Lisbon-born Marcelino Sambé has been promoted to Principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Sambé joined The Royal Ballet in 2012 from The Royal Ballet Upper School, was promoted to First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015 and First Soloist in 2017.
His repertory with the Company includes Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Basilio (Don Quixote), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Oberon (The Dream), Hans-Peter / Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Lescaut (Manon) and Benno (Swan Lake). He has created roles in Crystal Pite’s Flight Pattern, Obsidian Tear, Multiverse and Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor and Hofesh Shechter’s Untouchable.
Sambé’s awards include a silver medal at the Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2008, first prize at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2009, a gold medal and special award at the USA International Ballet Competition in 2010 and the Dance Europe Award for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2017.