Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, has announced promotions within the Company as well as details of new joiners.
Yonah Acosta has been promoted to Principal. Shiori Kase, who last month won the gold medal at the USA International Ballet Competition, has been promoted to First Soloist.
Yonah and Shiori will debut the lead roles in Coppélia at the London Coliseum 23-27 July. Junor Souza (winner of Emerging Dancer 2014) has also been promoted to First Soloist. Ksenia Ovsyanick has been promoted to Soloist and Alison McWhinney (winner of Emerging Dancer 2014) and Ken Saruhashi have been promoted to First Artist. Alejandro Virelles, currently a Soloist at Boston Ballet, joins the Company as Principal.
Joining as Artists are Precious Adams, who won the Apprenticeship and Contemporary Dance Prize, Prix de Lausanne 2014, Yoko Callegari, of Boston Ballet, Adriana Lizardi, from Ballet National de l’Opera de Bordeaux, Sarah Kundi, formerly with Ballet Black who joined after appearing as an extra in Romeo & Juliet in-the-round, and Isabella Brouwers and Jin Hao Zhang who join from English National Ballet School (ENBS).
Jenna Lee left the Company after the Madrid tour to found JLee Productions and Nancy Osbaldeston after Romeo & Juliet in-the-round to join Royal Ballet Flanders. Daria Klimentová retired after 18 years with the Company.