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ABT 2022 Summer promotions


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Announcement:

CATHERINE HURLIN AND ROMAN ZHURBIN PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

DANIEL CAMARGO TO JOIN ABT AS PRINCIPAL DANCER

BREANNE GRANLUND, SUNG WOO HAN, BETSY McBRIDE, CHLOE MISSELDINE AND SUNMI PARK PROMOTED TO SOLOIST

NEW YORK, NY (July 12, 2022)  Catherine Hurlin and Roman Zhurbin have been appointed to the rank of Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre. Breanne Granlund, Sung Woo Han, Betsy McBride, Chloe Misseldine, and SunMi Park have been promoted to the rank of Soloist. Daniel Camargo, a Guest Artist with ABT for the 2022 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House, will join the Company as a Principal Dancer. The appointments, announced today by ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie, are effective September 1, 2022.

PRINCIPAL DANCERS

Born in New York City, Catherine Hurlin began her dance training at Scarsdale Ballet Studio and Westchester Dance Academy. In 2008, she accepted a full scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School under the direction of Franco De Vita. Hurlin received several awards during her training and attended ABT’s Summer Intensive as a National Training Scholar from 20102012. She performed the role of “Clara” in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall for three years. As a student, she performed with ABT at the Metropolitan Opera House in Mozartiana, The Sleeping Beauty, and Le Corsaire, and created the role of Young Clara in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker. Hurlin joined ABT Studio Company in 2012 and became an apprentice with the main Company in December 2013. She joined the corps de ballet in June 2014 and was promoted to Soloist in September 2018. Her repertoire with ABT includes Kitri in Don Quixote, Myrta in Giselle, Clara, the Princess in Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, and leading roles in repertory works. She has created roles including Callirhoe in Of Love and Rage, Hail in The Seasons, Mademoiselle Marianne Chartreuse in Whipped Cream, and leading roles in Let Me Sing Forevermore and New American Romance. Hurlin was a Clive Barnes Award finalist in 2015. She received the Barbara and John Lehman Dance Honor by the Princess Grace Foundation in 2018 and The Erik Bruhn Prize in 2019.

Roman Zhurbin was born in Moscow, Russia, and came to the United States at age 13. He began his ballet training at 15 at LaGuardia High School and received training at Studio Maestro during his high school years. In 2003, he attended American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive and was asked to join ABT Studio Company. Zhurbin joined ABT as an apprentice in April 2004 and became a member of the corps de ballet in April 2005. He was promoted to Soloist in August 2014. His roles with the Company include Dr. Coppélius in Coppélia, Don Quixote in Don Quixote, Lysander in The Dream, the Elegy Pas de Deux from With a Chance of Rain, the Father in Fall River Legend, Kaschei in Alexei Ratmansky’s Firebird, Hilarion in Giselle, Death in The Green Table, The Man She Must Marry in Jardin aux Lilas, Monsieur GM and the Jailer in Manon, The Moor in The Moor’s Pavane, Drosselmeyer in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Prince Gremin in Onegin, The Friend in Pillar of Fire, Father in Prodigal Son, the Head Wrangler in Rodeo, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Some Assembly Required, von Rothbart (Lakeside) in Swan Lake, and leading roles in repertory works. Zhurbin created the King of Babylon and Hermocrates in Of Love and Rage, the Fiance’s Father in On the Dnieper, Cassandre in Harlequinade, Alonso in The Tempest, Boris Wutki in Whipped Cream, and featured roles in Dream within a Dream (deferred) and Everything Doesn’t Happen at Once.

Daniel Camargo was born in Sorocaba, Brazil. He joined the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany in 2005, studying under the Russian teacher Peter Pestov. After graduating in 2009, Camargo joined the Stuttgart Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted to soloist in 2012. He was appointed principal dancer with that company in 2013. In 2016, he joined Dutch National Ballet as a principal dancer. Camargo has received several awards, including the Audience Choice Award at The Erik Bruhn Prize competition in 2011 and the Premio Positano in 2017. He was nominated for the Benois de la Danse in 2018 and 2019. Camargo has performed with several international ballet companies, including the Stuttgart Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Opera di Roma, Czech National Ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, The Tokyo Ballet, The Kremlin Ballet, the Mariinsky Theatre, The Royal Ballet, and Teatro Colón. He appeared as a Guest Artist with ABT for the 2022 Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House. His roles with the Company include Basilio in Don Quixote, Dionysius in Of Love and Rage, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake.

