DANCERS

TZU-CHAO CHOU

PRINCIPAL

Born: Yi-Lan, Taiwan

Trained: Australian Ballet School

Joined: 2011; Principal, 2017

Repertory: Aladdin (title role), Beauty and the Beast (Raven), Coppélia (Franz), Don Quixote (Basilio, Amour), La Fille mal gardée (Colas, Alain), Giselle (Harvest pas de deux), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), Chacona, Concerto (first movement), The Dream (Puck), E=mc2 (Celeritas2), Elite Syncopations ( Alaskan Rag), Faster, Flowers of the Forest, Interlinked, Kin., Les Patineurs, Lyric Pieces, Symphonic Variations.

Awards:

Gold Medal, Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition, 2003.

Other companies: Australian Ballet (2005-11).

Guest performances: Le Spectre de la rose as a guest Principal with English National Ballet and Fall for Dance Festival, New York.

Dance hero/heroine: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Sylvie Guillem – they still inspire me every day to be a greater dancer.

If you weren’t a dancer what would you be: Perhaps a pianist or interior designer, or maybe even a horticulturist.

Mathias Dingman

PRINCIPAL

Born: South Carolina, USA

Trained: Kirov Academy of Ballet, Washington DC

Joined: 2006; Principal, 2015

Repertory: Aladdin (title role), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Cinderella (Prince), Coppélia (Franz), Don Quixote (Basilio), La Fille mal gardée (Colas, Alain), Giselle (Albrecht), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo, Mercutio), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried, Benno), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund, Bluebird), Chacona, Concerto (first movement), The Dream (Puck), Grosse Fuge, In the Upper Room, Theme and Variations (lead role), 5 Tangos.

Guest performances: I was invited by Tamaro Rojo to dance with English National Ballet in Wayne Eagling’s Nutcracker. I performed with Star Dancers Ballet in the NHK Gala Tokyo (2017) alongside Miyako Yoshida. In 2018, Iain Webb invited me to perform Sir Frederick Ashton’s Rhapsody with Sarasota Ballet.

Created roles:

Sky in Juanjo Arqués’s Ignite, Ariel in David Bintley’s The Tempest and the solo male in Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces.

Samara Downs Principal

Born: Ashford, Kent

Trained: Caroline Shaw and Pauline Kellett Dance Schools, and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2003; Principal, 2016

Repertory: Coppélia (Swanilda), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), The Prince of the Pagodas (Empress Épine), Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), The Taming of the Shrew (Katherina), Carmina burana (Fortuna), Checkmate (Black Queen), Grosse Fuge, In the Upper Room, A Month in the Country (Natalia Petrovna), Sylvia (Diana), Giselle (Myrtha), Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (Striptease Girl).

First role with Company:

As a nine-year-old Junior Associate of the Royal Ballet, I was a child in the party scene in The Nutcracker. This is the ballet that I have danced the most (around 300 performances!). Despite this, it remains for me the best version of this Christmas delight. As I stand at the back of the stage ready to perform Snow Fairy, watching the stage crew manoeuvring the sets through the magical transformation scene, it still brings a lump to my throat.

First important role:

MacMillan’s Concerto is a ballet that has marked my journey from student to Principal. As an 18 year old I performed the first movement girl at school, and then years later, the third movement principal girl here.

C Line Gittens Principal

Born: Trinidad; grew up in Vancouver, Canada

Trained: with her mother Janet Gittens and at Vancouver’s Goh Ballet Academy

Joined: 2006; Principal, 2016

Repertory: Coppélia (Swanilda), Don Quixote (Kitri), La Fille mal gardée (Lise), Giselle (Myrtha), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora) Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Queen of Hearts), Carmina burana (Fortuna), Elite Syncopations (Bethena Concert Waltz), Interlinked, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (Striptease Girl).

Awards: Royal Academy of Dance Solo Seal, 2004; Gold Medal and Audience Choice Awards, Genée International Ballet Competition, 2005; Prix de Lausanne finalist, 2006; MPhil from the University of Birmingham, 2012.

