English National Ballet Emerging Dancer 2022 Livestream  

English National Ballet’s Emerging Dancer returns this Thursday, May 19, showcasing the bright future of ballet with a global livestream broadcast from the Company’s east London home, the Mulryan Centre for Dance. 

The annual event recognizes the excellence of English National Ballet’s dancers. Six of the Company’s most promising dancers, selected and mentored by their peers, will perform in front of an eminent panel of expert judges, before one is named the 2022 Emerging Dancer. 

This year’s finalists will each perform a brand-new contemporary piece and a classical pas de deux in their pairings. Ashley Coupal and Noam Durandwill perform a segment from Coppélia, Eric Snyder and Chloe Keneally will perform a pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty and Angela Wood and Matthew Astley a piece from Paquita.

British-Turkish contemporary choreographer Ceyda Tanc’s work NEFES will be performed by Ashley Coupal and Noam Durand and accompanied by an original score created by English National Ballet First Soloist Fabian Reimair.

Ceyda said: “NEFES is a contemporary duet which takes inspiration from virtuoso male movements of Turkish folk dance. In this work I reference traditional movements of the Zeybek style, created by warriors to simulate the motion and form of eagles and hawks. Utilising this in a contemporary setting creates a unique movement vocabulary and highlights the immense strength and power of the dancers.”

English National Ballet dancer Rentaro Nakaaki’s piece entitled Cha Cha and Tiara has been created for Eric Snyder and Chloe Keneally to the music of La Cumparsita by Xavier Cugat. Rentaro said: “I used to listen to La Cumparsita almost every day as my parents are ballroom dancers. This version is a jazzier take on a tango, which I fell in love with. I focused on the unexpected layers hidden in the music and the overarching theme of this piece is an abstract, joyful take on the Cha Cha (Eric) and Tiara (Chloe), showcasing the dancers’ personalities.”

Freelance choreographer Hamish Longley has created a new work for Angela Wood and Matthew Astley called Interlude on the Jubilee Line. Hamish said: “This piece is set on a platform at Canning Town station on the Jubilee Line, where the lives of two strangers overlap as they find ways to occupy themselves while they await the arrival of their train. I hope I can illustrate the dancer’s qualities, whilst remaining true to the essence of the music with all its vivid pattern and texture.”

This year’s acclaimed judging panel comprises: Dana Fouras, former dancer with the Royal Ballet and Russell Maliphant Dance Company; Céline Gittens, Principal dancer at Birmingham Royal Ballet; Kamara Gray, the Founder and Artistic Director of Artistry Youth Dance and member of English National Ballet’s Board of Trustees; Tamara Rojo CBE, Artistic Director of English National Ballet; Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells and Joseph Toonga, Choreographer and Artistic Director of Just Us Dance Theatre. 

The recipients of the People’s Choice Award, as voted for by audiences throughout the Season, and the Corps de Ballet Award, which acknowledges the work on and off-stage of an Artist of the Company, will also be announced. There will be a special performance from Le Corsaire by the reigning Emerging Dancer winner Ivana Bueno and the 2020 People’s Choice Award winner Victor Prigent as part of the evening, which will be hosted by presenter Jordan Lee. 

English National Ballet Philharmonic will perform live, conducted by Timothy Henty.  

The livestream of Emerging Dancer 2022 will be available to watch for free on YouTube at 7.30pm (GMT), 2:30 pm (EST) on Thursday 19 May 2022.