2017/2018 Promotions/Comings and Goings

[its the mom]

Just saw this over at balletco forum.  Lots of changes at English National Ballet.

 

https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/promotions-new-dancers-joining-company-2017-18-season/

[Ashton Fan]

Another change at ENB. Cesar Corrales has announced his resignation from the company saying that his performances at the Coliseum in January 2018 will be some of his last as a company member. Kevin O'Hare has announced that Corrales will be joining the RB as a First Soloist from the beginning of next season. Tamara Rojo has issued a rather terse statement in connection with his departure which does not mention him by name.The RB announcement makes it clear that the sequence of events was Corrales' resignation followed by him approaching the RB and being offered a job. There is no indication what Corrales will be doing in the interim.

The ENB is a company in transition with recently appointed senior dancers settling in and learning new repertory and a couple of very talented dancers working in Munich. The problem for ENB is that while it offers the young dancer plenty of opportunities to dance, to learn stagecraft, to build up stamina and learn the core classical repertory in the early stage of a career, it performs a very limited repertory. In any one season it will dance three full length ballets one of which is invariably Nutcracker. After a time these limitations, which may be beneficial in the early years of a career, must come to be be a cause of some frustration when compared with what a company like the RB has to offer. Each year the RB performs six or seven full lengths apart from the Nutcracker, dips into its back catalogue and also offers the possibility of working on new ballets with one of the three choreographers who regularly work with the company.

Corrales' imminent arrival will make the career paths of several of the talented young men currently at First Soloist and Soloist level in the RB somewhat less certain. Up until now they may quite reasonably have seen themselves as being in the running for promotion to principal  when Watson and Bonelli retire. Now who can say?

Edited December 24, 2017 by Ashton Fan

[its the mom]

16 hours ago, Ashton Fan said:

Another change at ENB. Cesar Corrales has announced his resignation from the company saying that his performances at the Coliseum in January 2018 will be some of his last as a company member. Kevin O'Hare has announced that Corrales will be joining the RB as a First Soloist from the beginning of next season. Tamara Rojo has issued a rather terse statement in connection with his departure which does not mention him by name.The RB announcement makes it clear that the sequence of events was Corrales' resignation followed by him approaching the RB and being offered a job. There is no indication what Corrales will be doing in the interim.

The ENB is a company in transition with recently appointed senior dancers settling in and learning new repertory and a couple of very talented dancers working in Munich. The problem for ENB is that while it offers the young dancer plenty of opportunities to dance, to learn stagecraft, to build up stamina and learn the core classical repertory in the early stage of a career, it performs a very limited repertory. In any one season it will dance three full length ballets one of which is invariably Nutcracker. After a time these limitations, which may be beneficial in the early years of a career, must come to be be a cause of some frustration when compared with what a company like the RB has to offer. Each year the RB performs six or seven full lengths apart from the Nutcracker, dips into its back catalogue and also offers the possibility of working on new ballets with one of the three choreographers who regularly work with the company.

Corrales' imminent arrival will make the career paths of several of the talented young men currently at First Soloist and Soloist level in the RB somewhat less certain. Up until now they may quite reasonably have seen themselves as being in the running for promotion to principal  when Watson and Bonelli retire. Now who can say?

While I agree that RB offers more for dancers in terms of full-length, I think it's quite sad that he didn't even give ENB a year as a principal dancer.  ENB gave him so much opportunity and moved him along the ranks very quickly.  Nothing wrong with a little respect and gratitude in this business.

[Ashton Fan]

I make no comment about whether or not Corrales is showing insufficient  gratitude for the development opportunities which ENB gave him. I am merely reporting the latest development at ENB and the possible impact of Corrales' move to the RB next season on the career paths of dancers like First Soloists Hay and Ball, and Soloists Clarke and Bracewell. However Rojo may be more concerned about the possibility of another company principal Laurretta Summerscales not returning to ENB after her year in Munich than the loss of Corrales . Summerscales may find the temptation of the wide repertory which Munich can offer her too strong to resist particularly as at present working in Germany is  straightforward but could become difficult when, and if, the UK leaves the EU.

Of course things may not work out quite as Corrales hopes. There is plenty of competition at the RB. He  may anticipate that he will get the opportunity to dance in MacMillan's big narrative works but he is joining the company next season as a First Soloist and will have to wait his turn for roles like other dancers at that level do. More significantly for his career plans by the beginning of next seasons it is quite possible that he will not be the only new First Soloist in competition for roles. Both Reece Clarke and William Bracewell, who took a demotion when he joined the company from BRB, could be in the running for promotion to that rank at the end of this season. As insiders both Bracewell and Clarke may have a bit of an advantage over a newcomer. Clarke is frequently  cast with Cuthbertson and that looks set to continue for the rest of the season and Bracewell may well have established himself by the time that Corrales arrives on the scene. This is Bracewell's  first season with the RB but he gained a lot of valuable experience with BRB and garnered very positive reviews from the critics for his work with that  company. Clarke and Bracewell  are not the only competition that Corrales will face. There are plenty of other talented young men at every level in the company. You can't move for them. Things may not move as quickly for Corrales at the RB as they did at ENB.

 

Edited December 25, 2017 by Ashton Fan