Proudest off-stage moment: In 2011, I was invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate young performers in the arts. The event was a dream come true and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet her Majesty the Queen. Equally, it was an honour to be invited to Buckingham Palace in 2016 to perform Swanilda (Coppélia) in the presence of HRH Prince Charles.

Momoko Hirata Principal

Born: Gunma, Japan

Trained: Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2003; Principal, 2013

Repertory: Cinderella (title role, Spring), Coppélia (Swanilda), Don Quixote (Kitri), La Fille mal gardée (Lise), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Rose Fairy), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Serenade (leading role), The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), Sylvia (title role), Theme and Variations (lead couple), Apollo, Agon, Concerto (first movement), The Dream (Titania), Grosse Fuge, In the Upper Room, Mozartiana (Principal Couple), Paquita (lead couple).

Awards: Prix de Lausanne winner, 2001; Critics Circle National Dance Awards 2021, nomination for Outstanding Female Classical

Performance for the title role in Giselle; Critics Circle National Dance Award 2022 ,nomination for Best Female Classical Dancer.

Other companies: Barcelona Ballet (2011-13).

Created roles: Spring in David Bintley’s Cinderella.

Guest performances: Nina Ananiashvili’s 30 Years on Stage gala (Tchaikovsky pas de deux); NHK Gala, Tokyo ( pas de deux from The Nutcracker).

Favourite costume: Any costume designed by John Macfarlane.

Brandon Lawrence Principal

Born: Bradford

Trained: With Penny Murray, Andie Nydza and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2011; Principal, 2019

Repertory: Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Cinderella (Prince), Don Quixote (Basilio, Espada), La Fille mal gardée (Colas), Giselle (Albrecht), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), Carmina burana (Third Seminarian), Concerto (second movement), Elite Syncopations (Bethena Waltz), End of Time, Lazuli Sky, Liebestod, Radio and Juliet, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Southern Cape Zebra), The Taming of the Shrew (Lucentio), The Moor’s Pavane (Othello).

Awards / Nominations: National Dance Awards nominee for Best Male Classical Performance (2018, 2019, 2022) and Best Male Dancer, Classical (2019), RAD Phyllis Bedells Award (2008).

Created roles:

Principal role in George Williamson’s Embrace, Pan in Ruth Brill’s Arcadia, La Grâce in David Bintley’s The King Dances, Alexander Whitley’s Kin, Red Couple in Juanjo Arqués’s Ignite, and roles in Didy Veldman’s Sense of Time, Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces and Wink, Jack Lister’s A Brief Nostalgia, Miguel Altunaga’s City of a Thousand Trades and Juliano Nunes’s Interlinked.

Miki Mizutani Principal

Born: Japan

Trained: Acri-Horimoto Ballet Academy and English National Ballet School

Joined: 2012; First Soloist 2018; Principal 2022

Repertory: Aladdin (Princess Badr al-Budur), Cinderella (title role, Spring), Coppélia (Swanilda), Don Quixote (Kitri), La Fille mal gardée (Lise), Giselle (title role), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara), The Prince of the Pagodas (Princess Belle Sakura), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), Swan Lake (Odette/ Odile), Sylvia (title role), Concerto (first movement), Interlinked, Serenade

Guest performances: Ballet Asteras – an annual showcase of Japanese dancers who mainly perform outside the country.

Most challenging role: The title role in Sylvia – it requires a lot of stamina and the ability to change character in Act II.

Favourite full-length ballet: I enjoyed dancing Lise in La Fille mal gardée –it’s such a English ballet – I like acting and loved hearing reactions form the audience.

C Sar Morales

PRINCIPAL

Born: Chile

Trained: Municipal Theatre’s Ballet School in Santiago before being offered a scholarship by Ben Stevenson to train at the Houston Ballet Academy

Joined: 2008

Awards: Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer, National Dance Awards 2021.

Repertory: Aladdin (title role), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Cinderella (Prince), Giselle (Albrecht), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), Sylvia (Amynta), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund), Chacona, Enigma Variations (Arthur Troyte Griffith), Serenade, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Southern Cape Zebra), Theme and Variations (lead role).

