Promotions, new joiners and departures for the 2025/2026 Season

It is a real pleasure to be able to acknowledge our dancers’ hard work and development through promotions within the Company. I’m thrilled to be welcoming the superb dancers and world-renowned guest repetiteurs who join us next season, as well as sharing my sincere thanks and appreciation to those who are departing.

As we look ahead, I know our 2025/26 has much to offer. So however you choose to connect with us, we can’t wait to share more with you next season.

Aaron S. Watkin, Artistic Director 

Promotions

The following promotions have been made, with effect from the start of the 2025/2026 season.

Gareth Haw has been promoted to Lead Principal.

Rentaro Nakaaki, Anna Nevzorova, Haruhi Otani, Emily Suzuki and Angela Wood have been promoted to First Soloist.

Swanice Luong and Miguel Angel Maidana have been promoted to Soloist.

Ashley Coupal, Carolyne Galvao, Jose María Lorca Menchón, Thiago Silva, Anri Sugiura and Anna-Babette Winkler have been promoted to First Artist.

Martinho Santos has been promoted to 6th year Artist.

Congratulations to these wonderful artists!

New Company members

Paulo Rodrigues, formerly with the Joffrey Ballet, joins as a Soloist. 

Hatice Çağla Ertürk and Elvis Nudo join as Soloists from Finnish National Ballet. 

Rodrigo Pinto joins as a Soloist and Taela Graff joins as an Artist, both from Houston Ballet. 

Tara Millard, formerly with the Norwegian National Ballet, joins as an Artist. 

Zai Calliste and Lois Fraiz join as Artists, having completed their training with English National Ballet School. 

Sacha Venkatasawmy from Dutch National Ballet Academy joins as an Artist.

Joining the Company as Prix de Lausanne Dancer is Jakob Wheway Hughes, from Tring Park Ballet School. 

We welcome a series of world-renowned repetiteurs to the Company to support our artists throughout the season. Cynthia Harvey returns as Associate Guest Repetiteur, alongside Stephanie Arndt, Yannick Boquin, Christina Johnson, Manuel Legris, and Alejandro Parente as Guest Repetiteurs. 

Departures

Lead Principal Francesco Gabriele Frola leaves to become Principal with San Francisco Ballet.  

Lead Principal Erina Takahashi becomes full-time Repetiteur with the Company.  

First Artist Breanna Foad leaves to join Zurich Ballet as Group with Solo.  

First Artist Edvinas Jakonis has left mid-season to join Lithuanian National Ballet as a Soloist. 

Soloist Vsevolod Maievskyi, Junior Soloist Tiffany Hedman, and Artists Paulo Gonzalez, Marta Monesi, Vincent Philp, Alexandra Terry, and Madison Whiteley also leave the Company this season.  

Repetiteur Laurent Guilbaud leaves to join The Munich State Ballet, after six years with English National Ballet. 

We offer our sincere thanks to each of these artists for their many contributions, and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.