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Your July Roster Roundup: Dancers and Directors on the Move

July 4, 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 July 2025 roster roundup.

Promotions and Appointments

The Royal Ballet’s Harris Bell, Isabel Lubach, Viola Pantuso, Julia Roscoe, and Amelia Townsend have been promoted to soloist. Denilson Almeida, Caspar Lench, Olivia Findlay, Hanna Park, Maddison Pritchard, Ella Newton Severgnini, and Ginevra Zambon have moved up to first artist; and former Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Ravi Cannonier-Watson, Emile Gooding, Francesca Lloyd, Alejandro Muñoz, Katie Robertson, Rebecca Myles Stewart are now artists of the company.

This year’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers cohort includes the following Royal Ballet School graduates: Amos Child, Aurora Chinchilla, LilySophia Dashwood, Tristan-Ian Massa, Shani Moran-Simmonds, Yuki Nagayasu, and Joe Parkinson.

The National Ballet of Canada has announced the following promotions, effective at the start of the 2025–26 season: Larkin Miller to principal; Peng-Fei Jiang to first soloist; and Monika Haczkiewicz, Isabella Kinch, Erika Lall, and David Preciado to second soloist.

Genevieve Penn Nabity and Larkin Miller dance together in front of a beige-colored set. Penn Nabity battements one leg to the side on pointe, reaching in allongé with one arm as she wraps the other around Larkin's shoulders. Larkin stands in a shallow lunge supporting her and reaches with his outside arm while wrapping his other around her waist.
Genevieve Penn Nabity and Larkin Miller in Anna Karenina. Photo by Karolina Kuras, courtesy National Ballet of Canada.

Effective at the start of the 2025–26 season, the following English National Ballet dancers will move up in the ranks: Gareth Haw to lead principal; Rentaro Nakaaki, Anna Nevzorova, Haruhi Otani, Emily Suzuki, and Angela Wood to first soloist; Swanice Luong and Miguel Angel Maidana to soloist; Ashley Coupal, Carolyne Galvao, Jose María Lorca Menchón, Thiago Silva, Anri Sugiura, and Anna-Babette Winkler to first artist; and Zai Calliste and Lois Fraiz to artist.

Following the news of her retirement in May, former ENB lead principal Erina Takahashi has been named a full-time répétiteur with the company.

Four dancers have been promoted to soloist at Royal Danish Ballet: Philip Duclos, Meirambek Nazargozhayev, Emilie Palsgaard-Jensen, and Mathieu Rouaux.

At Houston Ballet, Quinton Brooks, Kieryn Brophy, Yeva Hyrtsak, Jordan Long, Olivia McBain, and Edouard Wormser have moved up to apprentice from Houston Ballet II.

Gonzalo Garcia, a former principal at New York City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet, has been appointed artistic director of Miami City Ballet following the departure of Lourdes Lopez. Garcia will begin on August 11, 2025.

Gonzalo Garcia, in a suit, leans back against a large window panel crossing his arms. He looks into the camera with a slight confident smile.
Gonzalo Garcia. Photo by Rodrigo Díaz Wichmann, courtesy Miami City Ballet.

Ballet Des Moines’ new artistic director, Eric Trope, began this July 1. Trope most recently directed Lexington Ballet in Kentucky. Ballet Des Moines’ former artistic director, Tom Mattingly, has become the company’s resident choreographer, a role he will hold for the next three years.

François Petit has been named the new head of The Royal Conservatoire’s Dance Department under The University of the Hague. He will succeed current principal Jan Linkens and vice principal Catharina Boon, effective January 2026.

Former American Ballet Theatre principal Sarah Lane is joining contemporary dance educator Marie Zvosec to co-direct the The School of Nimbus, heading the Summit, New Jersey, location.

Farewells, New Arrivals, and Guestings

Misty Copeland—advocate, author, director, and American Ballet Theatre principal—announced that she will retire from dancing after a one-night-only performance at ABT’s Fall Gala on Wednesday, October 22, after five years offstage. Copeland made history in 2015 as ABT’s first Black female principal.

Ballet Dortmund artistic director Xin Peng Wang has retired after 22 years at the helm.

Houston Ballet principal Soo Youn Cho has retired from the stage after 13 years with the company. Fellow principal Skylar Campbell has announced his departure from the company, as have corps members Henrique Barbosa, Jaclyn Oakley, and Rodrigo Pinto, and apprentice Eli Go. Michel Lavoie joins the corps from Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Abigail Brent will join as an apprentice.

Onstage in front of a blue backdrop, Soo Youn Cho performs in a light gold tutu, standing on pointe in profile with one leg extended devant, her arms in allongé devant as she twists her torso front. Lines of corps dancers pose on either side of her.
Soo Youn Cho in George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations. Photo by Amitava Sarkar, courtesy Houston Ballet.

Several dancers will join English National Ballet for the 2025–26 season: Hatice Çağla Ertürk, Elvis Nudo, Rodrigo Pinto, and Paulo Rodrigues as soloists; Taela Graff, Tara Millard, and Sacha Venkatasawmy as artists; and Jakob Wheway Hughes as Prix de Lausanne Dancer.

From English National Ballet, Francesco Gabriele Frola has moved to San Francisco Ballet as a principal, Breanna Foad to Zürich Ballet as a “group with solo” dancer, and Edvinas Jakonis to Lithuanian National Ballet as a soloist. Also departing ENB are soloist Vsevolod Maievskyi; junior soloist Tiffany Hedman; and artists Paulo Gonzalez, Marta Monesi, Vincent Philp, Alexandra Terry, and Madison Whiteley.

Madeline Woo poses in a majestic attitude derriere en pointe onstage in a grand theater. She arches back over her leg, arms draped backward, and she wears a black pancake tutu.
Madeline Woo. Photo courtesy Woo.

Three dancers are leaving the Royal Swedish Ballet: principal Madeline Woo, who will begin at San Francisco Ballet this month, principal Kentaro Mitsumori, who will join Wiener Staatsballett, and Marin Jalut-Motte.

After 21 years with The Royal Ballet, soloist Romany Pajdak is departing the company for South Africa to join her husband, Joburg Ballet artistic director Dane Hurst, in early 2026. Soloist Benjamin Ella will also retire from the stage in December 2025, and first artist Katharina Nikelski will take a leave of absence during the 2025–26 season to pursue an MBA. First soloist Itziar Mendizabal has retired from performing and will join The Royal’s Upper School artistic faculty for the new academic year.

The Royal’s 2024–25 Prix de Lausanne dancer, Airi Kobayashi, will leave to join Birmingham Royal Ballet.

A recent article citing toxic work culture at The Sarasota Ballet announced that 18 dancers have departed the company. Principal Macarena Giménez will move to Miami City Ballet, and principal Jennifer Hackbarth will guest with Milwaukee Ballet. Also leaving Sarasota are Savannah Campbell, Mihai Costache, Joshua Fickling, Evan Gorbell, Yuki Nonaka, Ivan Spitale, Juliano Weber, and Felipe Zapiola. First soloist Daniel Pratt has retired from the stage.

American Ballet Theatre’s Anabel Katsnelson will join Miami City Ballet as a soloist for the 2025–26 season.

After 23 years with Norwegian National Ballet, Caroline Roca gave her last performance in the company’s Jiří Kylián festival in June.

Itziar Mendizabal flies in a saut de chat onstage wearing a Firebird costume with a bright red feather headress.
Itziar Mendizabal in The Firebird. Photo by Tristram Kenton, courtesy The Royal Ballet and Opera.

Ballet Memphis bids farewell to Nicolas Gongora, Beth Ann Maslinoff, and Rianna Talento; Maslinoff and Gongora have concluded their performing careers.

BalletMet’s Cooper Verona has retired from the stage. He will join the BalletMet Academy as a new faculty member for the 2025–26 season.

Claire Bednarek of American Contemporary Ballet gave her last performance in June, in the company’s The Euterpides and Serenade program.

After nine years with the company, Ohio Contemporary Ballet’s Antonio Morillo took his final bow on June 21.

Golden State Ballet’s Megan Nicotera has retired after a 15-year career.

Luis Molina has joined Hamburg Ballet as a corps de ballet member.

At Indianapolis Ballet, Elaina da Fonte has joined as a company artist for the 2025–26 season.

Ballet Arkansas welcomes Claire Churchill, Liev Ewart, Allen Sizemore, McKenna Ulbrick to the company.

Awards and Recognitions

The 2025 National Dance Award recipients include former English National Ballet lead principal Erina Takahashi, Birmingham Royal Ballet principal Beatrice Parma, Royal Ballet artist Caspar Lench, and choreographers Kyle Abraham and Crystal Pite. In addition, The Royal Ballet, London City Ballet, and Acosta Danza each won awards, as did Michael Nunn and William Trevitt’s film The Principles of Classical Dance, produced by The Royal and BalletBoyz.

Joshua Williams does a sauté retiré onstage, arms extended outward with palms up, as he stares down the audience. He wears a long-sleeved shirt with thick stripes and gray shorts.
Joshua Williams in Mthuthuzeli November’s Chapter 2. Photo credit Paul Seaby, courtesy Cape Ballet Africa.

Choreographer Mthuthuzeli November and Cape Ballet Africa dancer Joshua Williams won Benois de la Danse awards for Best Choreography and Best Male Dancer, respectively. They were each recognized for November’s work Chapter 2, presented in Cape Ballet Africa’s triple bill, SALT, in September. From the Bolshoi, principal Dmitry Smilevsky also won Best Male Dancer, sharing with Williams, and Mariinsky Theatre principal Renata Shakirova won Best Female Dancer. Yury Grigorovich was given a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award.

The German Dance Association has recognized Staatsballett Berlin artistic director Christian Spuck with the 2026 German Dance Award for excellence in the art form.

amelia townsend ballet dortmund cape ballet africa english national ballet francois petit gonzalo garcia houston ballet isabel lubach itziar mendizbal jennifer hackbarth joshua williams julia roscoe larkin miller macarena gimenez madeline woo misty copeland national ballet of canada national dance awards romany pajdak roster roundup san francisco ballet sarasota ballet skylar campbell soo youn cho the royal ballet viola pantuso xin peng wang