Other companies: Ballet de Santiago, Chile, and English National Ballet.

Repertory with other companies: Manon (Des Grieux), Le Corsaire (Conrad) and Le Spectre de la rose with Ballet de Santiago.

Guest performances: Ballet de Santiago, Chile, South African Ballet Theatre, Vienna Staatsoper, Nureyev Ballet Festival, New National Theatre, Tokyo, and many galas.

Favourite full-length ballet: Swan Lake is very special to me because, after my first-ever performance of it with Ballet de Santiago, when I was just 18, I was promoted to Principal by Ivan Nagy.

Yaoqian Shang

PRINCIPAL

Born: China

Trained: Beijing Dance Academy and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2013; First Soloist, 2018; Principal, 2022

Repertory: Beauty and the Beast (Wild Girl), Cinderella (title role), Don Quixote (Kitri), La Fille mal gardée (Lise), Hobson’s Choice (Salvation Army), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), The Prince of the Pagodas (Princess Belle Sakura), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), Swan Lake (Odette/Odile), The Tempest (Miranda), 24, Chacona, 5 Tangos, E=mc2, Interlinked, Radio and Juliet, Solitaire (The Girl), The Shakespeare Suite (Juliet), ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Great Auk), Theme and Variations, Tombeaux.

Guest performances: Les Flammes de Paris pas de deux at a gala in Mexico, 2016; Polunin Project, London Coliseum, 2017.

Most important role: Princess Belle Sakura in The Prince of the Pagodas as it was the first principal role I danced and it was during my first season with the Company – it means a lot to me.

Favourite role: The title role in Romeo and Juliet – I feel like I have developed more of my artistic side by dancing this role. It allows so much freedom on stage.

Tyrone Singleton

PRINCIPAL

Born: Surrey

Trained: Arts Educational School in Tring and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2003; Principal, 2013

Repertory: Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Cinderella (Prince), Coppélia (Franz), Edward II (Gaveston, Mortimer), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), The Tempest (Caliban), Agon, Carmina burana (Third Seminarian), City of a Thousand Trades, Concerto (second movement), Don Quixote pas de deux, In the Upper Room, Radio and Juliet, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Southern Cape Zebra), Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Twilight

Guest appearances:

Faster and Carmina burana with the National Ballet of Japan.

Dream roles:

The male leads in Neumeier’s The Lady of the Camellias and Cranko’s Onegin

Most challenging role:

Romeo in MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. For years you train to perfect your technique, and in Romeo and Juliet the technique has to be so secure that it allows you to be totally free to portray the emotion and character through your movement.

Most enjoyable experience on stage:

The most enjoyable roles are always those I’m fully immersed in during performance, so much so that I forget who and where I am.

Vadim Muntagirov Guest Principal

Russian dancer Vadim is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. He trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and joined the Company from English National Ballet as a Principal in March 2014.

His roles with The Royal Ballet include Basilio (Don Quixote), Albrecht (Giselle), Prince Siegfried (Swan Lake), Aminta (Sylvia), Prince Florimund (The Sleeping Beauty), Prince (The Nutcracker), Colas (La Fille mal gardée), Franz (Coppélia), Apollo, the Girl’s Cousin (The Invitation), Young Man (Two Pigeons), Onegin and Lensky (Onegin), Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Des Grieux (Manon), Jack/ Knave of Hearts (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Florizel (The Winter’s Tale), Don José (Carmen) and Lt Colonel Vershinin (Winter Dreams).

Muntagirov’s awards include the 2011 Outstanding Male Performance (Classical), 2015 and 2018 Best Male Dancer at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards, the 2013 and 2018 Benois de la danse and the 2021 Dance Europe Outstanding Dancer Award. As a guest artist he has danced with companies including Paris Opéra Ballet, Mariinsky and American Ballet Theatre, in repertory including Solor (La Bayadère), Armand (Marguerite and Armand) and at National Ballet of Japan, Bavarian State Ballet, Mikhailovsky and Cape Town City Ballet.

