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

November 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 November 2026 roster roundup.

Promotions and Appointments

Diana Ionescu has risen to principal at Stuttgart Ballet.

Philadelphia Ballet has announced the promotions of Pau Pujol to principal and Lucia Erickson to first soloist.

New York City Ballet’s Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara, Owen Flacke, and Kloe Walker have moved up to soloist.

Sarah Wilkerson has been promoted to principal at Ballet Tucson.

Onstage, Pau Pujol holds a wreath and walks forward, beaming, with one arm extended in gratitude to the audience. A group of dancers applaud him from behind. The women wear red leotards, and the men wear pinstripe pants with red waistbands, or pinstripe shirts with red pants.
Pau Pujol (front) during his onstage promotion. Photo by Alexander Izilaev, courtesy Philadelphia Ballet.

Ballet BC welcomes former Annex dancer Kaitin Cheung to the main company.

Tulsa Ballet has announced the promotion of Audrey Williamson to the corps.

Charlotte Ballet welcomes Aysia Bates and Serafina Wagenveld to the main company; former trainee Faith Barror joins the second company.

The Board of Trustees of the Berlin Opera Foundation has extended Christian Spuck’s contract as artistic director of Staatsballett Berlin until 2033.

Farewells, New Arrivals, and Guestings

Onstage, Dorothée Gilbert does a piqué attitude derriere on the croisé line, arching up and back with her arms in high fifth. She wears a goldish-cream dress with a laced bodice and a lace skirt.
Dorothée Gilbert in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon. Photo by Marie Helena Buckley, courtesy Paris Opéra Ballet.

Longtime Paris Opéra Ballet étoile Dorothée Gilbert has taken her final bow, having reached the company’s mandatory retirement age. She gave her farewell performance in Manon on October 15.

After two years directing the English National Ballet School, Lynne Charles has announced that she will step down, transitioning to the roles of artistic director for the Graduate Artists Programme and artistic advisor to the ENB Senior School.

After 31 years with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo—the longest a dancer has performed with the company—Robert “Bobby” Carter has announced that he will retire following the Trocks’ upcoming run at The Joyce Theater.

Olga Esina, a Vienna State Ballet first soloist who has danced with the company for more than two decades, will retire in June 2027.

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Kyle Davis has announced that he will take his final bow at the end of the 2026–27 season. The company will honor him in its Season Encore Performance on June 13, 2027.

Orlando Ballet has announced that artistic director Jorden Morris and associate artistic director Lisa Thorn Morris will retire from their roles at the end of the 2026–27 season. Morris will continue through June 30 before transitioning to artistic advisor through the end of 2027.

Robert "Bobby" Carter dressed as Olga Supphozova, in a white and gold classical tutu, pink tights, and pointe shoes. Bobby stands in b-plus with one hand on his hip and the other bent across his chest, fingers gently placed.
Robert “Bobby” Carter as Olga Supphozova. Photo by Zoran Jelenic, courtesy Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo.

Colorado Ballet principal Christophor Moulton will retire in April 2027.

Ballet Kelowna’s Kurt Werner has announced that this will be his final season with the company.

On October 31, principals Jenna Rae Herrera and Tyler Gum gave their last performances with Ballet West.

Milwaukee Ballet leading artist Marize Fumero will take her final bow this month as Harry Louis Peterson joins the company.

Olga Esina transfers her weight with a bent bottom leg and her other leg extended front in a battement, arms bent at the elbow. She wears a long red dress with sections of light fabric at the bottom that swirl as she moves.
Olga Esina in Jessica Lang’s Let Me Mingle Tears With Thee. Photo by Ashley Taylor, courtesy Vienna State Ballet.

Abbey Marrison has announced that she will depart American Ballet Theatre following its upcoming performances of The Nutcracker.

The Joffrey Ballet says hello to new company artists Aoi Morohashi, Fabian Raschitor, and Sam Stampleman.

Bernardo Betancor has departed Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. The company introduces new dancers Dyhan Pierre Arthur De Souza Cardoso and Rafe Perry.

Kyle Davis does a sauté arabesque mid-air with arms extended high as a spotlight projects his shadow onto the wall behind him, on either side. He wears black pants and an open long-sleeved shirt.
Kyle Davis in Jessica Lang’s Ghost Variations. Photo by Angela Sterling, courtesy Pacific Northwest Ballet.

Jackson Smith-Leishman has moved from Paris Opéra Ballet’s Junior Company to Bayerisches Staatsballett, joining its corps.

Emily Gilchrist and Patricia Torres have joined Staatsballett Hannover’s ensemble.

Ballet BC welcomes new dancers Travon Carter, Marcos Marqueta, and Jayda Zhu, as well as guest company artist Julian Hunt.

Complexions Contemporary Ballet has introduced its newest dancers: Carmina Ballesteros, John Chappell, Cameron Fikes, and Damaris Ruiz.

Onstage, two dancers in purple and turquoise costumes perform a fish pose at the end of a pas de deux. Two dancers sit behind them on a set piece.
Jennifer Grace and Christophor Moulton in The Nutcracker. Photo by Amanda Tipton Photography, courtesy Colorado Ballet.

After several years away from the stage, former American Ballet Theatre corps member Gisele Bethea Farnsworth has joined Dance Alive National Ballet of Gainesville, Florida, for the 2026–27 season.

Ballet West welcomes Daisy Ye, who will be filling in for corps artist Claire Spainhour while she is on maternity leave.

Wyatt Kinsman has joined Eugene Ballet as a company artist.

Awards and Recognitions

Oklahoma City Ballet resident choreographer DaYoung Jung has won Louisville Ballet’s inaugural Commonwealth Choreography Award, which provides a $25,000 direct honorarium toward the creation of a world premiere to be presented at the company’s Momentum program in May 2027.

Ballet Arkansas’ associate artistic director, Catherine Fothergill, has been chosen as one of the 2026 Top 100 Women of Arkansas, a list presented by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and Little Rock Soirée magazine.

At the National Ballet of Canada, Connor Hamilton and Alexander Skinner have won the Patron Award of Merit, which recognizes corps members who’ve shown notable growth; Isabelle Bratt has won the David Tory Award, which recognizes an artist of “consummate professionalism”; and Celia Morrison and Felix Russell have won the Emerging Artist Apprentice Award, which recognizes promising company apprentices.

Dayoung Jung's headshot. Jung looks calmly into the camera wearing a black shirt with a black blazer draped over her shoulders. She crosses her hands in front.
Dayoung Jung. Photo by Jana Carson, courtesy Oklahoma City Ballet.

San Francisco Ballet has named soloist Victor Prigent as its next Raising Leaders fellow. The two-year development program, established in 2024, is designed to help selected dancers prepare for careers in leadership across a variety of industries.

Ballet Austin’s cinematic trailer for Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles, choreographed by Stephen Mills and directed by Paul Michael Bloodgood with Virtigo Pictures, has been nominated for a Lone Star EMMY. ⁠

appointments christophor moulton dayoung jung diana ionescu dorothee gilbert gisele bethea farnsworth kloe walker kyle davis lynne charles meaghan dutton-o'hara olga esina owen flacke pau pujol promotions retirements robert carter roster roundup victor prigent