Congratulations to English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer 2017 joint winners Rina Kanehara and Aitor Arrieta, presented by Artistic Director and Prima Ballerina Tamara Rojo.
Meet Rina Kanehara
Meet Aitor Arrieta
The Finalists
At a star studded event at Sadler’s Wells, the six finalists of English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer performed a pas de deux and a contemporary solo in front of panel renowned judges.
Finalists Isabelle Brouwers and Emilio Pavan performed the glorious Paquita grand pas.
Madison Kesesler and Guilherme Menezes presented the lovely La Sylphide pas de deux.
Joint winners Rina Kanehara and Aitor Arrieta wowed with their pas de deux from Esmeralda.
It was wonderful to see company artists performing principal roles. It gives an insight into the artist that they currently are and the artist that you can see they will grow into. Each pas de deux enabled the dancers to present their artistry and technical skill, working with their partner and shining on their own. These three spectacular performances were crowd pleasingly exquisite.
Contemporary solos
The contemporary solos included choreography by esteemed artists including Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (a Drift), Kirill Berlov (Proprioception), Myles Thatcher (We Move Lightly), Sebastian Kloborg (Flight Mode), Raimondo Rebeck (Blind Dreams) and Aleix Mane (SelF).
Whilst all of the performances were excellent and showcased these incredible dancers, there were certainly some highlights. Joint winners Rina Kanehara and Aitor Arrieta’s Esmerelda pas de deux was spectacular.
Flight Mode performed by Guilherme Menezes was the crowd pleaser of the night. Guilherme performed the complex and humorous choreography with perfection and character to the hilarious narration of a Ryanair in-flight announcement.
Again Rina Kanehara’s performance of the contemporary solo Blind Dreams was captivating, her movements steeped in emotion, indulgent in energy and uttering beguiling.
Cesar Corrales
Audiences were treated to a performance by last year’s Emerging Dancer winner Cesar Corrales together with Katja Khaniukova in Dox Quixote’s pas de deux. All eyes were on Cesar, who dominated with his incredible leaps and beautiful lines, he devoured the pirouettes, soared across the stage and electrified with every movement so astonishingly executed. Together Cesar and Katja bought the house down with the crowd roaring with applause.
Corps de Ballet Award
Tamara Rojo created a new award – the Corps de Ballet Award – to recognise the hard work and dedication of the dancers that are the backbone of the company.
This award was presented to Sarah Kundi for her work with young dancers, participation in ENB’s engagement programme and for exemplifying so many positive qualities.
People’s Choice Award
The popular People’s Choice Award (voted for by audience members) went to Georgia Bould, which is a huge honour for any dancer, as it represents which dancer has captivated audiences heart over the year’s performances.
English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer is an exciting opportunity to get to know the younger and more junior members of this innovative and riveting company.
This year’s event was live streamed on Facebook and Twitter, enabling a huge global audience to engage and watch these talented dancers from English National Ballet, one of the top ballet companies in the world.