ENB Emerging Dancer 2015

[zxDaveM]

Was at the dress rehearsals before the competition, as the nominees got used to the tiny stage and some 'interesting' lighting (the low levels and weird colours). Anyhoo, did best efforts for some photos, and here they are:
 
 
 
 

Winner Jinhao Zhang (in his own version of Dying Swan)
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
 


Jinhao Zhang abd Isabelle Brouwers in Don Quixote
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr
 
 
 

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Set from DanceTabs: ENB - Emerging Dancer 2015
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

[capybara]

Just for the record (although it is on ENB's website) Laurretta Summerscales won the People's Choice Award.

 

I wish that the runners up could also be announced. I think that that would be appreciated by the dancers as well as the audience.

[Jan McNulty]

Press Release from ENB:

 

English National Ballet Announces Winners of Emerging Dancer 2015

 

 

The winner of English National Ballet’s 2015 Emerging Dancer Award is Jinhao Zhang. Zhang, who joined the Company just last year after graduating from English National Ballet School, performed Dying Swan, which he choreographed himself, and also a pas de deux from Don Quixote with fellow nominee Isabelle Brouwers. 

 

The announcement was made last night at the end of the 6^th annual competition, having been selected by a judging panel of renowned industry figures.

 

Of winning the 2015 Emerging Dancer Award, Jinhao Zhang said: “I feel amazing; I can’t believe I have won. Being on stage tonight, performing in front of the audience and judges was an incredible experience, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”

 

The evening also saw Laurretta Summerscales named as the recipient of The People’s Choice Award, voted for by members of the public throughout the 2014/2015 season.

 

Of winning the 2015 People’s Choice Award, Laurretta Summerscales said: “It’s wonderful! I am humbled to have won this award; I really was not expecting it. Thank you so much to all the audience members who voted for me, it means everything to me that they enjoy my performances.”

 

The competition, held at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, was hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky. The judging panel were Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE (BalletBoyz), Wayne Sleep OBE, Didy Veldman, and English National Ballet Artistic Director Tamara Rojo.

 

Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, said of the event: “Emerging Dancer was a wonderful evening and it was fantastic to see such incredibly strong performances from the finalists. It is a very important night that allows us to share the amazing talent of our upcoming dancers with our audience. I am extremely proud of everyone.”

 

This was the sixth year of the annual competition which allows English National Ballet to recognise and nurture talent and encourage excellence in the Company. The other finalists were: Isabelle Brouwers, Anjuli Hudson, Jeanette Kakareka, Katja Khaniukova, Vitor Menezes and Max Westwell.

 

Before the winners were announced, last year’s joint Emerging Dancer Award winners, Junor Souza and Alison McWhinney, performed a pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s No Man’s Land as part of the event.  Junor, who also won the 2014 People’s Choice Award, has since been promoted to First Soloist and performed Principal roles in Swan Lake and Nutcracker. Junor now receives sponsorship from XL Group, supporting him in his development as a dancer while raising his profile on both a UK and international stage. Alison has since been promoted to First Artist. The Independent said of her recent performance in Swan Lake: “Alison McWhinney shone in her first act solo, bright and confident.”

 

The Emerging Dancer competition is generously supported by Talbot Hughes McKillop, the restructuring experts.

 

For further information about English National Ballet and to book tickets visit www.ballet.org.uk Please note performance details are subject to change.

 

Ends

 

Notes to Editors

 

James Streeter was due to compete but was unable owing to injury. Ken Saruhashi replaced him as a non-competing partner for Katja Khaniukova in the Pas d’Esclave from Le Corsaire.   

 

Emerging Dancer

Emerging Dancer is English National Ballet’s annual event for up-and-coming dancers, now in its sixth year. The eight emerging dancers, as voted for by English National Ballet’s dancers, Artistic team, orchestra and administrative staff, perform in front of a panel of eminent judges. The Emerging Dancer Award winner is announced at the end of the evening together with the recipient of the People’s Choice Award, which is voted for by members of the public throughout the year.

