Celebrating its tenth year, English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer competition will be held at Sadler’s Wells on Tuesday 7 May 2019.
Through this ‘highly anticipated annual event’ [Pointe Magazine], English National Ballet recognises the excellence of its artists. Selected by their peers, six of the company’s most promising dancers perform in front of an eminent panel of expert judges, before one receives the 2019 Emerging Dancer Award.
The recipients of the People’s Choice Award, selected by members of the public, and the Corps de Ballet Award, acknowledging the work on and off-stage of a member of the Corps de Ballet, will also be revealed.
Emerging Dancer is a key part of English National Ballet’s commitment to developing and nurturing talent within the Company. Last year’s Emerging Dancer Award winner, Daniel McCormick has since performed the role of Nutcracker in the Christmas favourite, the Pas de Trois and Spanish dance in Swan Lake and Lescaut in Manon.
The 2019 finalists are:
Alice Bellini
Bellini trained at La Scala Ballet School and Royal Ballet Upper School before joining English National Ballet as an Artist of the Company in 2017. One of her career highlights to date was dancing the pas de deux in Aszure Barton’s Fantastic Beings. Bellini was voted the 2018 People’s Choice Award winner at last year’s Emerging Dancer competition.
Emilia Cadorin
Cadorin has been an Artist of the Company since 2015. She trained at Il Balletto, Castelfranco Veneto and Boston Ballet Trainee. One of her favourite roles was in MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations and a career highlight has been performing Swan Lake in-the-round at the Royal Albert Hall. Highlights of this season have included dancing Lead Snowflake in Wayne Eagling’sNutcracker and cygnet in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake.
Julia Conway
London born Conway originally trained with Olga Semenova and Young Dancers Academy before further training with Magaly Suárez, Ayako Yamada, Isabelle Guérin and Royal Ballet Upper School, ahead of joining English National Ballet as an Artist of the Company in 2017. She came first place at the World Ballet Competition in 2014 and first place in Classical and Contemporary at the Youth American Grand Prix in 2015. Highlights from this season include dancing the Pas de Trois in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake and Lead Snowflake in Wayne Eagling’s Nutcracker.
Rentaro Nakaaki
Nakaaki graduated from English National Ballet School in 2018 and joined as an Artist of the Company. Prior to his training in England, he attended Sadamatsu Hamada Ballet School in Japan. Nakaaki was awarded first place at English National Ballet School’s 2018 Choreographic competition and second place at the Youth America Grand Prix 2015 in Japan.
Shale Wagman
Canadian Wagman won 1st prize and the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation Prize for excellent artistry at the 2018 Prix de Lausanne, before joining English National Ballet as an Artist of the Company. This season his roles have included the Beggar Chief in Kenneth MacMillan’sManon and the Pas de Trois and Neapolitan in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake. Wagman trained in Toronto, Canada at Vlad’s Dance Company and Stepanova Ballet Company, followed by Princess Grace Academy in Monte Carlo.
Rhys Antoni Yeomans
Yeomans joined as an Artist of the Company in 2017, after training with Centre Pointe, Manchester and English National Ballet School. At 12 years old he played Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical in the West End and in 2017 he was named the winner of the BBC Young Dancer Competition (Classical Ballet section). This season his roles have included the Neapolitan dance in Derek Deane’s Swan Lake.