Polina Semionova Guest Principal

Polina was born in Moscow and trained there at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. In 2002 Polina was invited to join the Berlin State Opera Ballet as a Principal Artist, becoming the youngest Principal in the company’s history. She continues to dance with the company as a Resident Guest Principal Artist.

She is a former Principal Artist with American Ballet Theatre (2012-16). Polina dances almost all major roles in classical ballet and has appeared as a guest artist at companies around the world including: Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), Teatro alla Scala (Milan) Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow), English National Ballet (London), Bavarian State Ballet (Munich), Vienna State Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Mikhailovsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), Ballet of Rome, Ballet de l’Opera de Lyon, The Tokyo Ballet, The Kremlin Ballet (Moscow), Béjart Ballet Lausanne and Finnish National Ballet.

Vadim Muntagirov and Polina Semionova’s appearances with Birmingham Royal Ballet are generously supported by Mrs Aud Jebsen.

Rory Mackay

Principal Character Artist

Born: Glasgow

Trained: Dance School of Scotland and the Royal Ballet Upper School

Joined: 2002; First Soloist, 2019; Principal Character Artist, 2022

Repertory: Aladdin (Mahgrib, Sultan), Beauty and the Beast (The Merchant), Coppélia (Dr Coppélius), Cyrano (Ragueneau), Don Quixote (title role), La Fille mal gardée (Widow Simone), Giselle (Hilarion), Hobson’s Choice (Albert Prosser), Romeo and Juliet (Tybalt, Lord Capulet), The Nutcracker (Drosselmeyer), Checkmate (Red King), In the Upper Room, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Southern Cape Zebra).

Engagement and Participation work: I was involved with Ballet Hoo! Ballet Changed My Life in 2006 and the more recent Lost Souls and Cinderella Dreams projects.

Additional Birmingham Royal Ballet activities: I am an Assistant Répétiteur, teaching class and directing rehearsals and I also work with the Jerwood Centre as a Rehabilitation coach.

Jonathan Payn

Principal Character Artist

Born: Ipswich

Trained: with my mother Janet Kinson and at The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 1993; First Soloist, 2006; Principal Character Artist, 2022

Repertory: Don Quixote (title role), Enigma Variations (Elgar), A Month in the Country (Rakitin), Hobson’s Choice (Henry Hobson), The Nutcracker (Drosselmeyer), Coppélia (Dr Coppélius), Swan Lake (Baron von Rothbart), Checkmate (The Red King), The Taming of the Shrew (Baptista), The Tempest (Alonso) and many character roles.

Dance-related work: I assisted in the staging of Enigma Variations for Sarasota Ballet, 2016. I hold Fellowship teaching status in the Cecchetti Method and teach regularly. I have been a guest teacher in South Africa, Australia, Japan and Malta.

Additional Birmingham Royal Ballet activities: As Artistic Enrichment Officer, I use the skills and talents of the dancers to enrich our engagement activities. I am also an Assistant Répétiteur, teaching class and directing rehearsals.

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Kit Holder

FIRST SOLOIST/ BRB2 ARTISTIC CO-ORDINATOR

Born: Leamington Spa

Trained: with Audrey Roper in Sutton Coldfield and at The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2000; First Soloist, 2019

Repertory: Don Quixote (Sancho Panzo, Gamache), Edward II (Warwick, Lancaster), La Fille mal gardée (Widow Simone, Alain), Giselle (Hilarion), The Nutcracker (many roles, including Drosselmeyer), 24, Carmina burana (Seminarian), The Dream (Bottom), Enigma Variations (Hew David Steuart Powell), In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs, Radio and Juliet, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café (Brazilian Woolly Monkey).

Choreography: Small Worlds, Printer Jam, 9–5, Quatrain, Tsfasmaniana, Seasons in our World (Winter) for BRB and Stems for The Royal Ballet’s International Draft Works; ballets for Elmhurst Ballet School, Ballet Central and Ballet Black; and Wolves Are People Too, an independent project in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Career if not a dancer: I am studying psychology. I am fascinated by the mental element of achieving and maintaining high performance at individual and cultural levels.

