13 JULY 2018 MATTHEW BALL PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER The Royal Ballet announces promotions for the 2018/19 season Kevin O Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, announces that Matthew Ball has been promoted to Principal dancer, the highest rank in the Company. O Hare comments 'I m delighted that Matthew Ball will be a Principal dancer from the start of the 2018/19 Season. He has had a tremendous year with very exciting debuts in both classical and contemporary ballets across the repertory as well as creating roles in the new works. It is wonderful that Matthew has achieved so much since he joined the Company from The Royal Ballet School and I eagerly look forward to watching this next chapter of his career. Born in Liverpool, Matthew Ball joined the Company in 2013 after training at The Royal Ballet School. His repertory with the Company includes Albrecht (Giselle), The Prince (The Nutcracker), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Armand (Marguerite and Armand), Lensky (Onegin) and Romeo (Romeo and Juliet). His contemporary work includes Obsidian Tear, Woolf Works and Yugen by Wayne McGregor, Corybantic Games by Christopher Wheeldon and Symphonic Dances by Liam Scarlett. Matthew s first major role as a Principal will be in La Bayadère as Solor. He will feature in Alastair Marriott s new work, The Unknown Soldier, which premieres on Tuesday 20 November and commemorates the centenary of the end of the First World War. In December, he will perform with Matthew Bourne s New Adventures at Sadler s Wells, dancing the role of The Swan in Swan Lake. Kevin O Hare has also made the following promotions within the Company:
William Bracewell, Tierney Heap, Fumi Kaneko, and Mayara Magri are promoted to First Soloist. Calvin Richardson has been promoted to Soloist. Téo Dubreuil and Joseph Sissens are promoted to First Artist. Stanisław Węgrzyn, who was Prix de Lausanne dancer for the 2017/18 Season, becomes an Artist. Sae Maeda, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Joonhyuk Jun, Joshua Junker and Aiden O Brien also become Artists, after joining the Company at the start of the last Season as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers, a programme which provides recently graduated dancers a year s contract to work and perform alongside the corps de ballet of The Royal Ballet while receiving mentoring and coaching. Details of leavers and joiners will be announced at the end of the season. Images are available to download here. ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS The Royal Ballet Based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Royal Ballet is Great Britain s most prestigious ballet company and one of the great classical ballet companies of the world. Led by Director Kevin O Hare, the Company has a wide-ranging repertory that showcases the great 19 th century classics alongside heritage works including those of its two great 20 th century choreographers Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. In addition, The Royal Ballet performs new works by Royal Ballet Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor, Royal Ballet Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon and Royal Ballet Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett, three of the foremost international choreographers of today. The Royal Opera House is committed to enabling as many people as possible to experience and enjoy world class ballet. Each Season more than 690,000 people attend performances at the Opera House; 27,000 people participate in education and community events ranging from Monday Moves for blind and partially sighted people to Chance to Dance for talented children from a variety of backgrounds. Many hundreds of thousands across the UK and overseas tune in to BBC radio and television broadcasts; more than 19,000
attend our free outdoor BP Summer Big Screens live relays from the Royal Opera House; and a further 240,000 have been able to watch our productions in cinemas worldwide. In addition World Ballet Day, the annual live stream behind the scenes of the world s leading ballet companies has been seen by more than a million people. International touring plays an important role in the Company s core activities and this year the Company tours to Teatro Real in Madrid with Liam Scarlett s Swan Lake. International tours also include extensive learning engagement and outreach with dance and community groups to encourage dance and promote ballet to new audiences. BIOGRAPHIES Matthew Ball English dancer Matthew Ball is a First Soloist of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined the Company during the 2013/14 Season, promoted to First Artist in 2015, Soloist in 2016 and First Soloist in 2017. He joined The Royal Ballet School aged 11 and graduated through the School. Roles while a student included Fritz (The Nutcracker) with The Royal Ballet. Awards as a student include at the School s 2011 Lynn Seymour Competition, the 2009 Kenneth MacMillan Senior Choreographic Competition and the Gailene Stock and Gary Norman Award for Excellence. In 2016 he was named Best Emerging Artist at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards. William Bracewell Welsh dancer William Bracewell joined The Royal Ballet as a Soloist in 2017. He trained at the Pamela Miller Ballet School and, from the age of 11, at The Royal Ballet School. Awards whilst a student include the 2007 Young British Dancer of the Year Award and the grand prix at the 2010 Youth America Grand Prix. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, promoted to first artist in 2012 and to soloist in 2014. His repertory with BRB included Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Prince (The Nutcracker) and Oberon (The Dream). His role creations for BRB included Alexander Whitley s Kin and Jessica Lang s Lyric Pieces. Bracewell s other awards include Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) at the 2015 Critics Circle National Dance Awards. His repertory with The Royal Ballet includes The Prince (The Nutcracker), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake) and Polixenes (The Winter s Tale).
