" WE know it is a big achievement for a White Lodger to become a Principal but the ES readers' attention will be grabbed far more easily by "First Londoner in over 25 years to become a Principal at The Royal Ballet" Edited July 11, 2017 by Nina G. spelling 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobR 311 Posted July 11, 2017 1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said: Obviously Worthing doesn't do it for them! I'm confident that the Worthing Herald will run a feature as and when the next Worthing dancer is made an RB principal ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Newcombe 1,363 Posted July 11, 2017 Of course, there was another wonderful ballerina from Worthing who should have reached Principal status. Belinda Hatley 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fiona 39 Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) For those of you who saw and enjoyed the lovely Nutcracker programme on TV at Christmas about Francesca Hayward's Sugar Plum Fairy debut, Nadia Mullova-Barley who was chosen as a final year student from the RBS Upper School to perform as a Snowflake, Angel, etc. and was featured in the programme, is joining the RB with the Aud Jebsen group. I am so happy for her! Edited July 15, 2017 by Fiona wrong spelling of Jebsen! 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites