San Francisco Ballet Dancers Win Erik Bruhn Prize
San Francisco Ballet dancers Natasha Sheehan and Angelo Greco were announced the winners of the 12th International Erik Bruhn Prize on Wednesday. Hamburg Ballet soloist Marc Jubete won the Choreographic Prize for his new work, Remember. The competition, which honors the legacy of Danish ballet dancer Erik Bruhn, was held November 15 in Toronto; participants included promising young dancers from five major companies: American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, The Royal Ballet and National Ballet of Canada.
Sheehan has quickly become one to watch. The 17-year-old San Francisco native, who grew up through SFB’s school, was featured in the company’s 2016 opening night gala while just a trainee. She was swiftly promoted into the corps de ballet, skipping the apprentice level. Greco, who was a major standout during SFB’s World Ballet Day segment, joined the company this year as a soloist after dancing with La Scala Ballet. (Another La Scala-to-SFB transplant, principal Carlo Di Lanno, won last year’s prize.) The competition was also a major boon for Jubute, who has been steadily creating works since 2013, mostly for Hamburg’s junior company, the National Youth Ballet.
The Erik Bruhn Prize has become a major predictor of future stars (past winners include Julie Kent and Johan Kobborg), so it will be exciting to see how these dancers’ careers will unfold. Congratulations to all!
