Your August 2026 Roster Roundup: Dancers and Directors on the Move

August 6, 2026

The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of ballet career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in your August 2026 roster roundup.

Promotions and Appointments

SunMi Park and Jarod Curley have been promoted to principal at American Ballet Theatre, effective September 1, 2026. Artistic director Susan Jaffe announced both promotions onstage following Park’s performance as Odette/Odile (July 15) and Curley’s as Prince Siegfried (July 16) in Swan Lake.

Also at ABT, Zimmi Coker, Michael de la Nuez, Tyler Maloney, Joseph Markey, Andrew Robare, and Yoon Jung Seo are moving up to soloist.

At The Royal Ballet, Taisuke Nakao is moving up to first soloist; Harrison Lee, Marco Masciari, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Ella Newton Severgnini, Charlotte Tonkinson, and Marianna Tsembenhoi to soloist; and Martin Diaz, Luc Foskett, and James Large to first artist.

Following its annual external recruitment competition, Paris Opéra Ballet announced that Benjamin Adnet, Juliann Fedele Malard, Eric Pinto-Cata, Dorian Plasse, Alexa Torres-Alvarez, and Seojun Yoon have been named quadrilles.

Samara Merrick in Justin Peck’s Copland Dance Episodes. Photo by Kate Longley, courtesy The Australian Ballet.
Grace Carroll in John Cranko’s Romeo And Juliet. Photo by Daniel Boud, courtesy TAB.

The Australian Ballet announced the promotions of Grace Carroll and Samara Merrick to senior artist; Elijah Trevitt to soloist; and Harrison Bradley, Daniel Bryne, and Alexandra Walton to coryphée.

Hamburg Ballet has announced eight promotions: Olivia Betteridge, Charlotte Larzelere, and Louis Musin to principal; Francesco Cortese, Hayley Page, Artem Prokopchuk, and Ida Stempelmann to soloist; and José Abílio Neri to corps de ballet.

At South Carolina Ballet, Claire Rapp has been named a ballerina, the highest rank at the company, and Sydney Murrell and Dylan Van Dyke have moved up to demi-soloist.

Ballet Idaho’s Ashley Baker has been named a principal.

Ashley Baker, lit from behind in front of a stark white backdrop, splits her legs in the air with her back leg in a slight attitude. She lifts both arms overhead like wings and wears a black pancake tutu. — Ashley Baker. Photo by Quinn Wharton, courtesy Ballet Idaho.

The Sarasota Ballet announced that Samuel Gest has moved up to first soloist and McKibben Needham to apprentice.

At New York City Ballet, Corbin Holloway and Keenan Kiefer have been promoted to the corps.

Oklahoma City Ballet’s Callum Findlay-White and Tessa Hogge have moved up to soloist, and John Aguirre, Eichi Fujita, and Rachel Kundzins to the corps de ballet.

Birmingham Royal Ballet 2 dancers Ixan Ferrer and Sophie Walters have moved up to the BRB main company, along with former Elmhurst Apprentice Alfie-Lee Hall.

Tom Cape, Karin Laldjising, and João Massei have been promoted from National Ballet of Canada’s RBC Apprentice Program to the main company.

At Ballet Hartford, Felicia Isotti is moving up to soloist, Annabella Hartog and Payton McGrew to the corps, and Nadia Avery to apprentice.

At Ballet Frontier, Caroline Baggs was promoted to company artist.

Abigail Einterz, Anna Graczyk, and Naya Yara, of Indianapolis Ballet, have been promoted to the company.

Ballet Des Moines announced the promotions of Elianna Price to company dancer and Judith Bruggeman to apprentice.

Lea Bessoudo Greck has been appointed artistic director of the Ballet of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre.

Farewells, New Arrivals, and Guestings

Julian MacKay has left Bayerisches Staatsballett. MacKay shared on social media that he was terminated without notice after raising concerns with theater management, a claim the company disputes. He is currently pursuing legal action.

Royal Ballet first artist Katharina Nikelski has retired from the stage. Maia Rose Roberts will join the company from Ballet Zürich.

After 17 seasons with English National Ballet, lead principal Shiori Kase has departed the company to join K-Ballet Tokyo.

In front of a Western-inspired set piece, Brittany Pollack kicks one leg in a high battement en pointe, her arms in high third. She smiles jubilantly with a slight turn of her head. She wears a short cream, brown, and light pink dress with a ruffled skirt; brown fingerless gloves; a choker; and a feathered headpiece. — Brittany Pollack in George Balanchine’s *Western Symphony*. Photo by Paul Kolnik, courtesy New York City Ballet.

New York City Ballet soloist Brittany Pollack has concluded her 20-year career with the company. Three longtime corps members have also said their goodbyes: Jenelle Manzi, Lars Nelson, and Kristen Segen.

Longtime Norwegian National Ballet principal Melissa Hough has concluded her performing career. Going forward, she is preparing to launch Oslo City Ballet, a project-based production, education, and outreach platform based in Norway.

Marcello Angelini. Photo courtesy Tulsa Ballet.

After more than three decades at the helm of Tulsa Ballet, artistic director Marcello Angelini has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2026–27 season. He will transition to the role of artistic director emeritus thereafter.

The following dancers are moving to National Ballet of Canada: Sasha Mukhamedov as a first soloist, and Lillian Casscells, Jane Park, and Alyssa Pratt as corps members.

Royal Winnipeg Ballet welcomes Skylar Campbell as a principal; Rio Fukunaga as a second soloist; Kallie Green, Finn Hepting, Isaac Mueller, Jackie Oakley, and Samara Rittinger as company artists; and Adeline Fletcher and Sienna Going as apprentices.

