On 11 June 2018, English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer competition, hosted by the actor and dancer Will Kemp, will be live-streamed from the London Coliseum via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Last year’s live-stream received more than 80,000 views.
Six company dancers selected by their peers will compete before a panel of expert judges for the 2018 Emerging Dancer Award, plus recipients of the People's Choice Award, selected by the public, and the Corps de Ballet Award will also be revealed.
Joining ENB Artistic Director Tamara Rojo CBE on the judging panel are former American Ballet Theatre principal dancer and former National Ballet of Uruguay director Julio Bocca, Royal Ballet principal dancer Lauren Cuthbertson, former artistic director of Romanian National Ballet and former Royal Ballet principal dancer Johan Kobborg and multidisciplinary dance artist and director of Kerry Nicholls Dance, Kerry Nicholls.
The finalists will perform a pas de deux followed by a solo. Precious Adams and Fernando Carratalá Coloma's pas de deux will be from Petipa’s Harlequinade, Francesca Velicu and Daniel McCormick's from ENB’s Le Corsaire and Connie Vowles and Giorgio Garrett's from Bournonville’s William Tell.
Precious Adams's solo is A Point of Collapse with choreography and music composition by Mthuthuzeli November, Francesca Velicu will perform Toccata choreographed by Nancy Osbaldeston and set to Paul Constantinescu’s Suite for Piano and Connie Vowles will perform Be all / End all, a new piece by choreographer Charlotte Edmonds to music from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Fernando Carratalá Coloma will perform The last call with new choreography by Mariano Cardano set to Alexander Balanescu’s Aria, Giorgio Garrett will perform Fraudulent Smile by choreographer Ross Freddie Ray set to Kazimierez recorded by Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke Band and Daniel McCormick will perform a solo from Leatherwing Bat by Trey McIntyre set to Boa Constrictor and Leatherwing Bat by folk group Peter Paul and Mary.
Last year’s joint Emerging Dancer Award winners Aitor Arrieta and Rina Kanehara will perform the pas de deux from act III of The Sleeping Beauty and 2017 People’s Choice Award winner Georgia Bould will perform an extract from La Sylphide.