Yu Kurihara

FIRST SOLOIST

Born: Japan

Trained: The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2018; Soloist 2021; First Soloist 2022

Repertory: Don Quixote (Kitri), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), Swan Lake (Swan Maiden), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), La Fille mal gardée, Chacona, Ignite and Interlinked.

Created roles: Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky.

Awards: First prize at the Youth America Grand Prix (2015); Royal Ballet School Ashton Award, 2018.

Other companies: Asami Maki Ballet, Tokyo (Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty).

Proudest on-stage moment: Curtain calls, when I enjoy the results of all my work.

Yvette Knight First Soloist

Born: Lancashire

Trained: The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2007; First Soloist, 2018

Repertory: Cinderella (Winter), Don Quixote (Dulcinea), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Fairy), Swan Lake (Two Swan Maidens), Concerto (second movement), Elite Syncopations ( Alaskan Rag, Bethena Concert Waltz), E=mc2 (Energy lead), Les Rendezvous (lead), Serenade (Waltz lead), The Taming of the Shrew (Bianca).

Created roles: Iris in David Bintley’s The Tempest in 2016. Favourite dancers as a child: Darcey Bussell and Jamie Topper.

Teaching ballet: I have enjoyed teaching at Birmingham’s Elmhurst Ballet School for the past couple of years and seeing the students’ progress.

Most rewarding role: The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Not only because it is one of my favourite roles, but it gave me an opportunity to create a special partnership with one of my favourite partners, Yasuo Atsuji.

Max Maslen

FIRST SOLOIST

Born: Bradford

Trained: Nydza School of Dance and Central School of Ballet

Joined: 2012; Soloist, 2018; First Soloist 2022

Repertory: Aladdin (title role), Beauty and the Beast (Raven), Coppélia (Franz), Don Quixote (Basilio), Hobson’s Choice (Will Mossop), La Fille mal gardée (Colas), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund), Swan Lake (Benno), E=mc2 (lead role), Elite Syncopations (Golden Hours), The King Dances (Le Roi), Ignite (Fire), Pineapple Poll (Sailor), Theme and Variations, 5 Tangos.

Created roles: George Williamson’s Embrace (Him) and roles in Alexander Whitley’s Kin. and David Bintley’s The King Dances

Most rewarding role: Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet – it’s both technically challenging and requires acting skills. When you die on stage you really are on your last legs! .

Dream role: Sergeant Troy in Far from the Madding Crowd. It’s a complex and dramatic role to interpret with some incredible pas de deux

Lachlan Monaghan

First Soloist

Born: Sydney, Australia

Trained: McDonald College, Sydney, and The Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2012; Soloist, 2018; First Soloist 2022

Repertory: Aladdin (title role), Cinderella (Prince), Coppélia (Franz), Don Quixote (Basilio), Giselle (Hilarion), Hobson’s Choice (Will Mossop), The Nutcracker (Prince), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo, Mercutio), The Sleeping Beauty (Prince Florimund), Swan Lake (Prince Siegfried), Chacona, Concerto (principal couple), The Dream (Demetrius), Elite Syncopations (Friday Night), In the Upper Room, Interlinked, Imminent, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (Hoofer), The Shakespeare Suite (Hamlet).

Created roles: Neptune in The Tempest and Démon in The King Dances (2015). Roles in Ruth Brill’s Arcadia (2017) and Jessica Lang’s Wink (2015).

Memorable performances: I performed at Buckingham Palace for HRH, The Prince of Wales.

Beatrice Parma First Soloist

Born: Prato, Italy

Trained: Teatro alla Scala, Milan and English National Ballet School

Joined: 2015; Soloist, 2019; First Soloist 2022

Repertory: Cinderella (title role), Coppélia (Swanilda), Don Quixote (Kitri), Giselle (Harvest pas de deux), Hobson’s Choice (Maggie Hobson), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), The Sleeping Beauty (Fairy of Temperament, Enchanted Princess), Swan Lake (Italian Princess), Chacona, Concerto, The Dream, Embrace, Four Scottish Dances, In the Upper Room, Interlinked, The Shakespeare Suite (Kate), Solitaire (Polka), Sense of Time.