SOLOISTS

Breanne Granlund began her classical training at the age of nine years old with the Ballet Academy of Texas under the direction of Lisa Slagle. There, she danced the title role in Skibine's Firebird and Paquita in Paquita at the Regional Dance America Southwest Convention. Granlund was chosen to be one of ABT's National Training Scholars for three years and received the Bender Foundation Award in 2014. That same year, she won first place in the senior category at the Youth America Grand Prix in Dallas, Texas. Granlund joined ABT Studio Company in 2014, joined the main Company as an apprentice in April 2016, and became a member of the corps de ballet in October 2016. Her repertoire includes a Flower Girl in Don Quixote, a Shade in La Bayadère, Younger Sister in Pillar of Fire, one of the Nutcracker’s Sisters in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, The Swallow in The Seasons, the pas de trois and a little swan inSwan Lake, and featured roles in Deuce Coupe, In the Upper Room, and A Time There Was. She created featured roles in Convivium and Praedicere.

Sung Woo Han was born in Seoul, South Korea. He began his ballet training at the Sun-hwa Arts Middle School in his hometown and entered Korea National University of Arts at the age of 17. Han has won numerous awards including Beijing International Ballet Invitational Competition (at which he received the Grand First Prize), International Ballet Competition- Varna, and Youth America Grand Prix. In 2011, Han placed the second prize from Prix de Lausanne and received a full scholarship to the Royal Ballet. Han joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in December 2013. His repertoire includes a Cavalier in Cinderella, the Grand Pas de Deux in Don Quixote, Persian Man in The Golden Cockerel, Grand Pas Classique, the Spanish Dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, Benno in Swan Lake, a leading role in Monotones II, and a featured role in Raymonda Divertissements. He created a Fairy Cavalier in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty.

Betsy McBride is originally from Coppell, Texas. She began her training at the Ballet Academy of Texas, and at age 14 joined Texas Ballet Theater’s School. She performed Clara in The Nutcracker with Texas Ballet Theater and joined the company under O.B.E. Ben Stevenson at age 15. McBride was an American Ballet Theatre National Training Scholar and performed in George Balanchine’s Mozartiana during ABT’s tour of Texas at age 11. She was awarded the Grand Prix at the 2007 Youth America Grand Prix Regional Competition and was a finalist at the 2012 Helsinki International Ballet Competition. McBride danced for Texas Ballet Theater, rising through the ranks to principal dancer, from 20072015. Some of her principal roles include in Ben Stevenson’s Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker, Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow, Solo Girl in Balanchine’s Rubies, and pas de trois in Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries. McBride joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in June 2015. Her repertoire with ABT includes a Flower Girl and the Lead Gypsy in Don Quixote, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Rosaline in Romeo and Juliet, Snow in The Seasons, Silver Fairy in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty, the pas de trois and the Hungarian Princess in Swan Lake, a leading role in Symphonic Variations, and featured roles in repertory works. She created a featured role in Indestructible Light.

Chloe Misseldine began her classical training at Orlando Ballet School. She attended ABT Summer Intensives in Orange County, California and New York City as a National Training Scholar from 20162018. In 2016, she performed a traditional Chinese fan dance called Mo Li Hua in the CCTV New Year’s Gala known as the Beijing Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan), broadcast to over 700 million viewers. At age 15, Misseldine earned second place in the 2017 Youth America Grand Prix New York City Finals and performed at the YAGP “Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow” Gala. In 2018, she was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne and joined ABT Studio Company. Misseldine joined the main Company as an apprentice in December 2019 and became a member of the corps de ballet in September 2021. Her repertoire with ABT includes a Flower Girl in Don Quixote, Queen of Babylon in Of Love and Rage, the Spanish dance in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, the pas de trois and a big swan in Swan Lake, and featured roles in Bernstein in a Bubble and La Follia Variations.

