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The Royal Ballet in Madrid

The Royal Ballet will be presenting its new production of Swan Lake by Liam Scarlett at the Teatro Real in Madrid from 18 – 22 July. The short season marks the company’s first performances in the city since 1997, when they performed Anthony Dowell's production of The Sleeping Beauty. The casting for Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried has been announced as follows: 18, 22 July: Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov; 19 July: Natalia Osipova, Matthew Ball; 20 July: Sarah Lamb, Ryoichi Hirano; 21 July, 5pm: Akane Takada, William Bracewell (Steven McRae has withdrawn due to injury); 21 July, 10pm: Yasmine Naghdi, Federico Bonelli (Lauren Cuthbertson has withdrawn due to injury). For tickets visit TEATRO REAL.

SASCHA RADETSKY

Sascha Radetsky has been named artistic director of ABT Studio Company, succeeding Kate Lydon, who joins St. Paul’s School as the director of dance at the start of the 2018-19 academic year. Lydon has served as ABT Studio Company artistic director since 2013. Radetsky joined American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet in 1996 and was promoted to soloist in 2003. He also danced as principal and guest principal with the Dutch National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin and Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Ballet. Radetsky retired from ABT in 2014.

Dame Gillian Lynne DBE

With much sadness we share the news of Gillian Lynne's death on 1 July. The much-loved and highly-esteemed dancer choreographer and director was 92. In 2014, Viki Westall, a dancer in Lynne's A Simple Man for Northern Ballet, interviewed the remarkable woman who was in the throes of recreating Sir Robert Helpmann's A Miracle in the Gorbals for Birmingham Royal Ballet's Shadows of War programme. Premiered in 1944 by the Sadler's Wells Ballet, Helpmann's ballet proved so successful that it was performed every season until 1950.  Lynne was a dancer in the original cast. The  interview, originally published in Dance Europe, October 2014, is republished HERE in her memory. 

Miyako Yoshida

Congratulations to Miyako Yoshida who has been appointed as the National Ballet of Japan's new artistic director on a four year contract from 2020 - 24. In the interim, she will take up the role of artistic consultant from 1 September 2018 - 31 August 2020. Born and trained in Tokyo,Yoshida joined The Royal Ballet School in 1983, after winning the Prix de Lausanne. In 1984, she joined Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (now Birmingham Royal Ballet) and was promoted to principal in 1988, and in 1995 she joined The Royal Ballet until 2010.

La Fille mal gardée in Paris

Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal gardée is currently being performed by the Paris Opera at Palais Garnier until 13 July. GALLERY of photos from the générale. CASTING and more info.

Martin Schläpfer

The Chief Choreographer and Artistic Director of the Ballett am Rhein, Martin Schläpfer, has been appointed as the new Director of the Wiener Staatsballett, succeeding Manuel Legris. He will take up this new post in the season 2020/21, with the beginning of Bogdan Roščić's directorship at the Vienna State Opera. Until his move, Martin Schläpfer will continue to lead the Ballett am Rhein together with ballet director Remus Şucheană.

ENB - Promotions, Joiners and Leavers

English National Ballet has announced promotions, joiners and leavers for the 2018/2019 season

Promotions: James Streeter is promoted to First Soloist: Rina Kanehara (pictured) is promoted to Soloist; Henry Dowden, Sarah Kundi, and Jia Zhang are promoted to First Artist; Fernando Carratalá Coloma is promoted to 4th Year Artist of the Company.

Joiners: Jeffrey Cirio, currently Principal at American Ballet Theater, joins English National Ballet as Lead Principal; from The National Ballet of Canada, Francesco Gabriele Frola and Emma Hawes join the Company as Principal and First Soloist respectively, while remaining as members of The National Ballet of Canada; three Prix de Lausanne prize winners as Artists of the Company this year, Shale Wagman joins from Princess Grace Academy, Miguel Angel Maidana joins from Brussels International Ballet School and Carolyne Galval joins from Itego in Artes Basileu Francal oining as Artists from English National Ballet School are Breanna Foad, Josue Moreno Lagarda, Rentaro Nakaaki and Maria Del Mar Bonet Sans; also joining as Artists are Rebecca Blenkinsopp from the Royal Ballet Schooland Ivana Bueno from Academy Princess Grace.

Leavers: following her sabbatical last season Laurretta Summerscales leaves English National Ballet, remaining Principal at Bayerisches Staatsballett; Junior Soloist Guilherme Menezes leaves to join Royal Danish Ballet following his twin brother, Vitor Menezes, who joined last year; Artist of the Company, Laurent Liotardo, retires at the end of the current season after 15 years with the Company. Laurent will continue to work at English National Ballet as the Company’s Staff Photographer and Filmmaker, and will train as a Pilates teacher.

As previously announced Principal Cesar Corrales leaves to join The Royal Ballet.

KATHRYN BRADNEY

Kathryn Bradney has been elected unanimously as full-time Executive and Artistic Director of the Prix de Lausanne. “We are delighted to appoint Kathryn Bradney and are very happy that we will have her skills, perception and energy to lead this outstanding and much-loved competition into its 48th year of existence. We have every confidence that her vision and leadership will ensure a vibrant future for the Prix,” said Stephane Lagonico, President of the Board. Kathryn Bradney, who has served as interim director since Shelly Power stepped down earlier this year, is a former principal dancer and ballet master from the Béjart Ballet Lausanne and co-founder, with her husband Igor Piovano, of the Igokat Dance Academy. Kathryn Bradney has been a Prix de Lausanne media producer, production manager and a member of the competition’s preselection jury for over 11 years. The next Prix de Lausanne will take place in February 2019.