Tierney Heap English dancer Tierney Heap trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and graduated into the Company in 2012, promoted to First Artist in 2016 and to Soloist later that year. Heap was born in Manchester and began dancing aged two. Aged 11 she won a scholarship to study at Elmhurst School for Dance and aged 15 joined The Royal Ballet Upper School. Awards while at the School include bronze medal at the 2010 Genée International Ballet Competition. Heap s repertory with the Company includes Paulina (The Winter s Tale), Myrtha (Giselle), The Queen of Hearts (Alice s Adventures in Wonderland) and roles in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Don Quixote, Mayerling, La Bayadère, After the Rain, Multiverse and Carbon Life. She has created roles in Corybantic Games, Untouchable and Woolf Works. Fumi Kaneko Japanese dancer Fumi Kaneko is a Soloist of The Royal Ballet. She joined the Company during the 2010/11 Season and was promoted to First Artist in 2012 and Soloist in 2013. Kaneko trained at the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet School, Osaka. She won gold medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition, 2008, and silver medals at the Moscow International Ballet Competition, 2009, and the USA International Ballet Competition, 2010. That year she joined the Jinushi Kaoru Ballet Company, where her roles included Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker) and Kitri (Don Quixote). Kaneko s repertory with The Royal Ballet includes Kitri and Queen of the Dryads (Don Quixote), the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker) and Myrtha (Giselle) and Hermione (The Winter s Tale). She has also performed roles in Yugen, The Four Temperaments, Sweet Violets and Woolf Works. Mayara Magri Brazilian dancer Mayara Magri trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into the Company in 2012. She was promoted to First Artist in 2015 and to Soloist in 2016. Magri won a scholarship at the age of eight to train at the P etite Danse School in Rio di Janeiro. She won the Senior Age Division of the Youth America Grand Prix and the Prix de Lausanne Scholarship and Audience Prize in 2011. Magri s repertory with the Company
includes Gypsy Girl (The Two Pigeons), Fairy of the Enchanted Garden and Fairy of the Woodland Glade (The Sleeping Beauty), Tatiana (Anastasia), Mercedes (Don Quixote), Corybantic Games, Woolf Works, Within the Golden Hour, Symphonic Variations, After the Rain and Carbon Life. Calvin Richardson Australian dancer trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and joined the Company in 2014. He was promoted to First Artist in 2017. His performances at the Royal Opera House include his own version of The Dying Swan as part of Deloitte Ignite 14 in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, and he has also choreographed work for The Royal Ballet s Draft Works programme. After becoming a finalist of the 2012 Prix de Lausanne he was awarded a full scholarship to study at The Royal Ballet Upper School. His roles since joining the Company have included The Mad Hatter (Alice s Adventures in Wonderland), Albert de Belleroche (Strapless) and in Chroma and Woolf Works. He has created roles in Flight Pattern, Multiverse, Obsidian Tear and Untouchable. Richardson is supported by the Tait Memorial Trust. Téo Dubreuil English dancer Téo Dubreuil trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into English National Ballet, joining The Royal Ballet in 2014. After joining The Royal Ballet School as a Junior Associate, he went on to enter White Lodge, later graduating into the Upper School. Awards while a student include second prize in the 2011 Young British Dancer of the Year. With The Royal Ballet, Dubreuil has danced Cavalier of Fairy of the Golden Vine (The Sleeping Beauty), pas de six (Giselle) and in Within the Golden Hour, in addition to dancing with the corps de ballet in such works as Jewels, The Nutcracker and The Dream. He has created roles in Hofesh Shechter s Untouchable and Wayne McGregor s Woolf Works. Joseph Sissens Joseph Sissens trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into the Company in 2016. Born in Cambridge, he first trained at the Georgina Pay School of Dance and on a scholarship with Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Early performances include in Oliver! The Musical on the West End and Fritz (The Nutcracker) with English National
