Royal Ballet promotions (and joiners and leavers) 2023!

[Odyssey]

Yes, our thoughts collide.

[Guest oncnp]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

Perhaps they got that promotion to stop them moving to another company, as it was felt they'd blossom over the coming years and so be established as 'older' already established Principals started retiring...

 

Or it was promised when they joined the company. 

 

I wonder what the "market" for dancers at that level is? Very few seem to have left the RB  recently to dance elsewhere.

Edited November 27, 2023 by oncnp

[alison]

I keep reminding myself that, compared with Monica Mason and Anthony Dowell, Kevin O'Hare tends to promote to principal "earlier" anyway.

[capybara]

Cesar Corrales came across from ENB Principal to RB First Soloist.

 

My sense (no inside knowledge) is that anyone saying they would leave unless they were promoted was bluffing or should have had their bluff called.

I have a feeling that Beatriz Stix Brunell (a star in my eyes) would have stayed had she been promoted in 2021 but only  Mayara Magri and Anna Rose O’Sullivan got the nod.

 

Completely separately, I wish I didn’t get the feeling, where the RB is concerned, that some roles get allocated because there are dancers who push harder than others.

[FionaM]

Thinking of the “market” for dancers …

 

Most RB principals get to guest elsewhere in galas and many in full length ballets as well.  Obviously the guesting of Nunez, Muntagirov, Osipova is well known, but others do too regularly including Kaneko, Naghdi, Clarke, Hirano, Magri, Ball.  
 

I noticed Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Marci Sambe performing Giselle in Portugal in December 2022.  It was her debut.   This is a great way to gain experience.  
 

Some non principals also get the chance to perform full length elsewhere  … in their own country or leading a performance at a local school they attended.   Instagram is a mine of information! 
 

@oncnp I assume you were asking about RB principals transferring to other companies.   I’m sure there is a ‘market’ for that … but which companies would be attractive and why?  Or to put it another way, why haven’t there been any such transfers for some time?   Is the RB repertoire sufficiently interesting and challenging?  

Edited November 27, 2023 by FionaM

[alison]

I can only think of one person in recent(ish) years who might have been bluffing (or perfectly prepared to go elsewhere).

[MildConcern]

I also have the same feeling about at least one promotion being rather earlier than I would have otherwise expected. It isn't just about whether they have done enough 'big classics' in the repertoire, it's more a general feeling about their ability to command the stage and really excite me the way a principal should.

 

For instance, I felt (and feel) very positively about the relatively speedy promotions of Hayward and Naghdi - their respective (very different!) star qualities were undeniable as first artists. And we have now been rewarded with many years of their debuts and performances. Kaneko, on the other hand, was beset by injury and not ready for promotion at an earlier stage in her career. Her promotion came at the right time for her and she is now my 'first choice cast' for virtually everything as everything she touches turns to gold. But I think that route should be a just reward for late bloomers with the same star quality as those young promotees, rather than a sort of service prize for a very good soloist. 

[Blossom]

21 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

I also have the same feeling about at least one promotion being rather earlier than I would have otherwise expected. It isn't just about whether they have done enough 'big classics' in the repertoire, it's more a general feeling about their ability to command the stage and really excite me the way a principal should.

 

For instance, I felt (and feel) very positively about the relatively speedy promotions of Hayward and Naghdi - their respective (very different!) star qualities were undeniable as first artists. And we have now been rewarded with many years of their debuts and performances. Kaneko, on the other hand, was beset by injury and not ready for promotion at an earlier stage in her career. Her promotion came at the right time for her and she is now my 'first choice cast' for virtually everything as everything she touches turns to gold. But I think that route should be a just reward for late bloomers with the same star quality as those young promotees, rather than a sort of service prize for a very good soloist. 

Speaking of soloists, I feel that there have been some length of service prizes in terms of promotion to that level too. 

[art_enthusiast]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Completely separately, I wish I didn’t get the feeling, where the RB is concerned, that some roles get allocated because there are dancers who push harder than others.

 

I guess so, but don't all the decisions lie with the director though? (And also down to their personal preference I guess.) I remember listening to a podcast with Francesca Hayward where she discussed casting and said even as a principal, not all the principal roles were guaranteed, and dancers aren't completely sure what roles they're doing until they get an email which confirms it for the upcoming seasons, apparently.

[Dawnstar]

The ROH has now announced Mock's imminent departure.

 

[RobR]

I always enjoyed watching Tomas dance. He stood out and I wish him all the best for his future 

[FionaM]

Takumi Miyake and 5 others from ABT Studio Company have been promoted to apprentices within the main company effective November 2023.  In his case after only 14 months with the junior company. 

[Ondine]

A December blog from Isabella Gasparini

 

https://balletassociation.co.uk/blogs/news/a-dancers-blog

 

I started this season as a First Soloist, with a new set of challenges and expectations. Appreciating the journey, every moment of being onstage and the privilege of being in this position is something I would never take for granted, but things can get overwhelming, and every now and again we need to be reminded of how far we have come and where our true purpose lies. 