A slew of dancers are moving to The Sarasota Ballet for the 2026–27 season: San Francisco Ballet’s Misa Kuranaga, Boston Ballet’s Kaitlyn Casey, and American Ballet Theatre’s Andrii Ishchuk will join as principals. Tulsa Ballet’s Sumika Fujiwara as a first soloist; Federico Coletti, Robert Mack, and Owen Watson as corps members; and Annette Darren as an apprentice.

Birmingham Royal Ballet first artist Javier Rojas departed the company at the end of the season to join Opera De Nice. Also departing are Vidya Cannonier-Watson, Isabelle Clough, Amber Cook, Sofia Hensley, Thomas Kujawa, Florence Lane, Oisin Middleton, Kaitlyn Moore, Samantha Paige, and Tom Wood, as well as, at BRB2, Charlotte Cohen, Ellyne Knol, and Andrea Riolo.

Melissa Hough, wearing a long white dress with puffy sleeves, holds a large wreath around her shoulders and extends one arm out with pride. Behind her, fellow company members clap and celebrate her. — Melissa Hough onstage after her final performance in *Romeo and Juliet* at the Norwegian National Ballet. Photo courtesy Hough.

In addition, BRB welcomes several new dancers: Luciano Ghidoli, Airi Kobayashi, and Gillian Whittall join the main company; joining BRB2 are Mikel Arana Arzak, Jacopo Biancucci, Noah Campbell, Sophie Koo, Addison Partlow, Samuel Pereira, Martha Savin, and Denis Teixeira; and Ted (Heng-Yu) Peng joins as this year’s Elmhurst Apprentice.

The following dancers have joined the Paris Opéra Junior Ballet: Leonardo Baghin, Marc-Anthony Betta Ndabo, Shaun Blondel, Ekaterina Bréau, Liberty Fergus, Elisa Grassi, Nathan Guerlavas, Benjamin Imerovski, Prune Kaufmann, Maya Konagai, Jorge Lamelas, Milo de Meulenaere, Irina Olaru, Katie Shi, and Alejandro Tino Baudesson.

Marian Faustino, who danced with Ballet Manila and, most recently, Boulder Ballet, has retired from the stage after a 28-year career.

Estonian National Ballet soloist Pippa McCann has departed the company and will be joining Staatsballett Berlin for the 2026–27 season.

Company dancer Clay Murray has taken his last bow with BalletRI.

In front of a minimalistic set piece, Skylar Campbell splits his legs in the air with his arms in high arabesque. He wears briefs and a flowing top that match his skin tone. Two other dancers in similar costumes stand behind him on either side. — Skylar Campbell in Wayne McGregor’s *Chroma*, with the National Ballet of Canada. Photo by Karolina Kuras, courtesy Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

St. Louis Ballet says goodbye to dancers Lauren Christensen, Amy Herchenroether, and Gwen Vandenhoeck, as well as rehearsal director, instructor, and education and outreach director CiCi Houston Sudholt.

Amber Harper, Andre McGregor II, and Michael Shavelle have joined Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Oklahoma City Ballet says hello to new corps member Leo Godfrey.

Misa Kuranaga poses on pointe in sous-sus in front of a blue backdrop. She looks out to the side with epaulement and her arms lifted gently to either side, elbows bent, so her fingertips graze her bell-shaped skirt. Her dress is ornate and yellow with gold and dark brown ornamentation. She wears a gold necklace with stars and a feathered headpiece. — Misa Kuranaga in Sir Frederick Ashton’s *Birthday Offering*. Photo by Frank Atura, courtesy The Sarasota Ballet.

Smuin Contemporary Ballet welcomes new dancers Katherine Deuitch, Mimi Lamar, Logan Martin, and Eleanor Prince.

Nicole Townsend will dance with Avant Chamber Ballet for the upcoming season. Kaylee Skelton, formerly of ACB, has joined Reverie Dance Company in Denver, Colorado, as a company dancer and co-director.

At Ohio Contemporary Ballet, Kelly Korfhage has retired from the stage, and Bethany Montalvo will join as a company dancer.

Eamon Barry-Ware has joined Ballet 5:8 for the upcoming season.

The Tallahassee Ballet says hello to new company artist Jiji Shindler.

Charlotte Parry and Alexa Pierce have joined Utah Metropolitan Ballet.

The following dancers have moved to Ballet Spartanburg: Solomon Fishman as a principal; Gabriel Weiner as a soloist; Jeffrey Davis (Zang Yu-Wen), Gracie Jean Joiner, Adyson Lloyd, and Sofia Elene Rodrigues as corps members; and Reagan Hammond, Alehssia “Coco” Reinhart, and Juliana Utzinger as apprentices.

Awards and Recognitions

Miranda Rose Giles, Golden State Ballet principal and owner of Corona Academy of Dance, is a finalist in San Diego Business Journal’s 2026 40 Next Top Business Leaders Under 40.

Staatsballett Karlsruhe’s Sophie Burke has received the 2026 Karlsruhe Dance Award, which recognizes outstanding artistic achievement and is accompanied by a €5,000 ($5,769) prize.

The Fini International Dance Awards has announced the winners of its 2026 Rising Star Awards: BalletX’s Itzkan Barbosa Dzul and Milwaukee Ballet’s Giuliano Ruocco.

Ballet Arizona artistic director Daniela Cardim has been named one of AZ Big Media’s “Most Influential Women in Arizona” for 2026.

Pittsburgh Magazine has named Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre as Best Dance Troupe in its annual Best of the ’Burgh awards.