Emeralds Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 1 minute ago, Paco said: POB =around 150 dancers (154 officially) RB = around 100 I guess? Oui....I believe @Lizbie1 counted, or made a rough count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 11 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Oui....I believe @Lizbie1 counted, or made a rough count. I was aware of the size difference - that POB is a very large company by most standards is hardly a secret - but did a count to check. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 14 hours ago, Emeralds said: English National Ballet did create a title called Lead Principal which sounds like etoile- all female Lead Principals get to dance Juliet, Odette-Odile, Aurora, Giselle, Manon and all male Lead Principals dance Siegfried, Albrecht, Florimund etc. Though given ENB currently does not have any Principals, only Lead Principals, then it feels like their Lead Principal category is at the present time effectively the equivalent of Principal at other companies. It will be interesting to see whether the next time any First Soloists get promoted the Principal category reappears or if they will go straight to Lead Principal. (Also given there are only 2 male Lead Principals it's hardly surprising that they are dancing all the leading roles!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 (edited) 54 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Though given ENB currently does not have any Principals, only Lead Principals, then it feels like their Lead Principal category is at the present time effectively the equivalent of Principal at other companies. It will be interesting to see whether the next time any First Soloists get promoted the Principal category reappears or if they will go straight to Lead Principal. (Also given there are only 2 male Lead Principals it's hardly surprising that they are dancing all the leading roles!) I did wonder if Watkin was doing away with 2 categories for Principal, Dawnstar, but the truth is that the dancers he elevated to Lead Principal, Hawes and Arrieta, had actually been performing at Lead or "Etoile" level for some time now. Whether one likes their performing style or not, the quality of Hawes' and Arrieta's dancing and acting in the last season and this season show that they've earned that elevation. And although I complained about Sangeun Lee getting an instant promotion to Lead Principal on entry to ENB, she proved straightaway in the new Dawson work that she's definitely dancing like an etoile, or Lead Principal, and deserves that rank. Every performance I've seen her give has been that of a true star. I think Gareth Haw is dancing like a principal too, and deserves promotion soon. although I need to see him in a few more classical variations to be able to say whether that's more like Premier danseur/Principal/junior Principal level or more like Lead Principal/Etoile level. Certainly his partnering is like that of a Lead Principal. I just need to see more of the other side of his skills. 😊 Edited April 10 by Emeralds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 10 Share Posted April 10 @Emeralds I did not mean that the Lead Principals should not be Lead Principals; I just find it interesting that there are currently no Principals. I'm rather surprised that Haw didn't join the company at Principal/Lead Principal level given he's dancing the lead role in everything apart from Carmen this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 15 hours ago, Dawnstar said: @Emeralds I did not mean that the Lead Principals should not be Lead Principals; I just find it interesting that there are currently no Principals. I'm rather surprised that Haw didn't join the company at Principal/Lead Principal level given he's dancing the lead role in everything apart from Carmen this season. Ah, Dawnstar, my longwindedness might have implied I didn't agree but I think we're actually singing from the same hymn sheet, so to speak. I think we agree that the current lead principals are correctly ranked and I'd say the current absence of (non-lead) principals is just coincidence. Like you, I thought it was surprising that Haw wasn't offered a principal position, but as there is a big jump in pay from first soloist to principal at ENB, perhaps Watkin was being cautious of offering a promotion before audiences, the board or both had seen him dance a full ballet here. I think Haw, McCormick and Khaniukova deserve promotion to (non-lead) principal now, for the quality of the performances all three have given recently. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 (edited) Just been reading this thread with interest. With regard to dancers in the higher ranks performing with the corps, when I went to see ENB's Swan Lake in the round at the Albert Hall many years go, I am pretty certain that I spotted the young Tamara Rojo as one of the swans in the Corps. She must have been a principal then; didn't she join ENB as one? She was a particular favourite of mine, so that is how I spotted her. Edited to add, it was a long time ago, but I presume she would have performed the lead at a later date in that run of performances. Edited April 12 by Fonty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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