Birmingham Royal Ballet announces promotions, joiners and leavers

Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced a set of promotions together with joiners and leavers.

Yu Kurihara (pictured) has been promoted to Principal while Enrique Bejarano Vidal is promoted to First Soloist and Javier Rojas, Ryan Felix and Yuki Sugiura are promoted to First Artist.

In addition to the above promotions Daria Stanciulescu becomes Principal Character Artist.

Rory Mackay and Jonathan Payn become Repetiteurs from the start of next season. They will both also continue as Principal Character Artists.

Joining the main company as First Soloist is Katherine Ochoa from Cincinnati Ballet. 

BRB2 alumni Alisa Garkavenko, Alexandra Manuel and Tom Hazelby have all been offered contracts as Artists. 

Joining BRB2 are Yasemin Kayabay (Royal Ballet School), Yoli Meurisse (ENB School) and John Fontanini (Princess Grace Academy). Marlo Kempsey-Fagg also joins BRB2 following his year as Elmhurst Apprentice.

Alfie-Lee Hall will be next season’s Elmhurst Apprentice.

The following are also joining the company for the 2025/26 season - Rafael Bejarano Vidal (from Washington Ballet), Amber Cook (Elmhurst Ballet School), Tobi Johnson (Kate Simmons Dance), Airi Kaboyashi (Royal Ballet School Prix de Lausanne dancer), Thomas Kujawa (Elmhurst Ballet School), Oisin Middleton (freelance), Samantha Paige (Tring Park) and Gillian Whittall (freelance).

Meanwhile, Jack Easton and Shuailun Wu are moving to Berlin Staatsballet; Oscar Kempsey-Fagg is moving to Bayersisches Staatsballet, Munich; Callum Findlay-White and Tessa Hogge are moving to Oklahoma City Ballet; and Gus Payne is joining Sarasota Ballet as a Soloist.

Also leaving to pursue other opportunities are: Yvette Knight, Regan Hutsell, Ariana Allen and Hamish Scott. 

Rachele Pizzillo is taking a sabbatical and dancing with Cincinnati Ballet for the 2025/26 season.

Shani Moran-Simmonds has joined the Royal Ballet School’s Aud Jebsen Young Dancers Programme.

Shani began dancing with BRB’s Dance Track programme at six years old and is the first Dance Track student to join the Royal Ballet company. 

BRB also announced Subin Kim as the Constant Lambert Conducting Fellow for 2025/26.

Subin studied orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg (M.M.) and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin (B.M.).

She was a semi-finalist in the Bucharest and Korea National Symphony Orchestra international conducting competitions and received the Audience Prize from Leipziger Volkszeitung in 2024.