Other companies: Soloist with Turkish State Opera and Ballet. Guest performances: Gala performances of pas de deux from La Fille mal gardée and The Sleeping Beauty, Etoile Ballet, Latvia.

Most important role: I feel so lucky to have danced Juliet, which has always been a dream role of mine. The feeling of being completely immersed into the story, to the point of forgetting I was performing in front of an audience, was incredibly unique and special.

Karla Doorbar Soloist

Born: Stoke-on-Trent

Trained: Jenny Brennan School of Dance and Royal Ballet School

Joined: 2011; Soloist, 2018

Repertory: Aladdin (Princess Badr al-Budur), Beauty and the Beast (Belle), Cinderella (Spring), Don Quixote (Kitri’s friend), La Fille mal gardée (Lise), The Nutcracker (Clara, Sugar Plum Fairy), The Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), The Taming of the Shrew (Bianca), Enigma Variations (Dorabella), Lazuli Sky, A Month in the Country (Vera).

Engagement and Participation work: I performed the role of Cinderella in the 2017 Cinderella Dreams performance project.

Proudest on-stage moment: Dancing Clara in Sir Peter Wright’s 90th birthday celebration of The Nutcracker was very special.

Most enjoyable experience on stage: Performing the wedding pas de deux from Aladdin at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. Sharing the stage with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia is amazing.

Most rewarding role: Vera in a Month in the Country, I loved discovering her character and the process of staging the ballet.

Yijing Zhang Soloist

Born: China

Trained: Beijing Dance Academy and Hamburg Ballet School

Joined: 2008; Soloist, 2016

Repertory: Coppélia (Prayer), Cinderella (Winter, Fairy Godmother), Don Quixote (Dulcinea, Mercedes), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Fairy, Arabian Dance), Romeo and Juliet (Lady Capulet), The Sleeping Beauty (Lilac Fairy, Fairy of Joy), Swan Lake (Two Swan Maidens, Hungarian Princess), Carmina burana (Roast Swan), Elite Syncopations (Alaskan Rag), The King Dances (Selene, la Lune), Interlinked, Lazuli Sky, Serenade (lead role), The Shakespeare Suite (Lady Ann).

Awards: Laureate, Prix de Lausanne, 2006; Gold Medal, Beijing Ballet Dance School Invitational, 2006; Gold Medal, Fourth Shanghai International Ballet Competition, 2006.

Created roles: Roles in Jessica Lang’s Lyric Pieces and Wink, Alexander Whitley’s Kin. and Miguel Altunaga’s City of a Thousand Trades.

Most important role: Selene, la Lune in The King Dances.

Riku Ito Soloist

Born: Yokohama, Japan

Trained: Yumi Kitamori Ballet

Studio and the School of the Hamburg Ballet

Joined: 2022

Other companies: Northern Ballet (2014-22)

Repertory with Northern Ballet: Kenneth MacMillan: Gloria (Solo man), Concerto (Three solo men), Elite Syncopations (Friday Night); David Nixon: Dracula (lead role), Cinderella (Prince), Three Musketeers (Dartagnan), The Nutcracker (Prince, Chinese, Russian, Spanish Dances, King Rat), Dangerous Liaisons (Vicomte de Valmont), The Great Gatsby (Jay Gatsby), Beauty and the Beast (Beast), Little Mermaid (Sealord Lyre), Peter Pan (Michael); Jean Christophe Maillot: Romeo and Juliet (Benvolio and Acolytes); Cathy Marston: Victoria (Lord Melbourne); Drew McOnie: Merlin (Lead role); John Neumeier: Mozart 338 (main couple), Yondering, The Sleeping Beauty (Bluebird) and Spring and Fall.

Created roles: David Nixon’s Dracula (Old Dracula), Kenneth Tindal’s Geisha (Takeda male lead role) and I am Mer-Lin a short digital film/ballet by Charlotte Edmonds.