 

Talbot Hughes McKillop (THM) 

Talbot Hughes McKillop (THM) provides experienced leadership to corporates, creditors and shareholders in distressed and other event-driven special situations. The firm provides hands-on, practical support, typically using small, partner led teams to deal with both the financial and operational aspects of a restructuring situation. The role may involve partners from THM taking executive roles (for example as Chief Restructuring Officer) and/or other Board of Director appointments. Founded in 2001, THM has handled some of the highest profile pan- European restructuring projects. THM believes that the arts have a critical role to play in enriching the life of communities throughout the country, as well as in fostering emerging young talent. Business has a clear responsibility to engage constructively with arts organizations in providing finance and other forms of help and support. This is even more critical at a time when the state has had to reduce its financial support for the arts, creating a funding gap that needs to be bridged. For more details, please see the THM websitewww.thmpartners.com

[Irmgard]

ENB’s Emerging Dancer Award has grown from a studio presentation in 2010 with an audience mainly made up of ENB dancers and staff to a full theatrical production at the South Bank with orchestral accompaniment and a packed public audience.  ENB dancers and staff continue to support their colleagues, roaring their approval of each so that hopefully all candidates feel that they are winners just for having been nominated.  The format has changed over the years so that the candidates are put together in some interesting partnerships to perform a classical pas de deux (this year all attributed to Petipa) and then they each perform a ‘modern’ solo.  Sadly, James Streeter (nominated for the second time) injured himself during the recent Modern Masters programme and so Ken Saruhashi gallantly stepped in to partner Katja Khaniukova in the “pas d’esclave” from “Le Corsaire”.  Khaniukova has previously impressed me in ensemble dances by her naturally aristocratic style, a hallmark of Russian-based training, and she rose to all the technical challenges of this pas de deux.  If I have one criticism, it would be that she was not coquettish enough for this particular pas de deux and I would have loved to have seen more of her lovely smile but perhaps it was the nerves of being first to perform and being so close to the audience.  At this point I commend Gavin Sutherland for the remarkable job he did of conducting while looking over his shoulder because the orchestra was placed behind the dancers! Next was the “Satanella” pas de deux which I have not seen for many years and I had forgotten how joyous it is, particularly when flawlessly danced by Anjuli Hudson and Vitor Menezes.  Superbly polished technically and artistically, this was the highlight of the evening for me.  The ‘scarf’ pas de deux from “La Bayadere” is difficult to pull off in a competition situation as it does not break down neatly into entrée, male variation, female variation and coda and does not contain many bravura steps.  However, Max Westwell (another second-time nominee) brought a true danseur noble style to it and was a secure and sensitive partner for the tall Jeanette Kakareka.  She reminds me of a skittish thoroughbred colt, not yet fully in control of her beautiful long limbs, but demonstrating huge potential.  Finally, the ever-popular “Don Quixote” pas de deux was danced by relative newcomers to ENB, Jinhao Zhang and Isabelle Brouwers, with great gusto.  The entrée was a bit rough around the edges but the two scored huge approval for their variations, and their coda ended this part of the programme with a flourish.

Apparently the company had had difficulty acquiring permission for some of the modern solos that the dancers had hoped to perform but this led to two outstanding choreographic premieres, both by members of the company.  Tamarin Stott created “Insert Name” for Anjuli Hudson to music of the same name.  Hudson had shone like a brilliant diamond in “Satanella” but here she was all simmering sensuality, dancing Stott’s intriguing choreography with musicality and an innate lyricism.  Jinhao Zhang created his own choreography to the “Dying Swan” which was quite simply ravishing.  His elegance, musicality and innovative choreography brought a freshness to the well-known music and he deservedly received the biggest ovation of the evening for it. Personally, I would have been torn between these two dancers for the title of Emerging Dancer but, with Zhang’s extra talent for choreography, I can see why the judges chose him as the overall winner.  With regard to the other modern solos, which I believe were created previous to this competition, some of them did rather remind me of floor routines in gymnastics.  However, Menezes’s “Nutcracker”(NOT to Tchaikovsky) by Roland Petit, while not being ‘contemporary’ in nature was exquisitely danced and showed off to perfection his beautifully clean, neat footwork which is always a pleasure to watch.     An added bonus to the evening was last year’s joint winners, Alison McWhinney and Junor Souza, with a soulful performance of one of the gorgeous pas de deux from Liam Scarlett’s “No Man’s Land”, accompanied beautifully on the piano by Julia Richter, while the judges concluded their deliberations.

 

[capybara]

Vitor Menezes was also a second time nominee.

[Guest]

Such a lovely evening.

 

I have no problem with dancers being nominated by their peers and ENB staff more than once for Emerging Dancer and many congratulations to Laurretta for winning the People's Choice Award for the second time. However, I do wonder whether, once a dancer has won the latter prize, whether his/her name should be omitted from the future public voting list - just to give others a chance as it were.

[SPD444]

Yes, I agree, it was a lovely evening with, for me, the right dancer winning but I must give special mention to Isabelle who in the pas de deux reminded me so much of marianella nunez with the facial expressions. I must admit I do share incognito's comments regarding appearing more than once. How many times can someone be an emerging dancer , once you have emerged can you emerged again. A lovely evening watching some of the younger talent within the ENB and, under Tamara, how they are going from strength to strength.