 

I'll add the link to this here:

 

https://balletassociation.co.uk/pages/reports-2023-isabella-gasparini

Edited December 14, 2023 by Ondine

[FionaM]

Darrion Sellman is debuting as Siegfried tomorrow in Nureyev’s Swan Lake at Royal Swedish Ballet

 

https://www.instagram.com/stories/darrion.sellman/3341723141446623600?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=d2pqYTZsOGQybDBw

 

[capybara]

4 minutes ago, FionaM said:

Darrion Sellman is debuting as Siegfried tomorrow in Nureyev’s Swan Lake at Royal Swedish Ballet

 

https://www.instagram.com/stories/darrion.sellman/3341723141446623600?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=d2pqYTZsOGQybDBw

 

This is great news, not at all surprising and a huge uplift from being the Prix Apprentice with the The Royal Ballet.

[LinMM]

Yes that’s very good news he was obviously going to go far a dancer with lovely artistry so am sure will make a very fine Siegfried. 

[Emeralds]

Wow- from serving wine to the Prince in Sleeping Beauty at RB in 2023 (as I recall seeing him in) to being the Prince in Swan Lake the following year! Well done Darrion!

 

His Odette-Odile is Maya Schonbrun (a familiar name to those who followed dance pages on social media during Covid lockdowns) - that's wonderful that Nicolas le Riche is giving such fantastic opportunities to talented youngsters in the corps de ballet.

 

Their Rothbart is principal dancer Calum Lowden, ENBS and RBS graduate from Oxton, Scotland. If I recall correctly this version (Nureyev's 1984 one), has quite a lot of dancing for Rothbart as well. Maya and Darrion obviously have a lot of support among the Stockholm audience- both their performances are sold out. Toi toi toi to both of them!

[Dawnstar]

I hope it's alright to ask this - if it's not I'm sure someone will tell me quickly enough. Is there really much incentive at the moment for Prix de Lausanne competition winners to choose the Royal Ballet? The likelihood of anyone getting to dance even featured solos within not only their Prix de Lausanne dancer year but, were they to continue with the company, their first 2-3 years seems to be pretty low (I can't recall this season's RB Prix de Lausanne dancer even having any featured moments in the corps let alone any sort of proper solo role). Whereas at other companies there seem to be far more opportunities to dance major roles not that long after joining.

[LinMM]

I guess this is one of the conundrums for young dancers ……do they join a larger prestigious Company like the Royal Ballet ( imagine joining a Company like the Bolshoi!) or a smaller Company where they might get noticed more and a better chance of dancing more senior roles more quickly. 

[capybara]

29 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I hope it's alright to ask this - if it's not I'm sure someone will tell me quickly enough. Is there really much incentive at the moment for Prix de Lausanne competition winners to choose the Royal Ballet? The likelihood of anyone getting to dance even featured solos within not only their Prix de Lausanne dancer year but, were they to continue with the company, their first 2-3 years seems to be pretty low (I can't recall this season's RB Prix de Lausanne dancer even having any featured moments in the corps let alone any sort of proper solo role). Whereas at other companies there seem to be far more opportunities to dance major roles not that long after joining.

 

Marco Masciari seems to be 'doing OK' at the RB but Stanislav W perhaps not so much; and hasn't this year's apprentice (Julie Joyner) already left....

 

It does appear that the really outstanding winners of the Prix (e.g. Antonio Casalinho) are electing to 'shop around' rather than join the RB on the bottom rung.

[Roberta]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

and hasn't this year's apprentice (Julie Joyner) already left....

 

 

Has she?

 

She appeared in Manon for Alexander Campbell's farewell performance a month ago.

 

 

 

 

 

[bangorballetboy]

6 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

 

Has she?

 

She appeared in Manon for Alexander Campbell's farewell performance a month ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, she has moved on. A month is a long time in…

[Emeralds]

8 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I hope it's alright to ask this - if it's not I'm sure someone will tell me quickly enough. Is there really much incentive at the moment for Prix de Lausanne competition winners to choose the Royal Ballet? 

Marco Masciari, as Capybara said, would be an encouraging example to other competition winners - he was picked by McGregor to create a role in Dante Project at the end of his Prix de Lausanne apprentice year and another in Untitled 2023, has had featured roles as the Jester in Cinderella, Solo Echo, Nutcracker (Clara's partner, Drosselmeyer's assistant and Russian dance), Manon (Beggar Chief), and he's one of the two partners in orange in Danses Concertantes (the ballet has only 5 males so the role does stand out). He's already been promoted to First Artist amid a group of outstanding corps de ballet dancers

 

Marco probably is a phenomenon and an exception- I reckon he'd have risen equally quickly in any company. I think the role is what they make of it: Akane Takada is one who went from PdL apprentice to principal dancer. Many dancers have said it's tough making the transition from student to corps de ballet member in terms of the exhaustion of dancing many times a week on top of rehearsals. I don't think it is meant to be a prize that guarantees you a meteoric rise even if you don't produce stellar performances, but RB's repertoire does offer chances to be cast in small roles to see if you are up to it. 

