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Your June Roster Roundup: Dancers and Directors on the Move

June 6, 2025

The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of ballet career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in your June 2025 roster roundup.

Promotions and Appointments

In May, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre celebrated the promotions of Grace Rookstool to principal, Emry Amoky and Abigail Huang to the corps, and Aoi Asano and Isak Sorenson to apprentice.

Six members of Houston Ballet II will move up to the main company as apprentices for the 2025–26 season: Quinton Brooks, Kieryn Brophy, Yeva Hrystak, Jordan Long, Olivia McBain, and Edouard Wormser.

After 20 years as a Joffrey Ballet company artist, Christine Rocas has been appointed rehearsal director. Rocas served as interim rehearsal director for the past year.

Farewells, New Arrivals, and Guestings

National Ballet of Canada welcomes three new principal dancers for the 2025–26 season: Chase O’Connell and Beckanne Sisk from Houston Ballet, and Agnes Su from Stuttgart Ballet.

New York City Ballet principal Andrew Veyette and soloist Megan LeCrone have taken their final bows after 25 and 23 years with the company, respectively.

Andrew Veyette stands with his arm raised to the audience during his curtain call. He wears a bright red, blue, and gold costume modeled after a soldier's uniform, and the massive curtain behind him is gold-colored.
Andrew Veyette in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes. Photo by Erin Baiano, courtesy New York City Ballet.

After 29 years with English National Ballet, lead principal Erina Takahashi gave her last performance on May 24.

Principal Marge Hendrick has departed after 13 years with Scottish Ballet.

Soloist Ariel Rose and corps members Alaina Andersen, Harrison Monaco, and Matilda Solis will be retiring from Miami City Ballet at the end of the 2024–25 season.

Kansas City Ballet has said goodbye to company members Georgia Fuller, Emily Mistretta, Amaya Rodriguez, and Kevin Wilson.

Onstage, Erina Takahashi wears an ornate gold dress that falls just above the knee, with feather detailing. She also wears a gold mask and holds a massive train, which also acts as a sort of sail as the wind blows into it as she lifts her arms above her head. Underneath, a group of dancers in black costumes hold her by her shins, so it appears she's floating.
Erina Takahashi in Cinderella in the round. Photo by Laurent Liotardo, courtesy English National Ballet.

Alberta Ballet has bid farewell to soloists Scotto Hamed-Ramos and Seira Iwamoto.

Soloist Corey Bourbonniere and corps members Sam DerGregorian and Amanda Morgan have departed Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. Houston Ballet’s Henrique Barbosa and Boston Ballet II’s Ethan Clarisey will join the PBT corps for the 2025–26 season.

On April 26, Carolina Ballet soloist Bilal Shakur Smith had his last performance with the company.

Corps member Ben Youngstone has departed from Oregon Ballet Theatre.

St. Louis Ballet dancers Abby Hannuksela, Elaine Rand, and Fletcher Weld have retired from the stage.

Marge Hendrick, wearing a wacky patterned spandex dress with a short skirt, and a pink gardening hat, does a split on top of another dancer who lies face-down on the floor. They dance in front of a live chamber orchestra wearing similarly bright and wacky outfits.
Marge Hendrick in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations. Photo by Andy Ross, courtesy Scottish Ballet.

Diablo Ballet’s Lucas Tischler gave his last performance on May 17.

Dani Moya of Manassas Ballet Theatre has retired from the stage.

Boulder Ballet’s Morgan Rust will join Finnish National Ballet for the 2025–26 season.

Ballet22 welcomes new dancer Jake Speakman for its 2025 summer season.

Awards and Recognitions

The most recent cohort of Isadora Duncan Dance Award winners includes San Francisco Ballet principal Nikisha Fogo, for Outstanding Achievement in Performance (Individual), for her debut as Odette/Odile in Helgi Tomasson’s Swan Lake.

Nikisha Fogo and Daniel Camargo perform a pas de deux onstage as Odette and Prince Siegfried. Camarge kneels in toward Fogo and holds her waist as she arches back, arms like wings, in an attitude derriere on pointe.
Nikisha Fogo and Daniel Camargo in Helgi Tomasson’s Swan Lake. Photo by Lindsey Rallo, courtesy San Francisco Ballet.

During Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s tour to Cuba, artistic director Jean-Christophe Maillot was awarded the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba’s Josefina Méndez International Dance Award, for “his profound imprint on the National Ballet of Cuba and the international scene.” The company also received the 2025 Cubadisco Festival Honorary Award.

NYCB soloist David Gabriel has been named an Honored Artist in Dance in the Clive Barnes Foundation’s 2024 Honored Artists list, and Conversations on Dance has been awarded the inaugural Clive Barnes Award for Journalism and Media Achievement.

The Royal Danish Ballet corps member Philip Duclos is this year’s recipient of Denmark’s Ballettens Venner Talent Prize, an annual recognition given to a promising Danish dancer.

Ballet Fantastique’s music video trailer for Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet has been recognized twice in the 46th Annual Telly Awards, earning a silver in Music, Dance & Performance and a bronze in Art Direction.

andrew veyette beckanne sisk christine rocas dancer news David Gabriel english national ballet grace rookstool houston ballet jean-christophe maillot les ballets de monte-carlo Marge Hendrick national ballet of canada nikisha fogo roster roundup