SunMi Park was born in South Korea and began ballet at age 10. She received ballet training at Sun-hwa Arts Middle and High School from 20122016 and at Korea National Institute of Gifted Arts from 20142016. She was awarded the First Prize at Moscow International Ballet Competition in 2017 and at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2018. Park graduated from Korea National University of Arts in August 2019, and joined American Ballet Theatre Studio Company that September. She became an apprentice with the main Company in November 2021 and joined the corps de ballet in February 2022. Her roles with ABT include a Flower Girl in Don Quixote and the pas de trois in Swan Lake.

American Ballet Theatre’s Summer season at the Metropolitan Opera House continues through Saturday, July 16, 2022. For tickets and information, please visit www.abt.org.

ABOUT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 citiesworldwide. ABT’s repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces. In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated America's National Ballet Company®.

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I'm surprised Zimmi Coker wasn't promoted. While younger and newer to the corps than some of the others promoted to soloist, she has certainly been dancing a soloist's workload successfully for some time now and it would seem appropriate to recognize that. In the next cycle, hopefully! She certainly deserves it.

I'll be glad for more opportunities to see Daniel Camargo. He was definitely one of the brighter spots in "Of Love and Rage" for me. Real dramatic ability and stage presence, which IMO a number of the male principals at ABT currently lack. 

It's good to see Betsey McBride promoted. I admire immensely the risk she took in leaving a principal contract with Houston Ballet to come in as a corps dancer with ABT and work her way back up again. 

Roman's promotion surprises me. He doesn't dance roles I think of as principal roles, though obviously he is a valued and longstanding member of the company. I wonder if his repertoire will change now, though that seems unlikely given how relatively late in his career he is. I wonder if Kevin wanted to make the promotion knowing it wouldn't happen under the new leadership?

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Good to see Betsy get promoted. She was soloing at Texas Ballet Theater in Fort Worth before she joined ABT. Been fun watching her grow from that time, albeit remotely through her social media. Hoping Zimmi gets promoted soon, too, but she is indeed young. 

Very excited to see this all evolve. Good work, everybody. 

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1 hour ago, MarzipanShepherdess said:

 

It's good to see Betsey McBride promoted. I admire immensely the risk she took in leaving a principal contract with Houston Ballet to come in as a corps dancer with ABT and work her way back up again. 

 

She was with Texas Ballet Theater, not Houston Ballet.   Is Houston Ballet the same thing as Texas Ballet Theater?   

Edited by abatt
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Very curious about SunMi Park's promotion seeing her bio as for less rep than most promoted? Happy for Roman to be finally recognized, guess the saying goes better late than never?! Same with Misseldine although she seems to have won quite a few awards? I can't see having one good season to be the judge so it should be interesting once the new AD starts.

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26 minutes ago, abatt said:

She was with Texas Ballet Theater, not Houston Ballet.   Is Houston Ballet the same thing as Texas Ballet Theater?   

Nope. Texas Ballet Theatre was once known as Dallas Forth Worth Ballet. Different company.

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5 minutes ago, stuben said:

Very curious about SunMi Park's promotion seeing her bio as for less rep than most promoted? Happy for Roman to be finally recognized, guess the saying goes better late than never?! Same with Misseldine although she seems to have won quite a few awards? I can't see having one good season to be the judge so it should be interesting once the new AD starts.

An interesting fact about Chloe Misseldine - she actually is second generation ABT.  Her mother is the Chinese ballerina Yan Chen who danced at ABT in the 1990's.  I saw Yan Chen as Swanilda in "Coppelia" in which she was charming (I think her partner was Angel Corella).  Chen was working her way up the ranks but was plagued by injuries and also was married and started a family which also includes Chloe's older brother Adam. 

