Your March Roster Roundup: Dancers and Directors on the Move
The past few weeks have brought another exciting round of dancer career news—check out the latest farewells, appointments, promotions, and more in this month’s ballet roster roundup.
Promotions and Appointments
On February 21, the Royal Academy of Dance announced that Royal Ballet principal Alexander Campbell will be its new artistic director, succeeding Gerard Charles. Campbell, who will join RAD on April 2 of this year, has been with The Royal for over a decade. He will give his final performances there as Des Grieux, in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, on March 2 and 8.
During the curtain call for San Francisco Ballet’s British Icons program, artistic director Tamara Rojo announced that Jasmine Jimison has been promoted to principal dancer. Jimison, an SFB School graduate, joined the company as an apprentice in 2018 and was promoted to the corps midseason, then to soloist in 2021.
At Miami City Ballet, Taylor Naturkas has been promoted to principal soloist, and Brooks Landegger and Satoki Habuchi were promoted to soloist.
Colorado Ballet artistic director Gil Boggs has announced the promotions of Leah Rose McFadden and Jessica Payne from soloist to principal for the 2024–25 season.
Joseph Gerhardt has been made Carolina Ballet’s newest principal. And former apprentice Garrett Wooten has been promoted to the corps.
On the opening night of Ballet Tucson’s Winter Concert, artistic director Margaret Mullin promoted August Hartung from apprentice to corps member.
Indiana’s Fort Wayne Ballet welcomes two new additions to its artistic staff, effective immediately. Former American Ballet Theatre dancer and New York City Ballet principal Robert La Fosse joins as ballet master in residence; former ABT artist and Philadelphia Ballet principal Lisa Sundstrom joins as ballet master and academy faculty member.
The Chautauqua Institution has announced Sasha Janes as the inaugural Bonnefoux-McBride artistic director of the Chautauqua School of Dance, a new position created in honor of two of the program’s longtime former leaders, Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. Janes is also a professor of ballet at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Farewells and New Arrivals
National Ballet of Canada has announced that longtime principal dancer and choreographic associate Guillaume Côté will retire at the conclusion of the company’s 2024–25 season.
After 10 years with BalletMet, company member Caitlin Valentine will retire at the end of the 2023–24 season. She will conclude her 22-year performance career with the company’s run of Romeo & Juliet April 26–28.
At the end of the 2023–24 season, Ballet Edmonton artistic director Wen Wei Wang will step down after six years. British Columbia–native dancer and choreographer Kirsten Wicklund will succeed Wang this August 2024.
Awards and Recognitions
English National Ballet’s 2024 Emerging Dancer finalists are company artists Anna Ciriano, Breanna Foad, Shunhei Fuchiyama, Jose María Lorca Menchón, Thiago Pereira, and Anna-Babette Winkler. The annual Emerging Dancer Award is presented to dancers who were nominated by their peers, then selected after performing mixed repertoire for a panel of judges.
Vail Dance Festival has announced that New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns and choreographer Jamar Roberts are its 2024 artists in residence.
Atlanta Ballet’s Mikaela Santos has been recognized by the Philippines-based magazine Preview as one of its “Creative 25” of 2024.
Indianapolis Ballet soloist William Robinson has been named a 2024 Indy’s Best and Brightest finalist.