Ballet. He entered The Royal Ballet School aged 13. His performances with The Royal Ballet while a student included in World Ballet Day, Draft Works, La Fille mal gardée, Romeo and Juliet and Giselle. His awards include second prize at the 2014 Young British Dancer of the Year and second prize at the 2015 Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award, with his piece Let My People Go. Sissens s role creations with the Company include in Crystal Pite s Flight Pattern and Robert Binet s Void and Fire. His repertory includes The Mad Hatter (Alice s Adventures in Wonderland), Obsidian Tear, Yugen and Symphonic Variations. His choreography while with The Royal Ballet includes a piece for Draft Works 2017. Stanisław Węgrzyn Polish dancer Stanislaw Wegrzyn joined The Royal Ballet as a Prix de Lausanne apprentice for the 2017/18 Season. Born in Krakow, he began his ballet training aged 8, later graduating from Ballet Academy, University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. He has performed in Tristan and Isolde, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote (Polish National Ballet) and Spartacus (Bavarian State Ballet). Awards include special prize winner at the 2014 International Baltic Ballet Competition in Riga, DAAD Prize from the University of Music and Performing Arts, Munich (2015) and a silver medal at the 2016 Youth America Grand Prix. His repertory includes variations from Satanella, Giselle, Harlequinade, Paquita, La Fille mal gardée, and many contemporary works. Sae Maeda Japanese dancer Sae Maeda joined The Royal Ballet s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season. Maeda was born in Yokohama and began dancing aged seven. She trained at Mayumi Kinouchi Ballet School and at The Royal Ballet School on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship. Roles while at the School included in Les Patineurs, Les Sylphides, Soirées musicales and The Sleeping Beauty pas de quatre. Professional engagements while a student include dancing with The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker. Nadia Mullova-Barley
British-Russian dancer Nadia Mullova-Barley joined The Royal Ballet s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season. Mullova-Barley began dancing aged seven. She trained at West London School of Dance before entering The Royal Ballet Lower School, graduating through the School. Awards include the School s Ninette de Valois Choreographic Award in 2011. Roles while a student include in Concerto and Les Syphildes. Professional engagements while a student include dancing with The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Anastasia and Mayerling. Joonhyuk Jun South Korean dancer Joonhyuk Jun joined The Royal Ballet s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season. Jun was born in Gwangju and began studying ballet aged three. He trained at Sunhwa Arts School and The Royal Ballet Upper School. He was a finalist at the 2014 Prix de Lausanne and in 2016 won the grand prix at Youth America Grand Prix and the School s Gailene Stock Award. Roles while at the School included performances in Les Rendezvous, La Bayadère, Concerto and the Swan Lake pas de quatre. Professional engagements while a student have included dancing with The Royal Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty and Anastasia. Joshua Junker Dutch-German dancer Joshua Junker joined The Royal Ballet s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season. Junker was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. He began studying contemporary dance and breakdance from the age of eight at Boys Action. He turned to ballet aged 14 and trained at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and The Royal Ballet Upper School. Roles while at the School included in Candere, Concerto, See Blue Through and Solo. Professional engagements while a student include dancing with The Royal Ballet in Anastasia and The Sleeping Beauty. Junker s awards as a student include De Piket Kunstprijzen in The Hague (2014) and the School s Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance (2015) and the Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award (2016). Aiden O'Brien
British dancer Aiden O Brien joined The Royal Ballet s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme from the start of the 2017/18 Season. O Brien was born in Perth, Scotland, and began studying ballet aged seven. He trained at Julie Young Dance Studios and as a junior associate with The Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet before entering The Royal Ballet School aged 11. Performances with the School included in Les Rendezvous, La Bayadère, Concerto and Solo. O Brien s professional performances while a student included with The Royal Ballet in The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Anastasia and Mayerling and on tour in Japan in Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. PRESS OFFICE CONTACTS Ashley Woodfield Head of Ballet Press Tel: 020 7212 9165 ashley.woodfield@roh.org.uk Sarah Farrell Ballet Press and Communications Officer Tel: 020 7212 9241 sarah.farrell@roh.org.uk Katharine Morgan Ballet Press Administrator Tel: 020 7212 9725 Katharine.morgan@roh.org.uk