Leeds-based Northern Ballet, one of the UK’s five large ballet companies, will welcome 12 new dancers this summer and has also announced promotions for existing members of the Company.
Adeline Kaiser (English Youth Ballet) will join the third year corps and Ayami Miyata (Singapore Dance Theatre) returns to Northern Ballet to join the second year corps having previously danced for the Company from 2009 to 2011.
Joining the first year corps are: Miki Akuta (Académie Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo), Gwénaëlle Poline (Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse), Luke Francis (English National Ballet School) and Riku Ito (The School of the Hamburg Ballet). Isabelle Clough (English National Ballet School) and Gavin McCaig (English National Ballet School) will both join as apprentices.
The Company will also reap the benefits of the Academy of Northern Ballet’s pioneering Graduate Professional Programme, the first of its kind in the UK, which will see four graduating students joining the Company: Filippo Di Vilio to first year corps and Alice Bayston, Kiara Flavin and Dominique Larose as apprentices.
Promotions within the Company include: Dreda Blow to Leading Soloist, Lucia Solari to First Soloist, and Kevin Poeung to Coryphée.
Northern Ballet, which began the 2013/14 season with 39 dancers, has also said goodbye to six of its dancers this year.
Lori Gilchrist left in January to join Royal New Zealand Ballet and has been joined there this summer by John Hull, who leaves the Company after more than 10 years.
Michela Paolacci and Thomas Aragones are leaving to join Slovak National Ballet whilst Maria Beseghi and Katherine Minor are also moving on to new challenges.
This autumn, Northern Ballet will commence its tour with Dracula at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from 5 to 13 September 2014 before national tours of The Great Gatsby and Cinderella in the autumn.