So we know where the talent comes from.

Edited by FauxPas
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Thrilled to see this promotion for Hurlin - well deserved!

I too am surprised by the rapid rise of Misseldine and Park! I’ve seen rave reviews of Misseldine on this board, so perhaps less of a surprise than Park. Any reviews of Park this season?

These rapid promotions made me think of the talented Elisabeth Beyer who is still inexplicably in the Studio Company. When will she finally get an apprenticeship and corps contract? I think she’s around 20, so slightly older than Misseldine. Would love to know if anyone has intel on that situation…

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8 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

An interesting fact about Chloe Misseldine - she actually is second generation ABT.  Her mother is the Chinese ballerina Yan Chen who danced at ABT in the 1990's.  I saw Yan Chen as Swanilda in "Coppelia" in which she was charming (I think her partner was Angel Corella).  Chen was working her way up the ranks but was plagued by injuries and also was married and started a family which also includes Chloe's older brother Adam. 

So we know where the talent comes from.

Yes! Chloe is also lucky in that her mom has been her lifelong coach and is guest ballet mistress at ABT Stuco and sometimes teaches company class. We know the lack of coaching at ABT (Irina Kolpakova cannot coach everyone) and getting outside coaching must be expensive so development is hard without a good coach.

They were on a podcast together with Robert Hill and they mentioned that they were actually grateful for the pandemic because it allowed Yan to coach Chloe in Orlando and really work on the technique, "the little stuff" and artistry.  

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16 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

An interesting fact about Chloe Misseldine - she actually is second generation ABT.  Her mother is the Chinese ballerina Yan Chen who danced at ABT in the 1990's.  I saw Yan Chen as Swanilda in "Coppelia" in which she was charming (I think her partner was Angel Corella).  Chen was working her way up the ranks but was plagued by injuries and also was married and started a family which also includes Chloe's older brother Adam. 

So we know where the talent comes from.

Thanks for the info.  I remember Yan Chen very well.  Yes, she was paired with Angel Corella in several  ballets. 

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39 minutes ago, Helene said:

Ben Stevenson, the former and long-time AD of Houston Ballet before Stanton Welch, is the AD Laureate of Texas Ballet Theater.

Thanks for that information--of course, Stevenson has a great track record spotting and developing talent.

Congratulations to all the dancers and let me voice a big thrill at Zhurbin's promotion.  The Royal Ballet has a category called "principal character artist" -- ABT doesn't have that specifically, but character dancers at the highest level deserve the recognition that comes with the title "principal"  (and the raise that I trust comes with that recognition). At ABT Zhurbin has filled that role, bringing added dimension and depth to numerous ballets. Having artists like that is part of what makes a ballet company great. Bravo!

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Yes, ABT used to perform Stevenson's Cinderella.  It was an entertainment for the kids, but not particularly satisfying as a ballet.  The choreography of the Ashton version, which ABT now performs, is so much more satisfying.  I wish they would bring it back. 

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36 minutes ago, abatt said:

Yes, ABT used to perform Stevenson's Cinderella.  It was an entertainment for the kids, but not particularly satisfying as a ballet.  The choreography of the Ashton version, which ABT now performs, is so much more satisfying.  I wish they would bring it back. 

Looks like Boston and Joffrey have done the Ashton Cinderella in recent years. I'm guessing this has something to do with rights, expenses, permissions, especially for Philadelphia Ballet.

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A little surprised to see *this* much movement, but overall very happy and well-deserved for all!

THRILLED for Hurlin!!! (But we've all been calling this one for a while...and it's so nice to see a true "homegrown" dancer rise up the ranks and get that principal promotion during Kevin's tenure, and I'm so happy her debuts this season have demonstrated that this most definitely earned. Definitely a little surprised by Zhurbin -- he's among the best of character actors/dancers, and IIRC his promotion to soloist a few years back was also a bit of a surprise to some as he already rarely danced true dancing roles, but he is very impactful in the roles he does perform and ABT is lucky to have him. I'm VERY excited about Camargo joining the company as principal...he's danced as much as any other principal male this season (perhaps aside from Ahn), and filled in several times last minute; when I read his bio at the start of the season and realized he didn't have a home company at the moment and had primarily been a guest artist, I was holding out that he might consider ABT! He's definitely experienced what being a part of ABT as a full-time principal would be like this season, and it seems that he has really enjoyed his time and experience with the company, and I think with the way the company schedule works, he will be able to continue to guest with other companies if he so chooses, but can be committed for the in the Fall/Spring!