 

As jobs get tougher to obtain in this economic climate (being a PdL winner is no guarantee of a job), I think firstly a job is welcome news for any young dancer, but secondly, having RB in your cv and a chance to observe and work alongside big stars and eminent choreographers is a bonus even if you are only a spear carrier in the first year (but I have seen the apprentices dance in various roles so it's not just walk on parts). I think the only problem with accepting a job in a company like the Royal Ballet is that it's now a company with stars or rising stars in all ranks, so it's harder to stand out and get opportunities and promotions. But the same would be true in any renowned company like NYCB, Paris Opera, ABT etc. 

[San Perregrino]

Also, and I have no data to back this up, but it would seem that dancers careers are going on for longer now due to better support, care, physio & nutrition etc which creates a 'glass ceiling' for more junior ROH dancers to expand their repertoires and slows down the possibilities for promotion.

[Roberta]

1 hour ago, San Perregrino said:

it would seem that dancers careers are going on for longer now due to better support, care, physio & nutrition

 

I think so, also though careers are now starting later. The demands of a full time education mean no longer can anyone join the RB at 16 (or even younger!).

 

I also think Kevin O'Hare appreciates that the transition from student to company member at what is still a relatively young age IS hard, finding somewhere to live, and all the rest, especially if your family is in another country far away.  He likes to give settling in time. 

 

For a young person with only a year's guaranteed place at the RB, not really a company member, it must be a year of great uncertainty. 

 

Being a prize winner at the PdL is a long long way from being a professional dancer, with all that entails.  Same with being an Aud Jebson apprentice, no guarantee of a transition to a company place. 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by Roberta

[Bruce Wall]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

I think the only problem with accepting a job in a company like the Royal Ballet is that it's now a company with stars or rising stars in all ranks, so it's harder to stand out and get opportunities and promotions. But the same would be true in any renowned company like NYCB, Paris Opera, ABT etc. 

 

I think NYCB is a definite exception to the above stated rule - and, quite frankly, always has been.  Apprentices are often thrown into the deep end VERY QUICKLY and DANCE A LOT - but then the Company dances more rep per annum than any other Company on earth.  That stamina is built into them at SAB - which is why Balanchine always insisted that any dancer joining the Company from outside (and they are extremely few and far between for very significant reason) would spend six months at SAB - just to be fair to them.  It is VERY different in that regard from any of the other Companies referenced.  

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by Bruce Wall

[Rob S]

10 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

 

Has she?

 

She appeared in Manon for Alexander Campbell's farewell performance a month ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the dancers posted an Instagram story with her saying it was her last Swan Lake performance....I didn't know for sure whether that meant she was then leaving or not...but given there are still plenty of performances to go and they need to bump up the swan roster with dancers from RBS as it is assumed she was going

[Roberta]

8 minutes ago, Rob S said:

as it is assumed she was going

 

There is a photo on one of her social media accounts which suggests she is in Oslo, but so far she's still listed on the ROH site as being the PdL apprentice. How mysterious! 

 

 

[Rob S]

17 minutes ago, Roberta said:

 

There is a photo on one of her social media accounts which suggests she is in Oslo, but so far she's still listed on the ROH site as being the PdL apprentice. How mysterious! 

 

 

 

Ahh I can't see that as her Instagram account is private. I did check to see if she was still on the RB dancer list yesterday as nobody had previously mentioned the news on the forum so wondered if I was just misunderstanding the 'last Swan Lake performance' post  

[Roberta]

1 minute ago, Rob S said:

 

Ahh I can't see that as her Instagram account is private

 

She has another which isn't.  

https://www.instagram.com/juliejoy05/p/C5bA3WvgBp7/?img_index=1

 

[art_enthusiast]

12 hours ago, capybara said:

Marco Masciari seems to be 'doing OK' at the RB but Stanislav W perhaps not so much

Yep, I’m not sure Stanislaw has done many soloist roles? I remember one of his Draft Works pieces from 2021, that was very interesting!

 

I think Marco has such great stage presence and not surprised he got the roles in McGregor pieces - loved him as young Dante and the Cinderella Jester. I hope to see more of him - maybe as Puck in The Dream? 

[Roberta]

1 minute ago, art_enthusiast said:

I think Marco has such great stage presence and not surprised he got the roles in McGregor pieces

 

Marco Masciari was both the first prize winner and contemporary prize winner at the Prix de Lausanne in 2020; his contemporary piece was Wayne McGregor (Chroma) so perhaps McGregor and he have some affinity!

 

 

 

[Rob S]

11 minutes ago, Roberta said:

 

She has another which isn't.  

https://www.instagram.com/juliejoy05/p/C5bA3WvgBp7/?img_index=1

 

 

Oooh thank you...I see she follows me from that one 🙂