I have to saw that Granlund & McBride's promotions are not surprising seeing as both have been in featured roles for a few years. Misseldine is without a doubt a star on the rise, and her promotion seems "fast" only compared to prior rate of company promotions...but that has seemed to change in recent years. Han is a strong corps male dancer and I think give the male soloist roster some depth -- for both dancing and character roles. I definitely expected at least 1 other male promotion to soloist, so a little surprised...but perhaps Curley & Frenette could still be fall promotions??? (with the change in leadership, I could see not wanting to rush, but also making sure dancers who have progressed and on the promotion track getting their due). I will agree Park's promotion is a little surprising -- not that I don't think she was on the soloist track, it just seems a little early...I like many would have had my bets on Coker first (I still fully expect this one to happen in the near future). 

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I remember the Stevenson Cinderella from my childhood! I saw it with the (now defunct) National Ballet--a performance with Fonteyn as guest artist. I'm not sure who her partner was but probably Desmond Kelly as he partnered her guest appearance in La Sylphide. Most of my memories of the ballet are of Fonteyn in Act I...but I remember loving the seasons sequence as well--which featured many of the dancers I was most familiar with in the company.

Mckenzie had danced for the National Ballet at one point in his career and when the company folded Stevenson bitterly but correctly pointed out that he had top male ballet dancers (he named Mckenzie and Kirk Peterson) as good as ABT's. Of course they both ended up at ABT! I remember ABT taking up the Stevenson Cinderella briefly--but I never saw it with them or had a chance to form an adult or Fonteyn-less opinion, but I can easily imagine it is suited to a number of companies' needs and budgets. 

I think ABT tried Kudelka's before Goldilocks-like finding the one that was "just right"--I was delighted when they aquired Ashton's.  I hope it returns soon--seems like it would be a great fit for a number of its principals--I'm thinking especially of some of the newer principals--and, given all the featured roles, for soloists as well...

Edited by Drew
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I have seen it posted that Olivia Tweedy has been promoted to Corps. I have not seen any information on Elisabeth Beyer, but I can not imagine she would spend a third year in Studio Company. I am surprised that Olivia Tweedy seems to be on the fast track as well. 

Edited by Beezus21
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18 hours ago, abatt said:

She was with Texas Ballet Theater, not Houston Ballet.   Is Houston Ballet the same thing as Texas Ballet Theater?   

Apologies, I mixed up the two companies in my earlier post! Nonetheless, I do admire McBride leaving a principal contract, even one with a less prestigious company, to dance in the corps at ABT.

Agree with everyone yearning for the return of Ashton's Cinderella. I enjoyed the aesthetic of the Kudelka production, with its gorgeous Art Deco sets and soigné costumes, but I love the Ashton production in its entirety. And the performances I remember attending seemed reasonably well sold.

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Here's an article that PointeMagazine did on Chloe Misseldine on her latest promotion to soloist. They have quotes from Nancy Raffe, Yan Chen (her mother and former soloist of ABT) and Kevin Mckenzie. 

https://pointemagazine.com/chloe-misseldine-ballet/ 

There is a funny full circle moment. Yan was former principal of now defunct National Ballet in Washington. When Kevin came to ABT from national ballet as artistic director he brought one dancer with him, Yan as a corps member who he promptly promoted to soloist following her 1st met season. Now at the end of his tenure at ABT, he promotes Chloe (Yan's daughter) to soloist after her first corps member. Which means Yan was one of his first promotions and Chloe one of his last, I guess that puts into perspective what 30 years is. 

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